U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va, asked. And the public delivered.
And on Monday, Warner delivered 1,200 messages to the highly secretive Virginia Beach-based Navy SEALs for the military operation carried out that killed Osama bin Laden.
Warner set up a message board on his website, and the notes poured in from Virginia and from around the world, including Canada, India, Ireland, Israel and the United Kingdom.
“Members of our special forces community recognize that their successes usually cannot be celebrated with public parades and press conferences,” Warner said. “That doesn’t mean we cannot look for creative ways to express our respect and appreciation while still protecting their identities and their safety. I am pleased to share these messages of thanks with the entire military community here in Hampton Roads.”
A few of the messages are as follows:
- “As a lifelong resident of Hampton Roads, it is all too easy to take the military for granted. We are your neighbors, classmates, and friends. We are blessed to have you.”
- “A huge thank you and to let you know how proud we are from Mr. Underwood’s 5th grade class at Rocky Gap, Va. Elementary School!”
- “Our 2nd grader came home from school and said, ‘Our guys killed a very bad man who hurt those people in the twin towers. We got him, Mommy.’ Yes, we did. Thank you.”
- “I was five when Bin Laden and Al Qaeda attacked the twin towers, and I have never truly felt safe since. Thank you for giving that back to me. You all have inspired me to join the United States military when I am older.”
- “Most of the time no one knows what you do, where you do it or even if you actually exist. We still don’t know who you are, but we do know what you did. Thank you.”
