As Father's Day approaches this weekend, lots of emotions surround the day. For some of us, it's the sadness of loss. For some, it's the long distance, physical or emotional.

We lost our dad just about a year ago and it still hurts, and always will. We were very lucky. He lived to be 90 years old and got to know and love multiple grandchildren and got to see a couple of great-grandchildren as well.

Our dad was really one of the best, and we know how lucky we are to have had him for so long. As a father, I'm very lucky too, having watched my three kids grow up to be happy, healthy and truly good people. For that, I am forever grateful. Having two of them in states far away is tough, but they're "living their best life" as my daughter would say, and I'm happy for them.

When you have a kid serving in the military, the sacrifice is twice as hard. They're far away and may sometimes be in harm's way. Often, communication can be tough and sometimes impossible. Navy Lt. Jack Welsh from Hoboken, NJ wanted to give a shoutout to his dad, Chris Welsh — a happy Father's Day through us.

Lt. Welsh is deployed in the Western Pacific aboard the USS Princeton. We are thrilled to be able to accommodate a dedicated service member from out state. Special thanks to MC3 Justin M. Whitley and Ms. Kayla Turnbow of the Navy Office of Community Outreach for making this happen.

We'll play this on the air and you can hear it here.

All our best to proud dad Chris Welsh and the entire Welsh family for giving us a dedicated soldier to protect and defend our great country. And thanks to Lt. Jack Welsh for your service!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Dennis Malloy. Any opinions expressed are Dennis' own.

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