Bad role models are not the only downside of a media culture that is obsessed with actors, musicians and other celebrities.  Our celebrity-driven media also implicitly denies the fact that ordinary men and women - who serve and sacrifice for the sake of others - are the real source of our nation's greatness. 

Most of us have never been helped by a celebrity actor who played a hero in a movie.  But most of us would not be who we are today apart from a few ordinary people who made important sacrifices on our behalf.  In my own life, this was most true of my mother who struggled to raise me on a welfare income after a serious violent assault left her disabled and unable to work.  So I thought it would be fitting for Great Americans to begin the New Year by honoring some of the mothers who serve our nation in uniform. 

Although many Americans may not realize it, there is a whole generation of women in uniform - including many mothers - who are on the front lines of defending us at home and abroad.  This profile of one military mom being reunited with her daughter offers a glimpse into the sacrifices that these women and their families make:
Watch the Video Here
 

Although the Pentagon Channel can be little stiff at times, they do a great job of capturing the heart of this mother in uniform - First Lieutenant Sandra Beauclair - who missed the homecoming of her two soldier sons from combat due to her own deployment as a military nurse:  Watch the Video Here


Ordinary Americans who touch other lives for good - without ever being given fame, wealth or celebrity status - improve life for us all.  When you hear Sandra Beauclair talk about the "nine wonderful sons" that she has chosen to adopt in her unit you'll hear the heart of a Great American speaking.