Military Stories

A true story from Cheryl Davis Staicoff:

Remember my sister Suzy? Well her son, Nick, is in the Army currently on a 18-month tour in Iraq (his 2nd one) and I guess just like any job he gets a 2-week vacation every year and so they flew him home last Thursday.

So Nick called Suzy and Brad to pick him up over at the airport and that he wanted to go to ROMA's PIZZA for lunch before they went on home. So Suzy called our Mom and Brad's Mom and Dad and Brad's sis Jan and told them that they were going there. Well Jan (who owns Hall Distributing) usually always goes to Roma's on Friday and so she walked in and Frank said "What are you doing here today it's not Friday yet".

So she told him that her nephew was on his way home from Iraq and that Roma's was going to be his first stop. She asked him if she could put a 'WELCOME HOME NICK' sign up outside and he said "sure". Then she said "Could I put one of these little flags on each table?" and he said "I am a proud American so you decorate all you want".

So she was trying to put one flag on each table but everyone in the restaurant (unusually busy) each wanted a flag. But, before she was done, Suzy, Brad and Nick arrived - totally clueless about what was going on inside. As they were walking up to the door, a mother and her little boy were standing there and the little boy (holding his flag) looked up at Nick and said "Thank You" and Nick awkwardly said "You're Welcome". Then he saw the sign and said "Aunt Jan must be here".

When he walked into Roma's everyone in there stood up and clapped and waved their flags and my Mom walked up to him to give him a big hug and he had to bury his head in her chest because he was crying so much. Then when he finally did go sit down everyone in there was coming up and shaking his hand and thanking him. (End of story).

Note from Linda:
I'm sooooooooooo thankful that Nick (and others) serve in our military willingly. They're in my prayers.

Isn't it funny what's important to folks when they come home? Who'd have thought - Roma's Pizza made that big of an impression?

Do you know anyone in the military now? What branch? Where are they serving? Is there anything we can do to support them and their families? I understand that there are many military families who're living on the brink of poverty. I'm not talking about the "politics" of the military. I'd like to focus some attention on the "people" and their families who're serving right now. Do YOU know anyone who needs a letter, a care package, a friend? If so, please post. Thanks for sharing, Cheryl!