My hubby and I were invited to a grand opening on Veterans
Day. We were informed that it was going to be an event where John would be unveiling
his new organization's name and mission that will honor our veterans in the
"greatest country in the world".
I found out that John created this event (with a little help
from his very supportive parents). He raised the monkey for snacks and
refreshments by doing odd jobs around the neighborhood (raking leaves, mowing
lawns, and shoveling snow). He invited veterans from every war possible. He
also invited the Wisconsin Administrator of Veterans Benefits. Getting both
sides of the coin in the same room and acknowledging that more needs to be
done.
But I may be getting ahead of myself. Because of the timing
of this event, I ended up having a date weekend with my hubby. I believe that
this was a great way to start it off.
We started off the event with some socializing (I felt a
little out of place because these people have huge stories to tell and all I
have is my three kids to talk about). I did really enjoy watching everyone
interact with each other and see how the room parted and came back together in
new shapes. I love people watching. There were flyers and business cards at the
welcome table. There were drinks and snack bags with his organizations name on
it. There were two tables up front by the podium filled with memorials. (You
will have to forgive the pictures, forgot my camera again.) And around the room
were hung some patriotic embellished wreaths…his latest project.
He started off the program with everyone saying the Pledge
of Allegiance. I sat in the back of the room and was speechless over this site.
All the veterans at perfect salute, no matter the age or condition, saying the
Pledge. It made me feel honored to be an American.
Followed by his nephew Phoenix saying the Lord’s Prayer.
Which is fantastic because he just turned four and he starts it by saying “My
Father…” and he calls it the Big Prayer.
Next, we were asked to sing God Bless America. It was
another one of those speechless moments that made me feel honored to be an
American. These men sang with passion every word of that song. You could just
hear and feel what those words must have meant to them and should mean to all
of us.
Then John began to speak. He has only been in this country
for three years. He came knowing maybe 5 words of English. Listening to him
speak about how passionate he is for this country and the people who have
fought for it…makes you want to do more and be more. Makes you wonder how much
better your life and our country could be if we all could tap into his power
and his passion.
John shared with us that he had only been in the US for two
months when he got to celebrate his first American holiday…Veterans Day. He
wore his Boy Scout uniform that had no patches on as of yet. He met one of his
mentors at this event, Clifford Sabtake. He was a Purple Heart recipient and
saw something in John (and John in him) that made them fast friends. Clifford
had told John that he had fought for the flag and would do it all over again.
Clifford was also very impressed by John’s accomplishment of having memorized
the Preamble by the following Veterans Day and that John showed that he
understood it.
During John’s speech, he would take moments to recognize and
salute the veterans from each possible war (I say possible because there are
some wars that a veteran would not be possible for). This moment, he saluted
the Korean Veterans. I just about started to cry looking at these men. My
grandpa that has passed was one of these men. My dad told me the one and only
story that Grandpa ever shared about the war and it sticks with me. It’s short,
so excuse me to share it. Grandpa and another man had the duty to guard a train
the one night. They would pass by each other halfway around the train and back
again on the other side. The one time, his partner didn’t show. When Grandpa
went to investigate, he found the man stuck to the train with a knife. I was
one train loop away from not existing.
Anyway, back to the event. The next story John shared with
us was meeting Brigadier General Mark E Anderson. They met at a Boy Scout
Jamboree in Oshkosh. This man made such an impact on John there that he would
think of him at times and wonder what the Brigadier General would do in such a
situation. He made John wonder if he could be a man like the Brigadier General;
“to remain grass-rooted and be able to mentor some young boy as you did.”
The Brigadier General got a chance to respond. He shared
with us that if our young people would act half of how John does, our country
will be in great hands. He also shared his thought that if you put on a
uniform, you are a hero. And he finished with telling John that now that he is
an Eagle Scout, that he gets to step into those mentor shoes.
John has a passion to become a soldier some day and to be
able to lead men to do great things. I believe that he is already doing that,
only he is creating great men by his leading.
