Thank a soldier's blog: "military support and 9/11"

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest. Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve. My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep. In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream. The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow. My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near. Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight. A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child. "What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!" For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.. To the window that danced with a warm fire's light Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times. No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me. My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December," Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers." My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ', And now it is my turn and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile. Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag. I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home. I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life with my sister and brother.. Who stand at the front against any and all, To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall." " So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright, Your family is waiting and I'll be all right." "But isn't there something I can do, at the least, "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son." Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget. To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long. For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled. Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, That we mattered to you as you mattered to us." PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed them selves for us. LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN 30th Naval Construction Regiment OIC, Logistics Cell One Al Taqqadum, Iraq

> > TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS, > HE LIVED ALL ALONE, > IN A ONE BEDROOM HOUSE MADE OF > PLASTER AND STONE. > > I HAD COME DOWN THE CHIMNEY > WITH PRESENTS TO GIVE, > AND TO SEE JUST WHO > IN THIS HOME DID LIVE. > > I LOOKED ALL ABOUT, > A STRANGE SIGHT I DID SEE, > NO TINSEL, NO PRESENTS, > NOT EVEN A TREE. > > NO STOCKING BY MANTLE, > JUST BOOTS FILLED WITH SAND, > ON THE WALL HUNG PICTURES > OF FAR DISTANT LANDS. > > WITH MEDALS AND BADGES, > AWARDS OF ALL KINDS, > A SOBER THOUGHT > CAME THROUGH MY MIND. > > FOR THIS HOUSE WAS DIFFERENT, > IT WAS DARK AND DREARY, > I FOUND THE HOME OF A SOLDIER, > ONCE I COULD SEE CLEARLY. > > THE SOLDIER LAY SLEEPING, > SILENT, ALONE, > CURLED UP ON THE FLOOR > IN THIS ONE BEDROOM HOME. > > THE FACE WAS SO GENTLE, > THE ROOM IN SUCH DISORDER, > NOT HOW I PICTURED > A UNITED STATES SOLDIER. > > WAS THIS THE HERO > OF WHOM I'D JUST READ? > CURLED UP ON A PONCHO, > THE FLOOR FOR A BED? > > I REALIZED THE FAMILIES > THAT I SAW THIS NIGHT, > OWED THEIR LIVES TO THESE SOLDIERS > WHO WERE WILLING TO FIGHT. > > SOON ROUND THE WORLD, > THE CHILDREN WOULD PLAY, > AND GROWNUPS WOULD CELEBRATE > A BRIGHT CHRISTMAS DAY. > > THEY ALL ENJOYED FREEDOM > EACH MONTH OF THE YEAR, > BECAUSE OF THE SOLDIERS, > LIKE THE ONE LYING HERE. > > I COULDN'T HELP WONDER > HOW MANY LAY ALONE, > ON A COLD CHRISTMAS EVE > IN A LAND FAR FROM HOME. > > THE VERY THOUGHT > BROUGHT A TEAR TO MY EYE, > I DROPPED TO MY KNEES > AND STARTED TO CRY. > > THE SOLDIER AWAKENED > AND I HEARD A ROUGH VOICE, > 'SANTA DON'T CRY, > THIS LIFE IS MY CHOICE; > > I FIGHT FOR FREEDOM, > I DON'T ASK FOR MORE, > MY LIFE IS MY GOD, > MY! COUNTRY, MY CORPS.' > > THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER > AND DRIFTED TO SLEEP, > I COULDN'T CONTROL IT, > I CONTINUED TO WEEP. > > I KEPT WATCH FOR HOURS, > SO SILENT AND STILL > AND WE BOTH SHIVERED > FROM THE COLD NIGHT'S CHILL. > > I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE > ON THAT COLD, DARK, NIGHT, > THIS GUARDIAN OF HONOR > SO WILLING TO FIGHT. > > THEN THE SOLDIER ROLLED OVER, > WITH A VOICE SOFT AND PURE, > WHISPERED, 'CARRY ON SANTA, > IT'S CHRISTMAS DAY, ALL IS SECURE.' > > ONE LOOK AT MY WATCH, > AND I KNEW HE WAS RIGHT. > 'MERRY CHRISTMAS MY FRIEND,! > AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT.' > > This poem was written by a Marine. > > The following is his request. I think it is reasonable..... > > PLEASE. Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many > people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is > due to our U.S. service men and women for our being able to celebrate > these festivities. > Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make > people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed > themselves for us. Please, do your small part to plant this small seed

I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. 'I'm glad I have a good book to read Perhaps I will get a short nap,' I thought. Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. 'Where are you headed?' I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. ' Chicago - to Great Lakes Base. We'll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we're being deployed to Iraq ' After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached Chicago , and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time. As I reached for my wallet, I overheard a soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. 'No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn't be worth five bucks. I'll wait till we get to Chicago ' His friend agreed. I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. 'Take a lunch to all those soldiers.' She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. 'My son was a soldier in Iraq ; it's almost like you are doing it for him.' Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated. She stopped at my seat and asked, 'Which do you like best - beef or chicken?' 'Chicken,' I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. 'This is your thanks.' After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. 'I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.' He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, 'I want to shake your hand.' Quickly unfastening my seatbelt I stood and took the Captain's hand. With a booming voice he said, 'I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.' I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers. Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars! Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. 'It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.' Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals. It seemed so little... A veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America ' for an amount of 'up to and including my life.' That is Honor, and there are way too many people in this country who no longer understand it.'

