He always made one promise to me. “When I get home I will teach you how to surf,” my dad told me about four months into his year deployment.

Thank you. Thank you for letting him come home to me. I wish those words could jump out of whatever screen you are reading this on and embrace you. Words cannot grasp the appreciation I have for you. My dad’s military brothers and sisters who stood beside him on the battlefield, thank you for making sure he came home.

When I was young the vision of my dad deployed was always very different than it is now. Living in a kid’s fantasy, I envisioned my dad wondering around the sandy streets of Afghanistan shopping for carpets at town markets. I always imagined him in some Afghani clothing, like the ones he would later bring back home. The fabric’s beautiful colors and the soft feel protecting him under the harsh boiling sunlight.

However, that vision is different now. As I got older and started learning the truth behind my dad’s missions, I was left stunned about what he did. It seemed like something so impossible to have happened. Here I was at the time, living on a little island off the coast of Italy called Sardinia, and my dad was thousands of miles away watching the fires of a group of Taliban from the mountaintops.

As a child, I felt like I lived in a fantasy world. It was never a question to me if my dad was going to return or not. I was young enough to know the danger of combat but still naïve enough to think that he would not be in the midst of the conflict.

To the men and women who fought beside my dad during that year, thank you so much for keeping him safe. Yes, it was your job to protect our country; however, you were part of so much more.

You were the people who brought home the most important man in my life. The man, who taught me how to do the monkey bars and let my little sister and I play horsy with him for hours after he came home from a long day at school and work. You brought me home the person who made me fall in love with snowboarding. That moved me into my dorm my freshman year. The person who will someday walk me down the aisle. Because of you, I learned how to surf a year and a half later.

You protected my dad, like a brother and sister, from the bullies on your battlefield. Like a sibling at the same school, you watched over his back as he watched out for yours. You kept the most important person to be safe and sound. And for that, no words will ever start to express my gratitude.

To my Papa, thank you for coming home and fighting.

To his team, thank you for watching out for each other. I know not everyone made it home. Each one of you holds a deep part of my heart. To the people whose names I know and to those I don't, I love each and every one of you. And I hope, wherever your family and you are, that you are safe and at peace of mind.

To everyone deployed right now, thank you. From whatever dark cave you may be hiding in, to the deepest depth of the dark seas, my warmest hug goes out to you. Just know that your family and you are in my thoughts and prayers every day.

To my other military brats out there in the world, we got an army back at home fighting. All of us who have been are standing beside you. We fight with you and are here to hold and protect you.

I am not sure if a God is out there. I like to think there is one, but whatever my faith was or is, I’m certain about one thing. That prayer I said every night before bed was listened to by some powerful voice out there. Thank you, to whoever listened to my cries for sending those guardian angles down to be my dad’s teammates, protectors, and family during that year.

You gave each other strength, and I am sure that laughter we heard on the phone when he was deployed had something to do with you. Thank you for standing beside each other and giving the faith you all need.