Freedom's Obligation and the Military

As citizens of the United States we have many freedoms and with such freedom comes responsibility. For some, military duty is the answer to that call of responsibility.
Growing up in Hawai'i, away from our other family members, my sister and I could only become close to those relatives living in the islands. The smallest age difference is between my youngest-older cousin, Chris, and me: eight years. Each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, we would all sit together at the "kid's table." The games we played and the fun we had is still very vivid in my mind. Slowly, however, each of them graduated from high school, then college, and eventually moved away. Karen moved to the West Coast, Kenny moved to the East Coast, and Chris stayed home to be near his girlfriend. I learned quickly that when you are separated from those you love because of distance, you get very close to the ones who are near. When Kenny left, I was heartbroken. I looked up to h...