You've probably heard, the last combat troops are officially leaving Iraq. There will still be troops there in an advisory role (read that - dangerous position), and the combat troops will be close - just in case - but the war is officially over.
I thought about this last night and then was reminded when I saw a post on another blog. We owe the people that have served there a debt of gratitude. In a time when the nation was more divided than ever, they served without question. The ones that I have spoken to never asked if we should be there, or why we were there, they just served.
A special thank you to Adam who was there for 8 months, to David - who sat out this war - but was there for the first Iraqi war, to his son David - who is on a ship somewhere in the ocean, to Jim who served as an aide to an Iraqi general, to the teacher's husband, who was an engineer who took time from his life here to go, and to Jimmy, a marine who helped clean up IEDs.
Next week, I will fly to Dallas for a conference. I plan to personally approach anyone in uniform and thank them for there service. It's the least I can do. If you know someone that has served, please thank them. You're welcome to comment and add their name here.
Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Army. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Happy Veteran's day and thank you for your service
I made calls to some veterans and veterans family members today. Hopefully I didn't forget any.
I should also thank some of my blogger friends - DJ Black Adam at http://djblackadam.typepad.com/ who is a former Marine. Steve over at http://mojosteve.blogspot.com/ is former Army. I thank you (and the others I'm sure I missed) for your service.
I spoke to a parent of an active duty Airman and thanked him for his sacrifice, for letting his son Stephen go to Baghdad. He said he wasn't sure he had any choice in the matter and I reminded him that it didn't mean it was any less of a sacrifice on his part. He had a lot of sleepless nights and worrisome days. The son is back stateside and even at home for another week before he heads back to Texas.
To Adam who served and "played" in two deserts (Afghanistan and Iraq), to Kevin who is in the reserve and working towards full time duty when he finishes school, thank you. We are very proud of you.
To David who "played" in Iraq the first time around and spent 22 years in the Air Force, and to Ed and Peggy who spent 4 years in the Air Force (and found each other) I say thank you. Your service ended several years ago, and I'm not sure I realized how important it was at the time.
And finally, for my dad, who spent 4 years in Japan "typing letters to generals' wives", who planted grass in Seattle before he went over there, then had to cut the same grass when he came back, thank you. Your service was always in my mind growing up. It gave me a respect for the military and all it does for us.
I should also thank some of my blogger friends - DJ Black Adam at http://djblackadam.typepad.com/ who is a former Marine. Steve over at http://mojosteve.blogspot.com/ is former Army. I thank you (and the others I'm sure I missed) for your service.
I spoke to a parent of an active duty Airman and thanked him for his sacrifice, for letting his son Stephen go to Baghdad. He said he wasn't sure he had any choice in the matter and I reminded him that it didn't mean it was any less of a sacrifice on his part. He had a lot of sleepless nights and worrisome days. The son is back stateside and even at home for another week before he heads back to Texas.
To Adam who served and "played" in two deserts (Afghanistan and Iraq), to Kevin who is in the reserve and working towards full time duty when he finishes school, thank you. We are very proud of you.
To David who "played" in Iraq the first time around and spent 22 years in the Air Force, and to Ed and Peggy who spent 4 years in the Air Force (and found each other) I say thank you. Your service ended several years ago, and I'm not sure I realized how important it was at the time.
And finally, for my dad, who spent 4 years in Japan "typing letters to generals' wives", who planted grass in Seattle before he went over there, then had to cut the same grass when he came back, thank you. Your service was always in my mind growing up. It gave me a respect for the military and all it does for us.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Veteran's day
I hadn't planned to do a Veteran's day post. I had other plans. Then I started reading a couple of other blogs to start my day and ran across this one from A Voice of Reason, who just recently restarted blogging. You should read it, he knows what he's talking about.
I told Voice that I never had the privilege of serving in the armed services. My father was in the Army Air Forces. It was part of the Army, but split off to be the Air Force, so technically, I think he was in the Air Force. He joined in 1945, I believe after VE day (Victory in Europe - May 8) but before VJ day (Victory in Japan - Aug 15). When I asked him what he did during the war, he said he typed letters, drove generals around in jeeps, etc. He spent some time in Japan (after VJ day).
