November 23, 2005
The Thankful Tree
By Michelle
Malkin
"So, what did
you do in school today?" It's the question I greet my daughter
with every afternoon after she returns home from kindergarten.
Usually, she recycles three jaded answers delivered with 5-going-on-16-year-old
aplomb: "I don't remember," "I did the monkey bars,"
and "I drank chocolate milk."
This week was different.
She came home yesterday bubbling about a new holiday art project:
The Thankful Tree. "You trace your hands and cut them out
and then you write what you're thankful for on the hands,"
my enthused daughter explained, "and then you paste them
onto a paper tree!" She eagerly recited her thankful list
from memory: "Friends. Food. My fish, Rainbow. And my little
brother." (Yes, in that order.)
This morning before
leaving for school, my daughter decided we should make our own
Thankful Tree at home and left me this question to ponder: "What
are you thankful for, Mommy?"
Staring at my construction-paper
hand, here's what I have written in the palm: Our Troops. And
in the five fingers, I've written these names of heroes who we'll
honor this Thanksgiving:
Tyrone
L. Chisholm, 27, of Savannah, Ga. An Army sergeant and
father of two, Chisholm was killed Nov. 11 when a string of roadside
bombs exploded near his Abrams tank in Tall Afar, Iraq, along
the Syrian border. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored
Cavalry Regiment at Ft. Carson, Colo. His aunt, Delores Baron,
said: "He was really excited about the Army. He was proud
of what he was doing, and he died doing what he wanted to do:
serve his country."
Roger
W. Deeds, 24, of Biloxi, Miss. A lance corporal in the
Marine Corps and father of two, Deeds was among five Marines killed
last week during Operation Steel Curtain in Ubaydi, Iraq, a terrorist
stronghold also near the Syrian border. His mother, Joyce, said:
"The Marine motto is 'Semper Fi -- always faithful.' They
have a saying that no one is left behind. And that's how my son
died. . . . He was faithful to God, country and family."
James
S. Ochsner, 36, of Waukegan, Ill. An Army sergeant 1st
class, Ochsner was killed last week when an improvised explosive
device detonated near his armored Humvee during a supply distribution
mission in Orgun, Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border. "He
was going out to distribute some goods to the local people,"
Ochsner's father, Bob Ochsner of Beach Park, told the Chicago
Sun-Times. "He loved the Afghan people; he really enjoyed
them," Bob Ochsner said of his son. Sgt. Ochsner believed
it was his duty to serve in the armed forces, Bob Ochsner said.
Donald
E. Fisher II, 21, of Avon, Mass. An Army corporal from
a large military family, he was one of two soldiers killed Nov.
11 when their convoy vehicle was involved in an accident in the
northern city of Kirkuk, Iraq. "Even as a young child growing
up in Brockton, patriotism surged through Donald E. Fisher II,"
wrote the Boston Globe. "'We're talking about a kid who,
as a kid, cried because someone stole the flag off our flagpole,'
Donald Fisher of Tacoma, Wash., said of his son. 'He was very
committed.'"
James
E. Estep, 26, of Leesburg, Fla. An Army staff sergeant
and father of three, he was among four soldiers killed when an
improvised explosive device detonated last week near their Humvee
in Taji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. "He loved the military,"
said his brother, Michael. "He loved doing his job."
His sister, Becky Buskill, added: "He died for a cause he
believed in."
Can we bow our heads
in union for one day and give thanks for our men and women who
choose to fight, refuse to lose, and believe in their mission?
Can we do it without distorting their legacies and pandering to
anti-American elites worldwide and using their deaths to embarrass
and undermine our commander in chief?
This is my prayer
and the start of our new family tradition. In small gestures,
deep-rooted gratitude grows.
(Find names
and stories of those who have died in Operations Iraqi Freedom
and Enduring Freedom at Honor the Fallen: (http://www.militarycity.com/valor/honor.html).
Copyright
2005 Creators Syndicate
