The 4th of July is more than Lee Greenwood

I am preaching to the converted when I talk to a military spouse or her/his family about what the 4th of July means. This year however, I was brought to a point of reflection on this day that means so very much to so many people.
There is a framed photo of myself, my husband, and one of our dogs that sits in our living room from a 4th of July four years ago. It was the first that he and I shared together where his feet were on American soil. For me it was especially significant for that reason. Of course the picture is cropped at a funny angle and the dog is terrified, the picture is by no means magic. It is all that it encompasses that means everything to me.
My husband and I were dating at the time and hadnt been together all that long. He had just returned from nine long months in Iraq and I was obsessive about making him take me to see fireworks. We drove deep onto the Marine base and now that I look back I feel bad because as I oohhheed and ahhhhhed over each firework he cringed at the sound they made as they went off. It is now after five years together and four deployments that I now know those fireworks are more then the celebration of the birth of our United States. To a Marine they symbolize much more.
Each flash may remind of a flare, each boom of a mortar round, and each picnic a reminder that someone didnt come back. We have so much to celebrate and so much to be thankful for. One day can not ever be enough so we must look back on what we have every single day.
This year we are going back to watch fireworks in the same place that we did years ago and we will remember those that have fallen for freedom. We will take another photo, we will bring both dogs, and we will remember.  We can not thank you enough but we will do our best to live our lives to make you proud.