Independence Day felt different to me this year.

I felt more emotional and more connected than I have in years past.

Don’t get me wrong. I have always observed the Fourth of July with the utmost respect, but I have never felt as strongly about the day as I did this year.

My brother officially signed up with the Air Force late last month.

Before he signed I didn’t have a close relative involved with the military.

This year I felt deep, raw emotion during every military or patriotic element of the holiday.

His signing made it all more real.

I thought more about the veterans of past wars that I saw during the holiday and the sacrifices they made while fighting for the United States.

The playing of Taps was more heart wrenching than before. Thinking about all the troops that gave their lives to protect the nation.

I thought more about the troops overseas and their families than I have on past Independence Days.

Remembering our troops overseas is more important now that about 30,000 troops in Afghanistan will be coming home by the end of next summer.

Those troops deserve a welcome back to this country and their hometowns.

They have worked hard for our nation and deserve to be honored and respected for it.

I was raised to always respect members of the armed services, and I always have. But now I feel like I should be much more involved.

If you have not seen it yet, there is a campaign that is trying to make it easier than ever to say thank you to a troop or veteran.

The Gratitude Campaign is trying to make the “thank you from the bottom of my heart” sign the symbol to use when thanking troops.

The sign is simple and fast enough to be done in passing.

The sign starts with a hand over the heart. The hand then moves from the heart to in front of the stomach.

There is a YouTube video from the campaign that shows what the sign means and how to use it. The video can be found at youtube.com/watch?v=MSfFYxSdKdo.

The video can also be seen at the campaign’s website, gratitudecampaign.org.

The video only has about 2.7 million views. To me, that is nowhere near enough.

This campaign should be much more well known than what the number of views suggests.

Our troops should be recognized and thanked for their service to our country. This sign is a great way to say thanks.

Jordan Boner is a senior journalism major. He can be reached at 581-7942 or at DENopinions@gmail.com.