Honorare Omnes Servitio

If your Latin is rusty the title is translated Honor All Service and that is what I got to do today at the 20th Annual Women Veteran Recognition Day! And truly what an honor for me it was. To be surrounded by a room full of such courageous pioneering women. As my caregiver and previous Lance Corporal in the Marine Corp, Samantha Means was my ticket to this illustrious event and I was truly grateful. Yes I do come from a long line of military history within my own family and my own son is currently a Marine serving in Okinawa but none of that would have enabled me to participate in this distinguished event for women veterans. So thank you Samantha :) There were 4 main speakers: Chief Master Sergeant Wendi A Hansen of the Three Command Chief; 92 Air Refueling Wing, Samantha Means Marine Veteran and Sam-I-Am Okinawan Radio DJ and Author of A Winter Storm, Major Dawn Gray of Spokane Veteran Administration Medical Center and Suzanne Williams Director of Social Work, Horizon Hospice and Vietnam Combat Nurse. Each one had some valuable lessons and stories to share and I just want to give you a sampling and in my opinion these nuggets of information transcend to us all whether we are veterans, victims of any kind and simply by their very nature to all women. We need to look at the positives and negatives of all that is thrown at us and then figure out how to move forward in quiet professionalism and by being an example of someone who lives out what they believe. No matter what your job you can give someone else a reason to smile. And sometimes our jobs/careers can take us to places we never thought possible and touch the lives of others we have never met but only if we are willing to fight for what we believe and overcome insurmountable odds. Remember to laugh. Reconnect with the folks within your community whether it's other veterans, old classmates, other victims or women because those are your people and they get you. Stop blaming yourself for things you never asked or signed up for. When you choose to serve in any capacity You Rock! We need to remember to honor all service.  I can't say thank you enough to all these beautiful women who let me hang out with them today. Your stories, your hurts, your service will be forever remembered by me and many others for generations to come.