William Jazwinski served our country honorably in the Army as a Heavy Wheeled Vehicle Operator for the United States Army in Iraq. He is a proud American and displays that fact by having a flag on the dashboard of his truck. He never expected that flag and an accompanying bumper sticker would cause him to be pulled over by a police officer.
Our veterans make tremendous sacrifices to serve our country. Many of them, like Jazwinski, struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when they return home from deployment. But, they don’t allow those struggles to stand in the way of their love for the United States.
Despite his problems with PTSD, his patriotism never waivered. He never considered removing that flag from his truck. He was proud of his service record and his country.
He also never expected his service to be the cause of him being pulled over by a cop, but that’s what happened. He took to Facebook to tell the tale of this surprising traffic stop.
Me: Good morning, Officer. Was I speeding?
Officer: Good morning, no not speeding. Just wanted to stop ya and say thank you for your service.
Me: Oooh the bumper sticker, nice. You’re welcome, Sir. My pleasure.
Officer: Where did you serve?
Me: I went to Iraq. Did a 15 month [stint]. Out of Fort Benning.
Officer: Well, alright. My son went to Iraq. He didn’t make it home.
He was not expecting this at all. The police officer clearly carried a tremendous amount of pain after losing his son. He spotted Jazwinski’s bumper sticker and flag and was called to speak with the veteran.
The rest of his Facebook post read:
Me: Man, I’m so sorry to hear that. I just finished a PTSD program.
Officer: I see you have a flag in the truck. The one we got for him? Well it’s at the house. Can I ask a question?
Me: Sure.
Officer: Do you mind stepping out and receiving a hug? You remind me of my son. I pulled you over. I thought you were him. I still don’t believe it most days he’s gone.
With tears in both our eyes, I got out and hugged that man. I’m talking about for a minute or two crying. Down to our knees crying. I needed that.
To all the family and friends of soldiers, fighting or done fighting, God bless you. Your peace and your hearts. It’s so hard without them, I know. This road is a tremendous one. Love to all.”
When you get pulled over by a police officer, you assume you are going to be left with an expensive ticket. Instead, this veteran got a hug and a thank you from this grieving Gold Star father. It was an emotional traffic stop for the both of them.
Share this if you are proud of our veterans!
Source: Faith Tap