Rolling Thunder 2010

The Saluting Marine - The Lincoln Memorial - the Bikes (credit - StevenFrancis Photography) -

I was standing a little to the right of this location, when I noticed a woman standing almost rigidly, wiping her cheeks periodically. When asked if she was alright, she said yes, and that it was "silly" because she lost someone so long ago in the Vietnam war, that she shouldn't still be crying. No, it was only yesterday that her chopper pilot was KIA, they had been dating for only a while, she now has a new life, but still...... She asked me about my connection to the military, when she saw the my son and my husband served patches on my vest. Then she said what we have all heard so often "I don't know how you do it" we kept talking and she thanked me for helping her understand a little better, about how military families keep going, and the service members who volunteer to serve. A hug, and a connection. And remembering why the Thunder is Rolling, remembering who we are memorializing, not just those who died, but those left behind.

LAW