ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME

Yes, it's been just a little while since I've written. Not too terribly long, but long enough (apparently) I've had questions as to why I haven't.

Life has a way of grabbing me by the wrist, or pushing me from behind, and saying, "Let's go...no time to sit!" and so I follow along.

But last weekend, I made time to sit.

We (me, Ben and Shelby) went and visited the folks in Fredericksburg.

My dad volunteers at the Nimitz Museum (The National Museum of the Pacific War, to be more exact) and a couple times a year, they conduct a live re-enactment of the Pacific Invasion. Can I just say, "Wow"?! I wish I had more eloquent words to express my sheer awe of what we were able to see, but I know I said that particular word many times.

But before I get to that, dad also arranged for a very special ride to take us to the invasion:



Sherman Tank



That's right. Ben rode up front, Shelby stood in the tank with her head sticking out and Momma (moi!) was up top by the BAR. It was a rough ride. It was very cold. And it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience I will never forget. In addition, we found out later, it was quite a privilege to be allowed to do this.

I told a couple people I finally knew what it felt like to be a "parade queen" with all the people pulling over on the side of the road, waving and taking pictures! Ha! And it was hilarious throughout the ride as we all had headsets on and Ben just kept saying, "This is so cool. This is so cool." to where the men driving the tank would just break out into laughter finally and Ben would go, "What? It is! Y'all are just used to it!"

On to the invasion...

The long-and-short of it is there are ex-Marines/Navy, current Marines/Navy and volunteers who all work together to make this program as real as possible. They talk about why the invasion occurred, how many troops were involved, where they came from and finally...the weapons. Oh baby the weapons!

There's a reason they hand out ear plugs as you walk in and **stress** that you wear them. The pyrotechnics and yes, weapons, are phenomenal and LOUD. Afterall, they may be shooting blanks, but they are loud. They even fired the tank several times!

They explain, in detail, every weapon and then demonstrate it.

Our favorite person in the program was a retired Marine Colonel. Without a doubt, the most intimidating man I've ever met.

We were lucky enough to meet four (4!) World War 2 vets. What an honor! Afterward, we were able to meet all the soldiers and the kids were very happy to do it.



Ben and "Mr. Intimidating"...USMC Colonel Ret. Ben was so bummed he smoked!




Shelby met a retired soldier of her own...Benjamin the German Shepherd was a bomb sniffer.

We all had the BEST time and will never forget this day. Especially that it was all arranged by a man whom we all love and think of as one of the most honorable, generous and gracious men we've ever met.

Thank you SO much for an amazing weekend, dad and Sue. We love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know.

Pa, Grammy, Shelby & Ben.