And my favorite memory, is his explanation of the beginning and the end of his service. Seems he was stationed in Seattle for a while, waiting on a ship to take him to Japan. While he was there, he planted grass seed every day. When he came back from Japan, he had to cut the same grass he had started a few years earlier. How ironic.
All of my dad's brothers served in the armed services. One was at the Battle of the Bulge. Another was in the Navy. I've heard some great Navy stories from that uncle. One of my dad's brothers spent a great deal of time in the last few years of his life helping at the VFW, serving other veterans.
I have two brothers who served in the Air Force. One was only in the service for four years and he met his wife there. He enlisted late in the Vietnam era and spent his career either in San Antonio, Tx or a little town in Italy. The second brother was in for over 20 years, much of it in the Philippines. He also was in San Antonio a while, Myrtle Beach SC, and in NJ. He had several short assignments, Germany, Panama, Korea and others I can't recall. And he went to the Dhahran Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War. While he was there, he made a cassette tape one night while Scud missiles were falling at or near his base. Sometime, I'll listen to that again.
More recently, my step-son served in the Army. He jumped out of planes. He had already enlisted when I first met him and was at Ft. Bragg when his mother and I married. Since 9/11 occurred about two weeks prior to the wedding, we weren't sure he would make it. But he did and few months later he went to Afghanistan. After that, he came "home" (to Ft. Bragg) and then went to Iraq. After his duties in Iraq, he faced a new battlefront, marriage (sorry, couldn't resist that).
Currently, my step-son-in-law is serving in the reserves as he studies to be a Chaplain. He was full army for a while before he went to college. Unfortunately, I don't know much about those days in his life. I do know that he has a lot of Army plans in his future.
All of the above named veterans came home safely. In fact, I can only think of one veteran I personally know who didn't come home safely. Joe Freeman died in Vietnam when I was about 10 years old. His name is on panel 30W of the wall. I didn't really know him, but I knew his family. We went to the same church. I remember attending a service in his honor. And I remember tears in his father's eyes.
Today, I want to say thank you to all of the veterans I know. Thank you for your service. Whether you were drafted or you enlisted, whether you went overseas or just served here. Whether you were in during peace time or during war. Thank you. Thank you for giving up part of your life to protect mine.
Thank you.
I told Voice that I never had the privilege of serving in the armed services. My father was in the Army Air Forces. It was part of the Army, but split off to be the Air Force, so technically, I think he was in the Air Force. He joined in 1945, I believe after VE day (Victory in Europe - May 8) but before VJ day (Victory in Japan - Aug 15). When I asked him what he did during the war, he said he typed letters, drove generals around in jeeps, etc. He spent some time in Japan (after VJ day).
And my favorite memory, is his explanation of the beginning and the end of his service. Seems he was stationed in Seattle for a while, waiting on a ship to take him to Japan. While he was there, he planted grass seed every day. When he came back from Japan, he had to cut the same grass he had started a few years earlier. How ironic.
All of my dad's brothers served in the armed services. One was at the Battle of the Bulge. Another was in the Navy. I've heard some great Navy stories from that uncle. One of my dad's brothers spent a great deal of time in the last few years of his life helping at the VFW, serving other veterans.
I have two brothers who served in the Air Force. One was only in the service for four years and he met his wife there. He enlisted late in the Vietnam era and spent his career either in San Antonio, Tx or a little town in Italy. The second brother was in for over 20 years, much of it in the Philippines. He also was in San Antonio a while, Myrtle Beach SC, and in NJ. He had several short assignments, Germany, Panama, Korea and others I can't recall. And he went to the Dhahran Saudi Arabia in the first Gulf War. While he was there, he made a cassette tape one night while Scud missiles were falling at or near his base. Sometime, I'll listen to that again.
