It's a small world

It’s a small world when you are connected to the military. Just yesterday I got a surprise phone call from my Navy son who is currently deployed, He told a story about flying and needing to contact a ship. The responding officer was one of his USNA class mates. The world gets even smaller in the Marine Corps-especially in Marine aviation. So when I heard the news this morning that two Marine helicopters collided and the crew was lost the lump jumped into my throat. Even though my Marine is safe and sound in San Diego those pilots and their families are on my heart.
I used to get the Marine Corps Times-I stopped when I began traveling so much this past summer. The casualty lists are posted each week along with the photos of the nation’s newest heroes. I would think about their families and how proud they were to carry those pictures of their sons and daughters . Even though we never met, we share a connection and a kinship that comes with having a child volunteer to serve in harm’s way.
So tonight I am praying for those who will soon learn that they have lost someone very precious to them. We share the pride and the pain-it is a small world for those of us who love someone in the military.