Thursday, May 22, 2008

The Salute...

There couldn’t possibly be more to our short trip to Florida last weekend, could there? Well, only if you count the real reason we went.

I had mentioned that my daughter is in town from New Jersey and my son just graduated from UTSA and commissioned in the Air Force. Well, my parents were planning to attend the festivities and such but my dad had some technical difficulties that made flying to San Antonio too much of an ordeal. I’m happy to report that he is recovering remarkably well, but travel is just not in the cards right now.

During the commissioning ceremony at UTSA, my daughter gave my son his first official salute. This tradition is especially memorable when the first salute is given by a family member, and several years ago, my son had asked my father, a retired Air Force Chief Master Sergeant, if he would give him his first salute. Needless to say we had to go with Plan “B”, but I’d say my daughter was pretty thrilled to be the stand-in.

But there was still something missing, so we took the party to my parents’ house!

After arriving in Florida, we all headed to my parents house and suited up for some pictures of the big event. We took a lot of pictures but being there and seeing my dad’s eyes light up with pride was something pretty special.What he didn't know was that my son had a Silver Dollar to present him following his first official outdoor salute.The tradition stems from a time when officers were assigned an enlisted man to help them with their uniforms and such. The officer would pay the enlisted guy a dollar a month for the service. Now, it is a tradition that when officers in any service are commissioned, they give a silver dollar to the first enlisted member to salute them. So, my daughter got one during the official commissioning ceremony, and my dad got one for our home made outdoor ceremony.

And what did I get after paying for the trip to Florida?Well, I got the satisfaction of this picture that was taken while I was saluting my son, and I think this one will end up in a frame on a wall.

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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2008 at 7:25 PM

    quite patriotic....a job well done...you should be very proud...

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  2. AlbatrossMay 22, 2008 at 9:03 PM

    Great pictures. Thanks for your service.

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  3. Keith Alan KMay 23, 2008 at 12:29 AM

    I'm all choked-up over here.
    Just proud as heck of all you guys and gals. What a moment--thanks for sharing it with us.

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  4. Blonde GoddessMay 23, 2008 at 12:51 PM

    Congratulations!I love the lsat picture. It's worthy of framing...

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  5. KarenMay 23, 2008 at 1:05 PM

    Okay, as soon as I finish wiping the tears from my eyes I'll get on with this comment...Wow. That last photo just takes the cake. I didn't know about the tradition of the dollars, so I learned a lot, but when I got to that photo your SIL took, that was too much. Thank you and your family for your many years of service to our country.

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  6. Evil Twin's WifeMay 23, 2008 at 8:19 PM

    What a wonderful post! Thanks for sharing. The last picture IS just waiting for a frame!! I can clearly see how pleased and proud your dad is and you, also.

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