More recently, my step-son served in the Army. He jumped out of planes. He had already enlisted when I first met him and was at Ft. Bragg when his mother and I married. Since 9/11 occurred about two weeks prior to the wedding, we weren't sure he would make it. But he did and few months later he went to Afghanistan. After that, he came "home" (to Ft. Bragg) and then went to Iraq. After his duties in Iraq, he faced a new battlefront, marriage (sorry, couldn't resist that).
Currently, my step-son-in-law is serving in the reserves as he studies to be a Chaplain. He was full army for a while before he went to college. Unfortunately, I don't know much about those days in his life. I do know that he has a lot of Army plans in his future.
All of the above named veterans came home safely. In fact, I can only think of one veteran I personally know who didn't come home safely. Joe Freeman died in Vietnam when I was about 10 years old. His name is on panel 30W of the wall. I didn't really know him, but I knew his family. We went to the same church. I remember attending a service in his honor. And I remember tears in his father's eyes.
Today, I want to say thank you to all of the veterans I know. Thank you for your service. Whether you were drafted or you enlisted, whether you went overseas or just served here. Whether you were in during peace time or during war. Thank you. Thank you for giving up part of your life to protect mine.
Thank you.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Anbar province - Peace in Iraq?
With all the activity in the last week or so, one bit of news seems to have slipped away from the forefront. On Monday of this week, American forces turned over control of the province over to the Iraqi army and police force (see here for full article).
Make no mistake, this was a major day, even if it didn't get a lot of press. Anbar had been one of the most violent areas of Iraq. "More than 1,100 U.S. troops died there in some of the biggest battles of the war, including two sweeps of Fallujah in 2004." Now according to the Chicago Tribune article "Anbar is at peace".
You may think that the US should have never entered Iraq. That's your prerogative. But the fact is that we did and now we have an obligation to complete the job that we started. Iraq has been liberated from a dictator. They have written their own constitution, held free elections and are slowly taking back their own country.
In Anbar, they have gotten Sunni and Shia to work together. That's like the Hatfields and McCoys (or a Gamecock and a Tiger). This is major. Years from now, we will look at this as a point in history, when the momentum changed.
The war is long from over. Anbar will certainly see more bloodshed. But we should take note of this transition. We should thank a soldier for his/her participation in the emancipation of this country. The 1100 soldiers who didn't make it home from Anbar should be saluted and their family appreciated.
Make no mistake, this was a major day, even if it didn't get a lot of press. Anbar had been one of the most violent areas of Iraq. "More than 1,100 U.S. troops died there in some of the biggest battles of the war, including two sweeps of Fallujah in 2004." Now according to the Chicago Tribune article "Anbar is at peace".
You may think that the US should have never entered Iraq. That's your prerogative. But the fact is that we did and now we have an obligation to complete the job that we started. Iraq has been liberated from a dictator. They have written their own constitution, held free elections and are slowly taking back their own country.
In Anbar, they have gotten Sunni and Shia to work together. That's like the Hatfields and McCoys (or a Gamecock and a Tiger). This is major. Years from now, we will look at this as a point in history, when the momentum changed.
The war is long from over. Anbar will certainly see more bloodshed. But we should take note of this transition. We should thank a soldier for his/her participation in the emancipation of this country. The 1100 soldiers who didn't make it home from Anbar should be saluted and their family appreciated.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
We sure could use a little good news today
Ok, I confess I'm old. In 1983, Anne Murray's song hit the charts. Some of my readers weren't even born then. But the song came to me when I was reading a newsletter that popped into my email.
See, we've been getting a newsletter from Troop Scoop. I'm not sure how we started getting it, neither my wife nor I recall signing up for it. But as we started reading it, we've enjoyed it. We don't read all of it, mainly the headlines and the pictures (much to my son-in-law's dismay), but the ideas come through.
Turns out, there are some good things happening in Iraq. Contrary to what you see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the paper or on the net, there are good things. Now, I'm not going to go off on some conspiracy theory about the MainStreamMedia and I'm not going to comment on Bush's attempts earlier in the war to get good news out.
All I'm saying is that there are some good things going on. Whether you're on the left or the right, whether you want to monday-morning-quarterback 2003 decisions or not, whether you want to pull out or not, you owe it to yourself to find out about the good things happening.
