TEXAN SUPPORT FOR TROOPS MAKES ME PROUD TO BE A TEXAN
Every once in a while, someone in Washington asks me why we Texans have so much love for our state. Is it the food? The weather? The culture?
While I love the food, weather and culture in Texas, the real reason I am so proud of our state is its people. And I have no better evidence of the character of Texans than an episode I heard about the other day at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
A plane filled with soldiers coming to the U.S. from Iraq for two weeks of rest, landed after the long flight from Kuwait International Airport. Its passengers were stunned to see two fire engines racing toward their plane with lights flashing and sirens blaring.
The soldiers said they had been informed the plane was waiting for equipment to arrive. What they thought might be some sort of minor emergency was actually Dallas-Fort Worth's special salute to home-coming soldiers. The two emergency trucks fired a water "salute" over the taxiing airplane.
"I didn't expect such a welcome," Pfc. Heather England, a satellite communications operator for the 578th Signal Company told officials at the airport. "Soldiers on the plane got a bit choked up as they watched the water splash on the plane's windows."
The welcome did not end with the water salute. Hundreds of Texans applauded the returning soldiers as they got off the plane. They asked for their autographs and offered them food, beer, cigarettes, soft drinks and cell phone use.
When Staff Sergeant Donald Friedly told a USO volunteer that he had a daughter, the woman took him to some volunteers who presented him with a pink teddy bear, candy and bouquet of flowers for his wife.
The airport is one of the major direct flights for soldiers returning from Iraq. It has been demonstrating its appreciation for our soldiers for months, and I am proud to report that support for our troops is evident across our state. In June, children gathered on the steps of the state capitol in Austin to show their backing for deployed military personnel.
They gathered under the leadership of sculptor Heather McMahan, who is known for her "Welcome Home" sculpture, which has been displayed in the Pentagon and at Bergstrom International Airport. She invited Austin children to express their feelings about the war and show their support for the troops through art. At a rally featuring patriotic songs, children displayed their art which will be sent to soldiers overseas.
Texas' legions of NASCAR fans showed their appreciation in April, when 250,000 of them welcomed several hundred Fort Hood Operation Iraqi Freedom veterans to the Texas Speedway before the running of the Samsung/Radio Shack 500.
And I cannot fail to mention the world champion San Antonio Spurs who have always held Military Appreciation Night. This year, skybox ticket-holders donated more than 500 seats to military personnel stationed and convalescing in San Antonio and provided them with free food and drinks.
Not all of us can donate a skybox, but we can help any of the great organizations supporting our troops. At the very least, we can extend a hand to a member of our armed forces and tell each of them that we appreciate what they are doing and support them with all our heart.
Asked to comment after her welcome to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Pfc. England said, "After being stationed in Germany and Iraq for so long, seeing this display of affection at the U.S. airport has definitely reminded me why I love Americans, especially my fellow Texans."
I could not say it better myself.
July 15, 2005