For a duck may be somebody's mother...

For as long as I can remember, the 4th of July has meant going to the Tabernacle to see the 23rd Army Band. It was an evening of John Phillip Sousa and the unsurpassed dance moves of Chief Warrant Officer Jay Cottam, the conductor. I don't remember a show without the "Washington Post March", "The Stars and Stripes Forever," and the band's "Armed Forces Medley," where the band asks all those who have served in the military to stand up while their branch's song is played and we all applaud. I always got chills as a child when I would go to the concert with my dad and my grandpa, because my dad always stood up for the Air Force and the Army, and my grandpa was one of the few who stood for the Coast Guard.
This year we were sitting behind two special guests at the concert: President Thomas S. Monson and Elder L. Tom Perry. When it came time for the Armed Forces Medley, President Monson got to his feet during the Navy's song. Cottam saluted him while he applauded for everyone else, and President Monson saluted back. When they played the Marines' hymn, Elder Perry stood up and saluted President Monson with a grin.
My dad stood for his two branches of the service as always, but my grandpa passed away two years ago. Only three people stood up for the Coast Guard, and I saw my dad wiping his eyes. Immediately my mom and I started to cry as well. At my grandpa's funeral, my dad talked about how his dad never had a neck, and everyone you meet in life is either a "pencil neck" or a "no neck." But he said that when Grandpa stood up for the Coast Guard at the 23rd Army Band Concert every year, he had a neck.
My dad has always said that the 4th of July is his favorite holiday because you don't have to buy presents. I've always liked it because I love fireworks and watermelon. However, this year we were all reminded that this nation, despite the problems we all know exist, was build and kept with the hearts and courage of men who loved their country and proudly served to protect it. I get chills whenever I see those white-haired men standing.
Also, if you're confused about the title of this post, at the end of the concert the band played "The Stars and Stripes Forever," and the annoying announcer from the Boise band that played with our band this year told us that we could sing along. Sing...along... to an instrumental march song? I looked at my dad in confusion and he said he thought there were words. I said the only words I knew were "Be kind to your web-footed/fine feathered friends, for a duck may be somebody's mother..."