When the Declaration of Independence was signed 236 years ago today, there certainly must have been nervous wives waiting at home.

The colonies were heading to war. And their husbands would soon be on the frontlines.

Spouses of Iraq war veterans know all too well what that call to arms sounds like. Terrorists slammed planes into our cities. Innocent people died. That night, the president rallied us to arms.

It was a similar scene in 1776. The Declaration of Independence lists the injuries the British government had committed against the colonies. It was more than just taxation without representation.

The British, the writers detailed, “has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.”

They could take no more. They absolved their allegiance to the crown.

They rallied their neighbors. They were willing to fight to the death.

Today, that spirit remains. Thousands of innocent Americans died. We rallied our neighbors. Many of our soldiers have fought, to the death.

Amid the barbecues, parades and beer guzzling today, I dare you to read the Declaration of Independence.

It’s not exactly light reading or something that you pick up on a whim.

But the spirit and drive that filled the writers is palatable. You are there with them. You can take no more. You are ready to rally too.

As military spouses, we know exactly what the wives of soldiers in the Revolutionary War at home were feeling: the excitement, pride and fear. We have fulfilled a roll that our nation needed upon its birth and will rely upon as long as there are battles to fight.

Happy Birthday America and drive on my fellow military spouses. We cannot possibly continue to defend the freedom we declared so long ago without you.