Honor at the St. Patrick's Day Parade

This morning was the Denver St. Pat's Parade and my kids were Irish Step Dancers in the Parade. It is one of the of the largest in the country and goes on for hours. A lot of different groups go by - radio stations, Irish Heritage Groups, Irish Dancers, Clowns, etc. But there was one person today who really touched me and made me think about "Honor". We had been standing in our spot for about an hour and were still waiting to see our kids. I could hear the sound of the Harley's coming and looked up to see the banner for the Vetrans group on motor cycles coming up the street. There was a man standing in front of us in a white T shirt and Khaki's. It looked like he was with his grandson and was maybe in his 50's or 60's. I did not notice anything in particular that would have defined him as a Marine or a Vet. He must have saluted the group as they were going by. Then one of the fellows on a motorcycle looked and him and saluted and mouthed, "Thank you". Then he parked his bike and got off and walked over to the gentleman in front of me and shook his hand and they thanked each other. They both looked a little teary and both my husband and I were welling up too. He turned and jumped back on his bike and drove away. My husband thought that they must have known each other and that the guy on the bike saw him and ran over because he knew him. I found out later that wasn't the case.

As we were going back to the staging area to pick up our kids I saw the guy on the bike sitting with his group. I decided to go over and ask why he had stopped to salute and shake the man's hand. He said it was because he recognized that the man was a Marine. He said that he is always aware when looking at the crowd during the parade and tries to make a point of recognizing and thanking his fellow marines. "It's just something that I do." I thanked him and told him that it was the most special moment of the day for me.

People may debate the war and the military but I have to say that they create something very unique in their men and women. They have a sense of respect and honor for one another that is so often missing in the rest of the world. I wish this was something that was taught in schools. I wish I understood more about how they create this. We would all do better to treat each other in the way in which these soldiers recognized and respected one anothers contributions and sacrifices.