Melanie Patterson is a reporter for The North Jefferson News. She can be reached at mpatterson@njeffersonnews.com or by phone at (205) 631-8716.

By Melanie Patterson

The North Jefferson News



My most memorable Independence Day was in 1999.

That year, I was in Bosnia as we celebrated the founding of our wonderful country.

I was deployed there with my U.S. Army Reserve unit. Although we were thousands of miles from home, you’d better believe we celebrated July Fourth.

One of the big events of the day was a 10K run.

Only in the military do people celebrate Independence Day by running 6.2 miles.

Not that there was much else to do. We were living in a compound that was surrounded by razor wire. Every time we left the compound, we had to have our M16s locked and loaded, and a convoy of at least four armed Humvees.

And besides that, nobody outside the compound had any interest in celebrating July Fourth with us. It wasn’t Independence Day for the local Bosnians, after all.

So running a 10K was about the best the military could come up with for us to celebrate.

Well, I didn’t take part in that little piece of fun. I couldn’t run 6.2 miles to save my life, even back when I was still in shape.

However, I was on the sidelines cheering on my friends who ran.

But the real surprise came that night.

I’m not sure if the military planned this or if some renegade soldier did it, but there was actually a fireworks show.

At first I was terrified that the local people would think we were waging war on them … or that they were waging war on us.

It was very common to hear gunfire outside the compound at all hours of the day and night.

So when the fireworks started blasting, I broke out into a sweat and had a death grip on my M16 rifle.

After a few minutes, though, I realized that all the soldiers around me were actually relaxed and enjoying the show.

So I took a deep breath, watched the colorful explosions, and thought about home.

I thought about the war in the United States of America some 220 years earlier, the war that resulted in the founding of our country.

The irony of the situation did not escape me. I was celebrating my country’s independence during a military operation in a war-torn country that was not my own.

I wondered if the people who lived near our base camp had any idea what the fireworks were all about.

I also thought about my own family, and what they were doing to celebrate July Fourth.

Practically every Independence Day before and after the one in 1999, I’ve spent with my family.

We do the usual — cook food on the grill, catch up on the latest news, and shoot fireworks as soon as it gets dark.

It’s good fun and a good way to remember the founding of our nation together.

But the Independence Day of 1999, the one where I was separated from my family and my country by more than 4,000 miles, is the most memorable for me.