Did You Ever Know That You're My Hero?

Even though we were early, there was already a crowd.

Same as last year. And the year before that, and the year before that…as long as I can remember.

But this year, there’s more.

It starts at nine. On a weekday. When folks have to work. But still, they come.

Hundreds squeeze into every nook and cranny, every shaded spot under a tree.

It’s hot. It’s sweaty. Not so much as a breeze. Still they come.

The kids are in groups.

The men with guns are off to the side by themselves.

At nine o’clock on the dot they begin.

Kids say their lines, sing their songs for almost an hour, and then, the time comes where the names are read.

One by one they come.

From out of the sweaty crowd they make their way to the front and shoulder to shoulder they stand.

The list goes on and on. The line grows, one name at a time until it spans the entire length of the elementary school’s north wing.

Until they were called, you’d never have known most of them. Unless they wore a hat, a uniform or a badge, they were just like every other person, hot and sweaty, in the crowd.

But now, they stood in front of us all.

Men and women. Young and old. Bulging muscles and tattooed arms. Weathered trembling hands on wooden canes. Suits and ties and short hair. T-shirts, jeans and ponytails. Flip-flops and shorts. Cowboy boots and hats. Together they stood. Shoulder to shoulder.

Each one of them were given a gift. “Just a small token of our gratitude.”

I scanned from one end of the line to the other.

As different as night and day in every way…except one.

The kids started to sing.

It must have been cold there in my shadow

To never have sunlight on your face

You were content to let me shine, that's your way

You always walked a step behind

So I was the one with all the glory

While you were the one with all the strength

As the words rolled off the lips of the children, each of the warriors before us did the same thing.

Men and women who’d stared death in the face without blinking, began to blink. A hand or two wiped more than just sweat from their eyes.

When the kids sang, “Did you ever know that you're my hero…”

Every soldier clenched their jaw and dropped their eyes.

A strong arm steadied the trembling of another.

A refreshing breeze carried the words, “You are the wind beneath my wings”

It happened slow, but eventually every last soldier had their shining eyes focused on the children, whose voices by now, had mixed with those of angels.

“Did I ever tell you you're my hero?

You're everything, everything I wish I could be

Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle…”

That’s when I noticed it.

As different as they were, they all had one thing, exactly the same.

That look a fireman gets just before he runs into a fire, not from it.  

The look David must’ve had before facing the giant.

The eye of an eagle as it soars into the storm, while the whole world is running from it.

Each one had that look. Each one had the eye of an eagle.

Now, I know you won’t believe me. But it’s the truth, just the same.

I wanted it to be true. If only…

I raised my eyes wanting to see.

When I did, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

There they were, soaring on the words of the children as pretty as can be.

Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle…”

Thank you Veterans.

Did you ever know that you're my hero?

Wind Beneath My Wings