When I was in the service, Independence Day was a big deal. I would hope it still is. It always puts me in mind of the cost of that freedom.

Journaling reads:
“A veteran — whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve — is someone who, at one point in his or her life, wrote a blank check made payable to ‘The United States of America,’ for an amount of ‘up to and including my life.’ That is honor.” -unattributed

Daniel L. Gardner, a syndicated columnist makes the further point that when a person serves, the whole family shoulders the cost of service and the sacrifice. Everyone is someone’s daughter or son. Mothers and fathers, sweethearts, spouses, siblings, children all fear the day the doorbell rings and they see a uniformed member of the service on their doorstep. More often than not, it means the United States has, with sadness, cashed that check. Gardner says, “Veterans who have served and [service members who] are serving today know the price of honor. They have all signed the blank check. Veterans and families always pay the price of service and sacrifice.”

And yet we continue to serve - gladly. My father, my brother, and I served in different branches but each of us felt a compulsion to join, to become a defender of the realm. There is a long history in Daddy’s family - every generation, every war, from the Revolution to the present, and maybe the French and Indian War before that. I haven’t found the entry to the Colonies yet for the Daubenheyers, but it preceded the Revolution. All three of us would answer the call today. We might be in a chair in an office or in a comm center, or even on the radar or sonar, but we would serve again. The oath we took was for life. It only expires when Death calls us Home.

This LO uses several blending modes to achieve the desired look. The background is two of the background papers blended with the flag paper on top. Next I extracted the photos of my father, brother, and me and blended them over the background, added desired elements and journaling.