John shared his version of his adoption story. He was
adopted at the age of twelve after having lived at the orphanage for 6 years.
He started the story off with a sentence that included, “making a promise and
keeping a promise”. As an orphan, I can only imagine how hard it would be to
believe promises. The Webers got to bring John home for a week before they
adopted him; that was in January and he was adopted in June. This started John
on the path that these people really meant what they said. The day he was
adopted, the case worker told him that he no longer had the eyes of an orphan.
John shared that orphans only dream in black and white (I’m guessing that it
makes it less real and easier to handle)and he said, “now I dream in red,
white, and blue”. A cheer rose from the crowd because you can see it in him.
John shared with us that he knew that his parents loved him from the moment
they cried. He shared that it wasn’t an easy road at the beginning because he
had to learn how to be a family and they had to learn how to be parents to a
child who has been through so much in his short years.
John held a moment of silence for all of our fallen soldiers
and shared some stories about a few of the fallen who have touched his life. He
said, “I realized our flag is a living symbol of what our country stands for.”
John shared that he feels like it’s his mission in life to
be a friend to all veterans and raise awareness of all veterans’ issues. He has
been sharing this message to many schools and has been talking on their level
and asking them to respect their veterans more and to embrace the freedoms that
they grew up with that he never had until now. He has inspired many of the
youth in our area by the talks he has given because he is so real and true and
kids can see that (adults too). John has also spoken at Bible Studies, Youth
Groups, and other Veterans Assemblies.
John shared his Eagle Scout project. He raised $2000 for 50
quality flags to fly at local homes and businesses that needed one. I’m not
sure that our flag was worn out enough to need one, the hubby tends to keep up
with that. But I do believe that we were meant to fly one of those flags. We
were meant to meet this young man and his family. We were meant to get swept up
in his mission and find a way to do our part in it. Which is part of the reason
I write this. If I can share his message to 10 people that don’t know him and
his passion, then I have helped.
Mr. Bryce Luchterhand from Senator Kohl’s office spoke for a
moment. He shared some words from the Senator, as well as some of his own. The
two sentences that I pulled from it were, “John honors the soldiers and their
families.” And, “If our youth would hold John as a role model, our country
would definitely be on the straight and narrow path.”
John shared some more personal stories about his brother who
is still living in Russia. He shared how his brother told him not to mess this
up because he had a good thing happening here. He shared that his bother
protected him the best that he could and how he feels some remorse about being
the one adopted after all that his brother did for him.
John shared how his mother, Brenda Weber, changed his
thought process. After many nights of waking up in a panic from some past memory
that was haunting him, his mom told him (while holding her Bible) that they
were going to work on changing his thoughts. She told him that if they work
together on filling his mind with good thoughts, memories and deeds that the
bad ones would have to fall out. It worked and they found a way to conquer
those hard memories so that they wouldn’t be able to control him so much. It’s
still an ongoing process (as I’m sure you all can relate to). But he is
journaling and talking and sharing and life is getting better and better every
day. (This coming from a teenager, bet you wish your teenager talked a little
more like this.)
John told us how he believed that his new family had healing
powers. He said that his mom told him, “that’s what being loved unconditionally
does.” John wishes to give the same kind of love and support to the veterans.
He said that his life in Russia was a very difficult life lesson learned. John
also shared that he gets renewed for each flag that he holds and that he is
very thankful to Todd Zunker for teaching him the proper way to handle and fold
the flag.
John thanked his parents, “My parents have served me in my
life in so many different ways.” I immediately pictured Jesus washing the disciples’
feet at the last super. I pray that just one of my children say something like
that about me some day.
John then recited the poem he had written and read at his
Eagle Scout ceremony; it was just as powerful the second time.
