YOUR CONTRIBUTION
AN EMAIL RECEIVED
By Edmund Redmile
Return to
Your Contribution index page
Hi all
A friend
sent me this, I wore Red today, I will wear Red on Fridays. Last week I
was in West London attending a conference. While I was in the airport,
returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and
cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest
acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving through the terminal was a
group of soldiers in their uniforms. As they began heading to their gate
everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their
hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of
them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not
the only red blooded Briton who still loves this country and supports
our troops and their
families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these
young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for
us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or
reprisal.
Just
when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service
men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to
one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl
then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The
young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would
try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl
grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could
muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl,
who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that
her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now.
As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her
father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single
mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled
together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out
a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device
and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the
young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to
her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then
hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a Kiss
on the cheek. He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that
he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.' The
mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young
soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum. I was
standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded. As the
soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed
their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there
were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last
act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear
rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers
and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the
end of the day, it's good to be an Englishman. RED FRIDAYS Very soon,
you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason?
Englishmen and women who support our troops used to be called the
'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for
Country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organised,
boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to
reflect our message or our opinions. Many English people, like you, me
and all our friends, simply want to recognise that the vast majority of
Britain supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support
for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues
each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a
deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar
will wear something red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make Great Britain on every Friday
a sea of red much like a homecoming football team If every one of us who
loves this country will share this with
acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long
before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the
once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more
than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What
can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and
your prayers'... Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity,
by example; and wear something red every Friday