You can go to http://www.troopscoop.typepad.com/ to get some updates, read the archives and sign up for the newsletter.
A recent newsletter talked about the rebuilding of the hospital in Basra. Iraqi workers on the project are currently installing lighting and running plumbing lines inside the building. The hospital's primary mission is a cancer treatment facility, which will be run by western standards.
See, we've been getting a newsletter from Troop Scoop. I'm not sure how we started getting it, neither my wife nor I recall signing up for it. But as we started reading it, we've enjoyed it. We don't read all of it, mainly the headlines and the pictures (much to my son-in-law's dismay), but the ideas come through.
Turns out, there are some good things happening in Iraq. Contrary to what you see on TV, hear on the radio, or read in the paper or on the net, there are good things. Now, I'm not going to go off on some conspiracy theory about the MainStreamMedia and I'm not going to comment on Bush's attempts earlier in the war to get good news out.
All I'm saying is that there are some good things going on. Whether you're on the left or the right, whether you want to monday-morning-quarterback 2003 decisions or not, whether you want to pull out or not, you owe it to yourself to find out about the good things happening.
You can go to http://www.troopscoop.typepad.com/ to get some updates, read the archives and sign up for the newsletter.
A recent newsletter talked about the rebuilding of the hospital in Basra. Iraqi workers on the project are currently installing lighting and running plumbing lines inside the building. The hospital's primary mission is a cancer treatment facility, which will be run by western standards.
Monday, February 18, 2008
One Soldier's Story
This was related to me this past weekend by the soldier's uncle. I'm changing the name of the soldier to John. I don't think he would have wanted people to know his real name.
John grew up the son of a soldier. Not just any soldier, a Ranger. These guys are the toughest of the tough. Always assigned tough jobs. And always willing to go in. On Sept 11, 2001, John's father was working for the Pentagon. He wasn't at the Pentagon that day, but he could have been. John saw what happend and announced his intent to join the Army. He wanted to be a Ranger.
Only problem, John was still in high school. His parents told him to finish school, then they talked him in to one year of college. If he finished that year and still wanted to join up, they would agree.
During his first year of college, John did exceptionally well. But he didn't spend time studying. At the end of the school year, he took a summer job, but when summer was over, he decided to enlist. His parents supported him. He went to boot camp and excelled in everything. Then artillery school, then jump school. Again excelling at everything. After that, he went to Ranger school. The fall-out rate in Ranger school is high. There are always more candidates than there is room. But John excelled, and easily made it into Ranger school.
He did a tour of Iraq and came back. His uncle (who told me this story) took him to the airport when it was time to go back. John told his uncle, "You know I'm getting them over there so we don't have to get them over here, right?"
What a testimony to his country. John didn't make it back alive from that tour. He's now at Arlington Memorial Cemetery.
One soldier's story.
John grew up the son of a soldier. Not just any soldier, a Ranger. These guys are the toughest of the tough. Always assigned tough jobs. And always willing to go in. On Sept 11, 2001, John's father was working for the Pentagon. He wasn't at the Pentagon that day, but he could have been. John saw what happend and announced his intent to join the Army. He wanted to be a Ranger.
Only problem, John was still in high school. His parents told him to finish school, then they talked him in to one year of college. If he finished that year and still wanted to join up, they would agree.
During his first year of college, John did exceptionally well. But he didn't spend time studying. At the end of the school year, he took a summer job, but when summer was over, he decided to enlist. His parents supported him. He went to boot camp and excelled in everything. Then artillery school, then jump school. Again excelling at everything. After that, he went to Ranger school. The fall-out rate in Ranger school is high. There are always more candidates than there is room. But John excelled, and easily made it into Ranger school.
He did a tour of Iraq and came back. His uncle (who told me this story) took him to the airport when it was time to go back. John told his uncle, "You know I'm getting them over there so we don't have to get them over here, right?"
What a testimony to his country. John didn't make it back alive from that tour. He's now at Arlington Memorial Cemetery.
One soldier's story.
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