OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- In 1621 what began as a three-day harvest celebration has evolved to what we now celebrate as Thanksgiving Day on the third Thursday of November.
It is a day when families, friends and loved ones come together to remember all things they are thankful for. Because of COVID-19 this year, some gatherings may be smaller than what we have been accustomed to. Some of us may be missing family members or friends. Some of them taken to soon by COVID-19.
It is a time to think of those who cannot sit at the same table as their families, due to deployments or the limited amount of number of people allowed to gather at one location.
It is time to reflect on the events of last year, and to recall what each of us as individuals are thankful for. A time to think about the present, thinking about both the bad things and the good things in our lives as we look forward to the future.
The future is a time to learn from our present time and experiences, and the past is hopefully to learn from our mistakes.
It is a time to be thankful to all the men and women in the military across all the military services who in the past and currently in our present, each and every day, they wake up, get ready for the day and continue the mission to the best of their ability.
It is the time to remember the military families who have sacrificed so much and have kept the fires burning at home as they wait for their husband or wife to come home from deployment.
A time to be thankful for our military leaders here at the 55th Wing who have kept our military members and civilian counterparts at the forefront and ensured our health and safety so that we all can continue the mission.
It is a time to be thankful to all the fireman, the police departments, the teachers, the cashiers, the janitors, and all those doctors, nurses and volunteers working the COVID-19 testing areas. To all those that have kept us safe and as healthy as currently possible.