no, not someone you'd read about in the paper, or have seen on the gridiron. But I met a great Gator yesterday, along with most of the 138 other soldiers and their families from E Company of the 101st Airborne from Ft. Campbell. I'll digress just a sec to set the stage. You may recall my involvement with the local police for the Support Our Soldiers program. In December, Brentwood officially adopted the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne unit — known as the Screaming Eagles. Yesterday was the Soldiers Appreciation Day. Nearly 100 members of E Company, 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment were the special guests. Earlier that day, the Brentwood Police Department engaged in a shooting contest with the unit. Pistols (Glock 40's), long rifles (AR-15s) were the weapons of choice provided by the police. The wives and families were each given a $250 card at the Galleria to go shopping. Later, there was a big dinner party at the Marriott of Cool Springs where the families were put up for the night. I should stress the 101st is being redeployed back to Iraq September 20th. We served as volunteers for the event, and I fast forward to the story. I helped at the range initially, and when the soldiers pulled up, we helped ferry them in carts to the staging area. The wife helped babysit kids There was this guy ALL decked out in Gator gear. Of course, being the friendly Nole that I am, I go up and start the smack right away. Turns out he grew up in Gainesville. We then turn our talks to football etc. What struck me about this young man, and all the others, was the "yes sir/no sir" politeness. Call me sir right and left. Guess I wasn't expecting that. They had no idea what to expect and were just overwhelmed by it all. Many were going back for a SECOND tour in Iraq, having been first sent over in '03. In between helping out, I sat with a lot of these guys just to talk. And the stories were incredible. Mostly young kids, but there were some lifers in their late 40's even. Some were grizzled veterans. One guy had been on SEVEN tours in a combat zone. One older soldier looked tough as nails, shaved head tattoos all over his body. Scary looking. Stories of how hot it was over there. How something like Gatorade Powder or Cool Aid were so appreciated to give them a little variety from drinking water all the time. Or how hot water gave them constant diarrhea. Being cut off from their supply line in '03 because they advanced so fast by an Iraqi unit. No ammo for a while. From 3 MREs a day down to one. The guy whose had 4 divorces talking about how hard the service is on families. The 46-year-old mechanic who was lamenting about the retention rates in the unit, and how reupping the 1st couple of times get you some nice bonuses. But after 10 years, you don't get any for staying on. The sparkle in the eye of the young man from South Carolina when I asked him about Spurrier. They were going to the national championship this year for sure! (Ok, I went with it). Hour’s worth of tales. Unbelievable insights on the war and what's it's like for them. Fast forward to banquet. There was the Mayor Of Brentwood. City Commissioners. All turning out for an event that featured an open bar, live music and buffet to die for (Steak, Catfish. The works) Some of the speakers, including the Mayor of Franklin who'd just lost a son, were overwhelmed by the emotions of the night and began to cry while they spoke. We mixed and mingled with the soldiers during the banquet. This one young man from South Carolina, a truly gentle soul, just came up out of the blue and hugged my wife for all of this. He was so thankful. We sat with he and his pregnant wife for a while. Picture this. He's leaving in a month. His wife is pregnant, will be all alone, and their first child is going to be born in October and he won't be there. The tattooed guy. In he comes with a tiny baby girl. A loving caring father cradling his daughter the whole night. Not the picture we'd seen earlier in the day at the range. The young soldier who hadn't been adopted yet (The City also had an adopt a soldier program. Letters. Care packages type thing. Our soldier was already over there on an advanced deployment, so we didn't get to meet them.) He mentioned it. A few turns around the room, and we got a couple of our volunteers to adopt him right away, as did we. Two more that night. Something moving about this. Emails and addresses were flowing like water that night. The guy from Louisiana I met at the range. Big Tigers fan. A big dude too, about 6'4". What was memorable about this was he'd brought his dog, a sweet hound puppy that he just doted on all day long, as did his comrades. I could go on for hours. Story after story. Words, however, cannot truly describe that surreal scene from last night. All the hugging, crying, laughter camaraderie in that room. Their young kids in the room next door playing with toys and games we'd brought. A scene of joy and happiness. Of appreciation. Yet, you could not help but look out across the room and wonder, "who's not coming back". Was it the guy we'd just talked to? I share this story because these scenes are being played out day after day all across the country. The uncertainties and human tragedies of war. Often going unnoticed. I think in some ways the vast majority of Americans have just forgotten there's even a war. Not me. It's real folks, despite your politics on the subject. I witnessed it yesterday, and it's a memory I'll never lose. God bless these guys and there families.