Saturday, July 4, 2009

Celebrating America's Birthday in Yokosuka, Japan

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sara, and Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

“Every good citizen makes his country's honor his own, and cherishes it not only as precious but as sacred. He is willing to risk his life in its defense and is conscious that he gains protection while he gives it.” -Andrew Jackson

On July 4, 1776 the American Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, in which the American colonies proclaimed their separation from Britain. And fifty years to the day after the approval of the Declaration of Independence, which they both had a hand in drafting, former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died in 1826.

Tonight we went to the carnival/fair MWR put on for the families on base. It was open to the public as well, so there were a lot of Japanese families there. Little girls were wearing their yukatas, and I even saw a woman wearing one. The majority of Japanese were dressed in red, white and blue, had patriotic hats on, and most even had the temporary tattoos on. It's a great way to improve the relationship with our host country.

We had temporary tattoos put on our faces and I even joined the fun and got one. We walked around for a little while, then grabbed a snack [at the all-American fast food joint], McDonalds, and headed over to watch the fireworks. After all, how can a red-blooded American celebrate Independence Day without seeing fireworks?! They started right on time, of course since it was put on by the military, and since we weren't at the field yet, we met up with some friends, sat on the steps of the post office and watched from there....perfect view with minimal crowds!

Bob, wherever you are, I hope you had a good holiday!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's a very nice quote. Thank you to your husband for serving, and to you and your kids for sacrificing too. We hear about service men and women deployed, but no one mentions the families left without their loved one.

Jamie said...

Glad you had fun. We actually just stayed home yesterday. Hope the fireworks were good.