As a Company, Southwest Airlines is going to support “Red Fridays.”

Last week I was in Atlanta , Georgia attending a conference. While I

was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me

beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed

one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.

Moving thru the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos. As they

began heading to their gate, everyone (well almost everyone)was abruptly

to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.

When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and

cheered for, it hit me. I’m not alone. I’m not the only red-blooded

American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their

families.

Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young

unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so

we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal.

Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our

service men and women, a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old ran

up to one of the male soldiers. He kneeled down and said “hi.”

The little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy

for her.

The young soldier, who didn’t look any older than maybe 22 himself,

said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then

suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the

biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.

The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter’s name was

Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had

been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her

daughter Courtney missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.

When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all

of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the

other servicemen pulled out a military-looking walkie-talkie. They

started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.

After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to

Courtney, bent down and said this to her, “I spoke to your daddy and he

told me to give this to you.” He then hugged this little girl that he

had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying

“your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and

he is coming home very soon.”

The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young

soldier stood to his feet, he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was

standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event.

As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people

resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around,

there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in

one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney

with a tear rolling down his cheek.

We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and

thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it’s

good to be an American.

RED FRIDAYS —– Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing

Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to

be called the “silent majority”. We are no longer silent, and are

voicing our love for God, country and home in record b reaking numbers.

We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing.. We get no liberal

media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many

Americans, like you, me and all our friends, s imply want to recognize

that the vast majority of America supports our troops.

Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity

and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday

until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. Every

red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear

something red.

By word of mouth, press, TV — let’s make the United States on every

Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the

bleachers.

If every one of us who loves this country will share this with

acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family. It will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once “silent” majority is on their side more than ever; certainly more

than the media lets on.

The first thing a soldier says when asked “What can we do to make

things better for you?” is…We need your support and your prayers.

Let’s get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and

wear something red every Friday.