Tania Duenas Sweeney, a mother with military ties stationed in Germany, shared an inspiring event on Facebook that quickly gained widespread attention. Her son and his friends were playing on a trampoline when they suddenly halted their activity and stood at attention. Sweeney captured the moment in a photograph and shared it on Facebook, along with an explanation.
She mentioned that at 5 PM from Monday to Friday, both the American and German national anthems are played, prompting everyone on the base to pause their activities and demonstrate respect. Sweeney is grateful that her children and others on the base are learning the significance of respect early in life. She noted that this practice is reinforced in various ways.
For example, her son’s baseball coaches request that the kids arrive early to ensure they are present for the national anthem. During practice, everything comes to a standstill, and hats are removed as the anthem commences.
Sweeney is of the opinion that children of military families make many sacrifices to support their parents in service, and living on base heightens their sense of national pride, particularly in a foreign country. She takes pride in every child captured in the photo because their display of respect was genuine and unprompted.
By sharing the image, Sweeney hopes to bring attention to the often-overlooked sacrifices made by military children. The post became widely popular, with numerous individuals commending the children’s conduct and expressing appreciation for the military and their families.
This event underscores the value of instilling respect and patriotism in children from a young age and acknowledges the sacrifices made by military families.