I fly every day since
I became an American citizen
with freedom that
completely surrounds me
I flew with freedom
under my wings
I flew with freedom
over my wings
freedom that knows no
harsh words
freedom that welcomes
my very best to be as strong as I can be
freedom when I wake
up
freedom is what I
bring to each project or task I take on
freedom in my
gratitude to our older veterans
freedom in the proud
but aching hearts that need healing
My freedom because
our soldiers that I have not met but are fighting in Afghanistan
freedom for those
somber but proud American hearts of our Gold Star families
freedom for those
lonely POW-MIA soldiers whose dream is to finally come home
freedom because of
every honorable veteran who has served the greatest country in the world
freedom for so many
proud American citizens and politicians
freedom for the Boy
Scouts who are so close to my heart
freedom, oh sweet
freedom, that allows me to practice and grow in my own faith
freedom, sweet lyrics
and melodies whispered to me all the time and I am forever grateful for my
friend FREEDOM
And may God continue
and may God bless the United States of America
-This was quoted from his Eagle Scout
speech. He did shorten it up for the Veterans celebration.-
John followed this moving poem with some words from Kenneth
Grant, the Administrator of Veterans Benefits. A few things that I pulled away
from him was how impressed he admitted he was with John’s spirit and passion. Mr.
Grant shared that he thinks he has one of the greatest jobs in the world, the
ability to serve our veterans. He gave us a sobering fact that there will be
over 1 million new veterans from Iraqi Freedom, 32000 from Wisconsin alone.
That the biggest job ahead of us now is to help them readjust to civilian life.
(Which I hear is a really hard thing to do.)Mr. Grant asked that we live up to
our responsibility to our veterans. He presented John a certificate on behalf
of the Veterans Association for starting this organization.
John held a candle lighting ceremony for our POW-MIAs. I
think the most powerful sentence from this was, “it’s not fun being the one
left behind and forgotten about.”
John finished his portion of the evening asking us to, “watch
out for me because my role in the United States is not yet known.”
His mom, Brenda Weber, then got up and shared a few
extremely emotion filled words and told everyone about John’s latest project of
100Wreaths for 100 Veterans. Two local wreath makers have offered to create
patriotic wreaths to be handed out to local veterans and their families. It’s
kind of like bringing a little bit of Christmas joy to those who may need the
boost.
She shared with us that John has been invited to speak on a
national tv show out in California. I loved the idea that his idea born in
Wisconsin has made its way all the way to California already.
Two last things that impacted me from this event.
The first was some students from Ringle Elementary heard about
the event and came out to hand out cards handmade by the third and fourth
graders. They were all done up in crayon and were beautiful.
The last was a great sentence. Knowing that elections are
just around the corner, John’s mom added that they want to “make sure it’s not
political, only patriotic.”
There is a lot more to come from this young man. I feel
honored to be in the loop and to be able to witness every step of the way.
Watch out for this young man, he is destined for great things.
And lastly, I need to apologize for my photos. Reminder to self...bring camera everywhere.
PS...John read this and told me it was like reliving the day. He also told me that in his speech he said that his parents saved him, not served. I'm not changing the entire article for that correction because I like the sentiment that I got out of it by hearing it wrong. I also like the way he actually said it which is why I add it here.
Then I watched a movie this week that I picked up from the library because I liked the actors listed (Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, and Jake Gyllenhaal). The name of the movie is Brothers. I rerented it this week so that I can see if the hubby wants to watch it with me. It's an amazing story about one brother being released from jail and turning his life around while the other brother goes to war and is captured as a POW and what coming home means to him and his family. It was a powerful movie (definitely fulfills its R rating). The movie gave me the answer to a question that had been posed to me....Are there still POWs happening today? Yes. This movie shows you just how such a horrible thing can happen. It also showed me what a wonderfully powerful thing 
Then I was at the library and saw The Soldiers' Night Before Christmas by Trish Holland and Christine Ford. This book pulls all my thoughts full circle. A wonderfully illustrated and written book for children to understand the need of soldiers at Christmas time.
