Montel Williams spent his entire show today giving his thanks to the U.S. Military men and women who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, and all around the world. Montel says he himself was in the military for 22 years, and today was a good day for Montel viewers.

Today we got to meet Capt. Scott Southworth, who was in charge of northeast Baghdad from the Wisconsin National Guard MP company, in one of the most notably dangerous areas. His 146-member unit, while there, received 23 Purple Hearts, as well as 21 Bronze Stars. He fondly remembers Thanksgiving 2004 as his best Thanksgiving ever. They invited their Iraqi Police Force fellow officers, their interpreters and families to Thanksgiving dinner. He couldn’t help but realize the symbolism and similarity in his unit being the foreigners there sharing a bounty of food with the Iraqis, much like the Pilgrims did at Plymouth Rock.

Scott went to Iraq to change hearts and minds, but had his heart changed instead by a young orphan boy named Ala’a. Ala’a has cerebral palsy, and he made a promise to him that he wasn’t sure he could keep; that he would come back to see Ala’a. He wasn’t sure he would make it out of Iraq alive, but sooner or later, this young boy named Ala’a had so stolen Scott’s heart, that he began “Operation Rescue Ala’a,” which was no small feat. Adoptions are not legal in Iraq, so he went through all the political channels he knew how until he could get it done.

Capt. Southworth left Iraq, ran for D.A. in his home county in Wisconsin and won, then went back to Iraq (along with help of then Homeland Secretary, Tom Ridge) using “Humanitarian Parole” to arrange the transport and permanent move of Ala’a to the United States.

Scott may have gone to Iraq a solider; but he returned home a father. God bless all of the soliders over there, and it’s too bad we don’t see more stories like this.

Watch the moving video here.

See others giving thanks – Euphoric Reality and Gribbit.