Neil Sawh; 9-year-old Cavalryman for a day

The good folks at the 1st Cavalry Division’s Public Affairs Office sent this heart-warming story I hope will kind of calm us down a bit after all of the news we’ve taking in the past couple of weeks. The story is about 9-year-old Neil Sawh from Houston whose dream is to be a soldier;

Deciding on a career can be a difficult decision some make very late in life, but for 9-year-old Neil Sawh of Houston, there’s nothing he wants more than to be a Soldier.

The 1st Squadron, 7th “Garryowen” Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, gave Neil Sawh, a fourth grader from Houston, the chance to be a Cavalry Soldier for a day, Feb. 8, here.

Neil was diagnosed with a rare strain of Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 7 and he received the opportunity of a lifetime when his parents surprised him with a visit to Fort Hood.

“I told him, ‘you’re (going to) have to look out,'” said Nelini Sawh, Neil’s mother. “‘They’re going to be clues along the way. Let’s see if you can figure out where we’re going.'”

Nelini said as soon as Neil saw the sign for Fort Hood; he was excited and spoke at the top of his voice.

Neil said, “Fort Hood! We’re going to the Army base!”

San Francisco native Lt. Col. Jay Miseli, commander of Garryowen, said there was no better way to get Neil involved than to incorporate him into the already scheduled Garryowen Games.

“The bottom line is, we saw this as the perfect opportunity for Neil to see what Soldiers do and experience it firsthand,” Miseli said.

Neil appeared to be very shy and quiet, but opened up while on the obstacle course.

“Let’s go Apache,” Neil shouted.

In that first picture at the top, Neil looks a little uncertain, but the Cav put him at ease the only way they know how, I guess;

He looks like a completely different kid;

But you should go over and read the rest of the story.

Category: Real Soldiers