44 Airmen and a Sailor graduate from Tinker Airman Leadership School

Petty Officer Third Class Joshua Holland

Freedom Citation Essay Winner

Senior Airman Kristine Dutton, 72nd Security Forces Squadron

Picture a war-torn country, millions of families displaced, homes destroyed and lives ruined. After the civil war ended in 1990, Lebanon had been turned to rubble and ash. A once vibrant country had been decimated and many of its people lost. A war for power had taken place and innocents suffered. Terrorist activity was on the rise and would only get worse as the years went on.

My parents decided it was not a place to raise a family, despite having to leave everything and everyone behind. They were able to take passage through Syria and eventually made it to the United States in North Carolina where they decided to settle permanently. What they found was a new home. While most of our family was dealing with leftover landmines and rebuilding their homes, mine had settled into a quiet little town and I was beginning school.

Eventually, most of our family relocated to the United States. Seeing my parent’s success had given them hope that they too could begin new lives, free of poverty and starvation. Although I was too young to remember living in Lebanon, I would always ask my Jida, or grandmother, what it was like. I loved to hear the stories of Beirut, a city that in its prime, rivaled those like Paris or New York. Much to my mother’s dismay, Jida would also tell stories of the war. She thought it was important to tell those stories so I could learn about our culture and heritage. Through her I learned our language and many of our customs. I never had the chance to ask her by the time I started to better understand things, but I also think she was trying to help me understand how lucky I was to not have to grow up in a war zone.

Freedom to me means opportunity. It means having the ability to follow your dreams in whatever manner you please. It’s the ability to wake up every morning and not wonder who will die today and how. Every morning that I wake up in the land of the free, I’m nothing but grateful. My parents and the rest of my family risked everything to come here. The people of the United States could’ve turned us away, they could’ve shunned us for being different. Instead they embraced all of us with open arms and open hearts.

Each day that I serve I’m constantly reminded why the decision my parents made in 1995 was the best decision they’ve ever made. Instead of waking up and getting to be with my military family, I could’ve been waking up in a tent or destroyed house wondering if my family had made it through the night. While I get to do things and go places I never thought I’d be able to, I could’ve been waiting for the next terrorist attack. Instead of celebrating my 25th birthday with all of my friends, I could’ve only made it to 14.