Saluting the Navy SEALS

I was checking email a week ago when I saw a Facebook post that said “turn on the news Osama Bin Laden is dead.”   At first I really couldn’t comprehend what I read but in a second I grabbed the remote.  There it was on network news.  Reporters confirming a raid in Pakistan had taken out Bin Laden.  Then ultimately the President himself spoke sharing more details that indeed the world’s most sought after terrorist was found and eliminated from the world. This coupe was truly a tribute to the resolve of the American people. 

Americans were stunned at the horror of 9/11.  All of us remember how we first learned of this atrocity.  We all watched, experienced and pitched in to do any and everything we could to bond and make some sense of this tragedy.  Political lines were erased.  Personal issues disappeared.  We were in this together.  We watched as fire fighters and police officers and their families made ultimate sacrifices.  We held on to each other, helped each other and vowed that this would never happen again. We would find the evil person or persons who changed our safe, comfortable lives.

Former President Bush pledged that we would find the perpetrators of 9/11.  He didn’t say how long that would take.  I think most of us didn’t think that it could take the better part of ten years, but resolve is one attribute that this great country was founded on and it has taken permanent root in our home land. Obama took on this challenge when Bush turned over his post to him.  Our government never let us down in their determination to find the Al-Qaida leader and mastermind of that horrific day in September.

We cheered this week that Bin Laden is someone we no longer have to worry about.  People cheered for many different reasons.  I cheered and was in awe of the military unit that made this happen. The true heroes of this were the United States Navy SEALS.  The best of the best knows no boundaries, will go wherever the challenge takes them and risk their lives to accomplish a mission.  Americans owe them a great debt as we do with all of our men and women in dangerous places protecting our freedom.