Honoring a soldier

Today in church, the pastor was wrapping up his comments before dismissing the congregation, but he had one last thing to say: with his "x-ray vision," he noticed a young man near the back of the auditorium, and said "Welcome home" to the Marine in civilian clothes.

I did not know the man, who (along with his young wife) looked to be well short of 30, but he stood to acknowledge the pastor's greeting, and the church broke into polite applause. However, it lingered, as if the audience were trying to decide how best to acknowledge this soldier, this young man, part of a family, part of the congregation. It slowly picked up steam, growing louder and more intentional, until people began standing to offer the only honor they had at their disposal.

My first thought after the pastor's introduction was the desire to express my appreciation for this soldier's service, but being the cynic I am, that thought was followed shortly thereafter by curiousity: how many people in the audience were genuinely wanting to honor this Marine, and how many were just clapping to go with the flow.

No matter, I thought, it's nice that a church family can offer such thanks, because I suspect there are few places outside those doors where any soldier would get such validation of his service to his country, regardless of his country's attitude toward him.