My Interview with Cody Jackson - The One Boy USO

I recently was informed about a very special child in the Georgia region who regularly goes to his local airport to say thank you to our men and women returning from various deployments. His name is Cody Jackson and at the age of eight years old has shaken the hands of more members of our military than most of us will in our entire lives. We could all learn a lot from the dedication this young man shows to our men and women in uniform and hopefully reading this will inspire some of you to do the same.

I recently sent his mom Kelly Jackson a request for an interview and her and Cody both replied to my questions below.

Cody with his family

Thankasoldier : When did Cody start this effort and what lead him want to start welcoming home soldiers?
Kelly Jackson : Cody has thanked police and firemen since 2 years old and it was only after we explained 9/11 to him when he was 4 years old that he took thanking our military as his own mission. He would thank them where ever we might be, even chasing down veterans (looking for those hats)

Thankasoldier : What is the reaction of the troops when they see you coming to shake their hands?
Kelly Jackson : Most are so very busy, but you can tell by the smile they get that they are at the very least amused I would hope they are grateful, but I try to stay out of the way and let Cody do his own thing...I try and thank them afterward, but whatever conversation he has is usually between the soldier and the boy.

Cody : they say thank you and go on their way, it is the few that actually stop and kneel down to talk a little, and tell him they do appreciate it.

Thankasoldier : What is the most memorable moment you've had in the time you have been doing this?
Cody : there are a few, touring the USS Truman, Major Krick of the Marines giving me a full Marine uniform complete with name tapes, and of course just the smiles on the guys faces.

Thankasoldier : What would you say to other young people who may not share the same views as you do?
Cody : It is the right thing to do. They don't have to risk their lives, they chose to do it and we should be thankful, I get teased a little bit but that doesn’t bother me any

Thankasoldier : We saw a soldier giving you a coin on the CNN story how many items have you received from troops and what would be your favourite?
Cody : I’ve gotten maybe 25 or so patches, coins, pins, and even awards. He cant think of one that is more special than the others...except maybe the ones given to him by his grandfather. Every one is special, they came from a hero

Thankasoldier : How many soldiers has cody said “Thank You” to ?
Kelly  Jackson : at least 10,000. January 4,2012 there are at least 5000-6000, Cody spent hours going down the line shaking hands. Many, many other trips there would be 500-600, just add it up along with all the others he sees day to day at the stores, amusement parks, etc.

Thankasoldier : When you're not at the airport welcoming home our serving men and women what do you like to do for fun?
Cody : I play baseball, boyscouts, i like to shoot and just play outside

Thankasoldier : I'm sure your parents are very proud of you how involved are they in what you do?
Kelly Jackson : We will help him with "advertising" to get his donations, drive him to and from airports, we are helping with his books for publishing, but generally we are just the gophers...go fer this, go fer that. He is the main power, if he said he was done, we would have to stop...but I don’t see that happening!

Thankasoldier : Not only do you welcome home our troops but you also send care packages to troops, how many of these have you sent over?
Kelly  Jackson : It would take months to collect $100 to send a package, and we would pay the $50 to ship it, so we havent had the opportunity to do a lot of shipping. Previous to the CNN airing, he only shipped 2 (a 6 month effort). We have since shipped 3 more, within one month. Quite a feat!

Cody : We have enough funds for another 3 boxes, then we will be out of funds again, and will have to start saving up!

Thankasoldier : Some Marines call you the "Little Marine" do you have plans to join the Marine Corps when you are old enough?
Cody : Yes, I want to be a sniper!!

Click Here to check out Cody's Facebook page "The One Boy USO" 

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