Honor the troops - long
marc
3,126 Posts
Sorry for the length - I just gotta share this.
Things happen that require you to examine and re-examine your thoughts and opinions.
Last night we got a call from our son in the Marines. One of his very best friends from high school died in hostile action in Iraq. This young man preceeded my son to the Marines. He had been in the Marines for 7 years. Started out as a private and won his way to officer school. He received several honors along the way, including Marine of the year for his division. He went to officer school and after graduation, volunteered to go to Iraq. He was there one month when upon entering a house during an insurgent search, was killed instantly when an IED (some sort of explosive device) went off.
He left behind a wife pregnant 5 months with his unborn son.
This young man was where he wanted to be doing what he loved. He loved this country and believed strongly in our way of life. He often wrote letters expressing the love of his family and his belief that we were doing a great and noble thing for the people of Iraq.
Our news media does not tell the story of the troops on the ground and the grass roots appreciation of our efforts by the everyday people of Iraq. Instead they glorify the role of the insurgents and villify the US presence - never telling of the rebuilt industry and infrastructure and discussing the progress in womens rights, etc, etc.
I did not mean to stray into the political arena. My son called us last night, grief stricken and shocked with the news - it was like a body blow to him
We will be honoring this Marine this weekend and expressing our gratitude to his family. As grief stricken as they are, they honor his commitment and sacrifice and know he was doing the best he could for all of us.
I, for one, give him my deepest thanks.
Things happen that require you to examine and re-examine your thoughts and opinions.
Last night we got a call from our son in the Marines. One of his very best friends from high school died in hostile action in Iraq. This young man preceeded my son to the Marines. He had been in the Marines for 7 years. Started out as a private and won his way to officer school. He received several honors along the way, including Marine of the year for his division. He went to officer school and after graduation, volunteered to go to Iraq. He was there one month when upon entering a house during an insurgent search, was killed instantly when an IED (some sort of explosive device) went off.
He left behind a wife pregnant 5 months with his unborn son.
This young man was where he wanted to be doing what he loved. He loved this country and believed strongly in our way of life. He often wrote letters expressing the love of his family and his belief that we were doing a great and noble thing for the people of Iraq.
Our news media does not tell the story of the troops on the ground and the grass roots appreciation of our efforts by the everyday people of Iraq. Instead they glorify the role of the insurgents and villify the US presence - never telling of the rebuilt industry and infrastructure and discussing the progress in womens rights, etc, etc.
I did not mean to stray into the political arena. My son called us last night, grief stricken and shocked with the news - it was like a body blow to him
We will be honoring this Marine this weekend and expressing our gratitude to his family. As grief stricken as they are, they honor his commitment and sacrifice and know he was doing the best he could for all of us.
I, for one, give him my deepest thanks.
Comments
Everyday, I pray for those that are over in Iraq as well as their families. The closest I ever came to this type of situation was someone I dated back in 1989 (he was a reservist in the Marine Corps).
His brother (Max) was killed in a helicopter crash in Okinawa, Japan along with 20 other Marine's. I was grief-striken by the loss of not having Max around. And overwhelmed by the support that came from friends, family members and the community in regards to honoring him.
My heart goes out to all of those that have someone in the military.
Semper Fi!
Shelley
May God bless them all.
My wife just got off the phone with the Marines mother - both had a really good cry - I must say it really choked me up.
His mom said the Marines showed up about noon and stayed with them till about 10:30. They lent a lot of strength and support.
This family is inspirational. The sadness and the depth of their loss cannot diminish the pride they have in their son. They always marveled at the clarity of his vision and the strenth of his commitment. He wanted to be a Marine since 4th grade.
Enough of this - thanks for listening.
Semper Fi
I am willing to share a few of the picutures with anyone that would like to see them. Just send me an email and I will attach a few back to you.