So this will be my last post on Veterans Day. This goes out to all of those who have served. I know all you can relate. I wrote this about 2 years ago. This is the first time Ive shared it with anyone outside of my family: MY DOG TAGS Who am I? How can I really tell you when this is a question that I have asked myself for years? Well, I’m a first generation American, a basketball coach and a dad, but if you really want to know who I am, take a look at my battered and beaten dog tags. They have been around my neck since October 21st, 1991 but don’t just read them. They will tell you my name, social security number, blood type and religious preference but if you take a closer look, they will tell you my life story. My dog tags have felt the pounding of my chest as I did push-ups in Germany, tasted my sweat during all of those 12 mile road marches at Ft. Benning and felt the stinging cold of a Kosovo winter. They have been there to deflect the harsh words from a Drill Sergeant and to remind me that I have a purpose. My dog tags have traveled far and wide, enduring sand storms in Turkey, roadside bombs in Iraq and the 130 degree heat in Kuwait. My dog tags never whined about going without food, water or shelter. They never asked “why”, when I put them around my neck and headed off on another year long deployment. They knew it was the Army way. My dog tags have felt the pride of accomplishment, the joy of promotion and the sadness of losing fellow Soldiers in combat. They have hung from bed posts, wall lockers and make shift hooches wherever it was that I was temporarily calling home. They have swung around and around my finger in boredom, been used as a make-shift screwdriver and endured hours at a time with 80lbs of equipment on my back. I guess you could say that my dog tags know me better than anybody. Better than my mom, my wife or my kids. They served as my faithful sidekick for 20 years. They were always there for me and yet, I thank God that they never served their real purpose……..to identify my body. So if you REALLY want to know who I am, look long and hard at my dog tags, they can tell you my story better than I can. Top Lopez
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 01:57:36 +0000
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