The mayor of Paris and her staff planted a field of flowers in front of City Hall as part of today's events. I had to go see it for myself. There are three rows of flowers: blue, white and red, like the French flag. There were 94,415 flowers in remembrance of the 94,415 Parisian soldiers who lost their lives during the Great War. Behind the flowers is a screen where the names of those soldiers flash. The rain fell on my face as I stood there, looking at the flowers. There was a heavy feeling in my heart. I imagined what it must have been like, 100 years ago, as a young man. If I lived during that time, I might have been sent off to war. It must have been tough for them to be far away from their families.
I understand how that felt, a little bit, because I’m far from my family right now. Still, I’m going home for the holidays. I’m only here in Paris for a year. Many of those young soldiers wouldn’t have known if they would make it back home alive. My sister used to be in the U.S. Army. She was stationed in Korea. She came home last year. Now, she is going to college. As her brother, I feel relieved. She is not in the U.S. Army anymore, so she is not likely to have to go into combat. I am also very proud of her service.
There are soldiers around the world today. Many families still have dads and moms, or sons and daughters, or brothers and sisters in the armed forces. Do you have any family in the military? Give them a “thank you” from me. They are all incredibly brave.
I went home today drenched from the rain, but with my heart full of gratitude. I know that I am free to do the things I love because of all those men and women who fought for our freedoms. Hopefully, one day, we will live in a world where we are all free.
