I turned to George and said, “Thank you again for taking the time to help me out.” George just smiled slightly and quietly said, “It’s no problem, I am happy to help.” As we made our way from Skagit Regional Airport out to Eastsound on Orcas Island for another campaign event, this time a 4th of July parade and a Candidates forum, I got lost in thought amongst the scattered clouds while surveying the islands below.

Here was a man who served faithfully 33 years in the Army. He endured bullets in Vietnam, survived a helicopter crash, and poured his life into protecting this country. Even after he retired he spent every legislative session flying down on his own dime to Olympia to represent wounded veterans who had no voice. And here he was today taking me, a young guy wanting to make a difference, without a second thought to his time. Simply, “happy to do it.”

George embodies the greatness that is this country. Our forefathers resisted tyranny and declared that every individual is a sovereign. We saw something greater than simply a nation born, but a beacon of hope and opportunity for the world. This call to independence did not come without a price or great sacrifice, but fortunes were lost, lives cut short, and families torn asunder.

That service and sacrifice that our forefathers exercised and our soldiers represent each day can also be found interwoven in the fiber of those that make up our community. Looking back to my grandfather who carved out his farm in Elma, Washington I see a man of greatness who toiled in the fields, logged in the forest, and whose character of charity was renown in the community. That character fashioned greatness in my own father who left comfort and opportunities in America and, together with my mom, went abroad as missionaries pouring their lives into those less fortunate. For thirty-six years they served those less fortunate and invested the best years of their lives to serve a country beyond our shores.

Back to George. I live today with this rich heritage of service and sacrifice provided by my family and those like George. Fourth of July is more than a holiday, but a celebration of sacrifice and a call to duty and service. Let us all reflect on the freedom we have: freedom to work, freedom to drive, freedom to assemble, freedom to run for office, and freedom to serve.

Let us return to our roots, the source of our greatness that will sustain our country and continue to make it that beacon on a hill for the rest of the world to see.