Moving to say the least.
I attended the Homfront Heroes Gala 2007The room was filled with the full spectrum the US Military can offer.  Veterans from pretty much every war, current soldiers and their families and some civilians. 

 Ah!  There was also this Canadian guy with a French accent who received a prize for the Best Support to Military Families.  He also announced the donation of free lifetime accounts to all children of fallen US soldiers from the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
 To explain the type of night… I started to chat with the couple sitting to my right and the spouse asks me to explain my services.  Well 2 phrases into my explanation tear drops start falling from here eyes.  She says ‘sorry, please continue, I will explain’.  I finished my explanation pretty much there and she explained.  ‘  I lost my father in the Vietnam War when I was 6 years old.  I still remember his laugh.  You don’t understand the power of your services, keep on doing what you are doing, it’s beautiful’.   

 My presentation was at the end of the night and as I was reading the speech prepared by my PR company, I didn’t agree with many words as I felt they were inappropriate and completely overboard.  The writer said ‘trust me; your speech will be the less patriotic of all speeches that night’.  Well he was right, the conviction and determination in the voices that night had me stirred.  I read a lot about democracy and freedom and none of the current democracies could have emerged without the courage and sacrifice of military men and women.  

 The result of those sacrifices has been my freedoms.  To these brave men and women I say thank you.  I was humbled by the recognition and the applause I got from the audience as I announced the donation and mostly when I received my award.  You see, they briefly explained my service as I received my award, I saw many eyes that were intrigued.
 My announcement was the final presentation of the night.  As I went through the motions of my speech explaining the service and the donation I tried not to look at the 5yr old child sitting feet’s away with a framed picture of his dad who is serving in Iraq.  It was quite simply overwhelming, the buzz in the crowd as I explained the service and the claps I received from the donation announcement.
 The final moment of the night was after the reception when a Lewis Lee Millett Jr. , a veteran came to see me.  He shook my hand, took my shoulder and In a faint emotional voice he said ‘What you are doing is important, keep at it young man.  As he walked away, I opened my hand and he had gave me a medallion of the National Memorial for Prisoners of war and Missing in Action.
 My next task is to reach all the families of fallen soldiers.  This will be done through a series of articles in the military press and magazine.  I will also be a host on the Military Wife Talk Radio.
 I wasn’t sure I knew what I was getting into when I took the decision of donating accounts to children of fallen soldiers.  Well I am still unsure of what’s to come but I do know one thing…  This is bigger than me and it feels right.