Army Wives: A Final Salute Page #11

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And by the end of the series,

she really is now the new leader

of the tribe.

And you see the younger women

that have come in to the show

looking up to her

in the same way,

going back seven years,

that those young women looked up

to Claudia Joy.

What's the matter?

I hate tea.

So why'd you take it?

When the Brigade Commander's

wife offers you tea,

you take the tea.

For a show to continue

on the air,

you have to introduce new faces.

In my father's army,

the ranks never mixed,

and that's how I always looked

at things.

But you bailed me out without

giving it a second thought.

All we saw was

an army wife in trouble.

That's right.

So, we had begun

to introduce characters...

Jackie, Kelli Williams'

character, and her husband,

and also Gloria.

Hey, honey.

Where's our beers?

Are you talking to me?

'Cause I could tell you

what you can do with your beers

if you don't take that meat hook

off me, honey.

We're very excited

about the choices that we made

and the new cast that came in.

But I think it's a testament

to how wonderful

the original cast was

that people were very reluctant

to see them go,

including me.

It's just us now, Roland.

Thank God we have

each other, right?

- Roland?

- I'm moving.

- What?

- Now, it's only temporary.

I've been asked to participate

in a clinical study

at Johns Hopkins.

My paper I wrote's been getting

a lot of attention.

That's fantastic.

Brown:
I like to think now

that Joan has reached the level

in her career that she has,

and Roland has

this wonderful opportunity,

I think they're in

a great space.

There are so many people

I need to thank today.

Davis:
The series ends

on Joan's retirement,

which, you know,

is really interesting

because Joan's entire life was

all about making it to General.

It is my fondest hope

as I leave this my

that love so much

that other women

will take up the standard

I leave behind today

and carry it

to even greater heights.

Melvoin:
There's a great deal

of wishfulness and sadness

about saying goodbye

to some of these characters.

But I know, for me,

the characters live on.

[ Applause ]

I am the biggest, biggest

"Army Wives" fan ever.

I'm a super fan.

I always will be a fan.

I own all the seasons.

My husband got them for me

for Christmas.

No matter where I lived,

where I was stationed,

I could look forward

to sitting down

on the sofa on Sunday night,

turning it on,

and seeing those familiar faces

and those storylines

that I could relate to.

I was very,

very sad to see it end,

but I'm very grateful

for what I think it did

for the military families

and the spotlight

that it gave us.

I'm gonna miss the show.

I don't know what I would do

if it wasn't around.

I'm so sad it's going away.

[ Sniffles ]

Any time a show runs

for as long as ours did,

you're always gonna have

this sense of mourning

when it comes to an end

because week in and week out

for seven years,

you were experiencing

their stories in your home.

- Yeah. - Sure.

- I think it left a void

in a lot of our viewers,

and they took it so personally.

- Yeah.

- You know?

And we take it personally, too.

I think it's just one of those

things that you move on.

Life goes on.

It's like we stole

a couple years together

as a tribe, as a family.

I still can't believe

he's going.

I thought I'd be used to it

by now.

Well, we never get used to it.

We just get through it.

You will, too.

Right.

I know it's left kind of a hole

in our audience's heart,

and I am so appreciative

of that,

that they feel that strongly

about the show.

I just hope that

everybody knows, it really...

it means as much to us

as it does to them.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

Biank:

I think the series has served

as a cultural ambassador

for the US military

because it has shown

the human side of our soldiers.

And that's a side

that you don't always get to see

on the nightly news.

Serpico:
I don't think

that can be understated,

the debt that we as a country, I

think, owe to our armed forces.

We ask them to do this for us.

And I think "Army Wives"

was a way of saying,

"We appreciate it, thank you."

[ Both laugh ]

Biank:
The bedrock of the show

was love of family,

love of friends,

love of country.

And I think really

that's what resonated so much

with our audience.

[ Crying ]

It all went by so fast.

[ Crying ]

Serpico:
It was not something

that happens often,

that you have something

that really means something

to a lot of people,

that they can attach

their hearts to

and feel like they're a part of.

[ Voice breaking ]

Thanks for...

[Sniffles]

being part of the journey.

Feels like we've been through

so many lifetimes together,

doesn't it?

Yes, it does.

It's amazing, huh?

Moving around the world,

seeing fascinating places.

God, all the adventures.

[ Sniffles ]

Making wonderful friends.

[ Sniffles ]

I love being an army wife.

this is the hardest part

Don't know if I can do this.

after we've come so far

Delaney:
I don't think any of us

wanted it to end,

but things change, you know?

On army posts, you know,

you get moved to another one.

I won't let this go

How are we gonna get through

tomorrow?

Same way we always do...

Together.

I feel like it was such

an important show,

that it meant so much

to so many people.

Thank you.

I'm very proud of that.

could be the start

of something

Even though

the show's off the air,

the enduring message

that I think the show conveyed

could stay with people, and

that is that friendship and love

can overcome virtually

any difficulty

and it's important

to hang on to your hopes.

That's the great thing

about stories is that,

you know, you can continue

to take them with you.

I'll never say goodbye

Thank you all

for sharing your lives with me.

For being a light in the dark.

For taking me as I am.

For having my back.

For making this place a home.

We are very grateful

for your support

and your love and your

encouragement of what we did.

Come back to me.

Always.

I won't let this go

This has been

such an amazing experience,

and I'm so grateful

to have had it,

and I wouldn't have changed

anything for the world.

it might feel like it's over

Claudia Joy:
- What's on your mind, soldier?

- Same as everyone else.

Just wondering

what the future holds.

I suppose we can all imagine

in our own way

what these characters

are doing now...

those words don't feel right

- it might feel like it's over

McNamara:
- ...and hope they're happy

- and hope they're safe.

- but this is not the end

I'll see you down range,

Colonel Burton.

Sir.

this is not the end

To us.

- To us. - To us.

- To us. - To us.

this is not the end

[ Up-tempo music playing ]

[ Music continues ]

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