I am proud this morning – proud of what ‘we Brats’ have been able to do here in 2 months – what our Congress has been either unwilling, or unable to do in over 3 years – create a icon that represents and honors Military Brats! The BratPin. As of this morning, 21 October 2013, the bill still languishes “in committee,” with a 2% chance of getting past committee, and a 0% chance of becoming law. And today, we have “our” pin.
In April this year I attended a Dining In, where I heard a ‘3-Star’ tell about seeing “the blue car” come to his house when he was 7 years old – to tell his family that their father had just been shot down (in Vietnam). At that dinner I committed myself to the passage of HR 1889: Children of Military Service Members Commemorative Lapel Pin Act this year! I told myself I was going to do “something” every day; to create awareness and promotion of this bill.
I began by “re-energizing” my US Representative, Bob Latta, R/OH, who introduced the bill, by visiting his office in Bowling Green, OH. He wasn’t in, but one of his staff assured me that “the Congressman” was totally behind the bill. Then I visited Marcy Kaptur’s office in Toledo,OH, D/OH, who is a co-sponsor of the bill. And again, I was assured, by a staff member, that Ms. Kaptur was also “totally behind” the bill. This guy was actually very helpful in that he explained exactly what I/we would have to do to garner support for the bill – telling me that the process could take upwards of 10 years to come to fruition! That wasn’t what I wanted to hear; in 8-10 years I might be a “mort!” I really don’t care to have my pin presented to me posthumously!
In July I made a You Tube video, essentially promoting HR 1889. After the filming, the interviewer asked, “Don’t you think 3 1/2 years of ‘sitting in committee’ isn’t a bit disrespectful toward these kids? You bet your ass I do! Then he asked, “Why don’t you just design a pin yourself?” and that’s where I decided to take a different direction.
And today, we have out pin! The BratPin.
Am I “spiking the football” here this morning? You bet your ass I am! I am so proud of what “we” have created here to honor ourselves, and all Brats! It is also with great humility that I thank all of you who contributed to this project. As I have said all along, I didn’t do this alone… I hope all of you share in the pride of this effort this morning…