A salute to those who serve in so many ways.

I am a long time Jeep guy, since I was 12. I have always felt an interesting connection to these old vehicles and the strong bonding effect they can have on people and families.
Last year I purchased a Jeep CJ7 to do a restoration as a hobby and sell once completed. As I got started I decided to do it with an all-American theme. I love this country but don’t like or appreciate the way it is spoken of on the news and the lack of respect shown most of the time. As the project progressed I altered my plans to be focused more on a "Support Our Troops" theme. I watch the news every morning while I wake up with my coffee and I constantly see the negative manner in which the media and so many other misinformed people speak of our troops, law enforcement and first responders so I again altered my plans to show my appreciation and give a salute out to these important people that put themselves out there every day for the safety and better of all of us. Any true patriotic American would never speak of these people in such a negative light.
The restoration is now done and, to my surprise, as I show it to people I find that everyone loves it and seems to be moved in one way or another, as almost everyone is in some way linked to one or more of these people. They seem to find a connection to the message and the feeling I tried to convey. The message on the jeep has brought smiles to most, caused tears in others and so many stand and quietly stare at it and take it in.
In closing, I want to again say thank you to all of the many service members of our military across all the branches, and the many departments and variations of law enforcement and first responders working to “Keep America Strong, Keep America Safe.”