This is a great story:
FORT HOOD – Five-year-old Gaven Cox was given one wish to do anything he wanted.
Instead of asking to go to Sea World or to meet Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, Gaven modestly asked for some McDonald’s food. The child’s parents laughed and told him to make another choice.
“He told us he wanted to be an Army soldier,” said Melissa Heminger, Gaven’s mom. “I was a little bit surprised that he asked for McDonald’s, but in reality, he wanted to be a soldier since he was 3.”
Gaven, who is diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, was granted one wish by the Make-A-Wish-Foundation.
……Gaven, the nation’s youngest soldier, is from Crandall and was “sworn in” there. Crandall is 27 miles southeast of Dallas.
The 5-year-old and his family arrived at Fort Hood early Thursday morning and were greeted by more than a dozen soldiers. He was wearing a miniature-sized combat uniform. In a few minutes, he was given a Kevlar helmet and dog tags and was promoted from Specialist to Sergeant.
After his promotion, young Sgt. Cox gave a proper Army salute and was given a mission.
“All right, Sgt. Cox, your mission is to go through that gate, ride a horse and kill five enemies,” said Sgt. Christopher Gaines. “Are you ready?”
His 8-year-old sister Jade shouted, “Let’s get them!”
After defeating the “enemy” on horseback, the country’s youngest soldier got to do what most never get to do: Gaven flew a Longbow helicopter.
Well, sort of.
He was granted access to enter a trailer-sized home that was made for training helicopter pilots.
……Yet the simulation was just a taste of what was to come as Gaven got perhaps the best gift the Army could give him: an actual ride in a Black Hawk helicopter.
Yet even with all the fun, Gaven became overwhelmed with activity and collapsed to his knees after finishing an activity. Within seconds, a soldier identified only as Pvt. Isaac picked him up and put him on his shoulders.
“You all right?” Pvt. Isaac asked.
Sgt. Cox nodded.
“Good,” Pvt. Isaac said. “You’re a soldier now.”
Here’s “SGT” Gaven:
There’s a lot of heart-felt generosity and good deeds being done by America’s Soldiers. This is the kind of story you’ll never see on the MSM.