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, May 1915 In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields... Read More. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. Inspiration for the Poem On 2 May, 1915, in the second week of fighting during the Second Battle of Ypres Lieutenant Alexis Helmer was killed by a German artillery shell. He was a friend of the Canadian military doctor Major John McCrae. It is believed that John began the draft for his famous poem 'In Flanders Fields' that evening.

PM


/>Sure his weapons are clean.





You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.





You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.





You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.





You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.





You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.





You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.





You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.

He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.





You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the broken bodies lying around him.





You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does exactly what he is told even if it puts his life in danger.





You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.





If you support your troops, the click "reply to poster" copy all the codes, and repost the bulletin.


If you don't support your troops well, then don't re-post. You won't die in 7 days, your love life won't be affected, and you won't have the worst day ever. You don't have to repost. It's not like you know the men and women that are dying to preserve your rights.







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To copy, just hit the reply button and copy and paste the codes

i dont know if u have seen this..but if u havent u should!

Dear Civilians, "We know that the current state of affairs in our great nation has many civilians up in arms and excited to join the military. For those of you who can't join, you can still lend a hand. Here are a few of the areas in which we would like your assistance: 1. The next time you see an adult talking (or wearing a hat) during the playing of the National Anthem---kick their ass. 2. When you witness, firsthand, someone burning the American Flag in protest---kick their ass. 3. Regardless of the rank they held while they served, pay the highest amount of respect to all veterans. If you see anyone doing otherwise, quietly pull them aside and explain how these veterans fought for the very freedom they bask in every second. Enlighten them on the many sacrifices these veterans made to make this Nation great. Then hold them down while a disabled veteran kicks their ass. 4. (GUYS) If you were never in the military, DO NOT pretend that you were. Wearing battle dress uniforms (BDUs) or Jungle Fatigues, telling others that you used to be "Special Forces," and collecting GI Joe memorabilia, might have been okay when you were seven years old. Now, it will only make you look stupid and get your ass kicked. 5. Next time you come across an Air Force member, do not ask them, "Do you fly a jet?" Not everyone in the Air Force is a pilot. Such ignorance deserves an ass-kicking (children are exempt). 6. If you witness someone calling the US Coast Guard 'non-military', inform them of their mistake---and kick their ass. 7. Next time Old Glory (the US flag) prances by during a parade, get on your damned feet and pay homage to her by placing your hand over your heart. Quietly thank the military member or veteran lucky enough to be carrying her---of course, failure to do either of those could earn you a severe ass-kicking. 8. Don't try to discuss politics with a military member or a veteran. We are Americans, and we all bleed the same, regardless of our party affiliation. Our Chain of Command is to include our Commander-In-Chief (CinC). The President (for those who didn't know) is our CinC regardless of political party. We have no inside track on what happens inside those big important buildings where all those representatives meet. All we know is that when those civilian representatives screw up the situation, they call upon the military to go straighten it out. If you keep asking us the same stupid questions repeatedly, you will get your ass kicked! 9. 'Your mama wears combat boots' never made sense to me---stop saying it! If she did, she most likely would be a vet and, therefore, could kick your ass! 10. Bin Laden and the Taliban are not Communists, so stop saying, "Let's go kill those Commies!" And stop asking us where he is! Crystal balls are not standard issue in the military. That reminds me: if you see anyone calling those damned psychic phone numbers, let me know so I can go kick their ass! 11. 'Flyboy' (Air Force), 'Jarhead' (Marines), 'Grunt' (Army), 'Squid' (Navy), 'Puddle Jumpers' (Coast Guard), etc., are terms of endearment we use describing each other. Unless you are a service member or vet, you have not earned the right to use them. That could get your ass kicked. 12. Last, but not least, whether or not you become a member of the military, support our troops and their families. Every Thanksgiving and religious holiday that you enjoy with family and friends, please remember that there are literally thousands of soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen far from home wishing they could be with their families. Thank God for our military and the sacrifices they make every day. Without them, our country would get its ass kicked." "It is the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us the freedom of the press. "It is the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us the freedom of speech. It is the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who gives us the freedom to demonstrate. "It is the Military who salutes the flag, who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag, who allows the protester to burn the flag." (Please pass this on so I won't have to kick your ass!) :-) "If you can read this, thank a teacher" If you are reading it in English, thank a veteran "

this is true with any branch of the military tho..dont want u to think im just saying a marine would do this.. although it does hit home cuz my mom was one! hugs daughter of a marine Last week I was in Atlanta, Georgia attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest act's of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving Through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their camos, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded American who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work and home without fear or reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said "Hi," to the little girl then she asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier, he didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Then suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Marine and had been in Iraq for 11 months now. As the mom was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mom was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, "I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you." He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying "Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon." The mom at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mom. I was standing no more than 6 feet away from this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, their were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of selflessness, turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an American. Red Friday Just keeping you "in the loop" so you'll know what's going on in case this takes off. RED FRIDAYS ----- Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Americans who support our troops used to be called the "silent majority". We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for God, country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many Americans, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of America supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday -and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that.. every red-blooded American who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make the United States on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once "silent" majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is...We need your support and your prayers. Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday. IF YOU AGREE -- THEN SEND THIS ON IF YOU COULD CARE LESS THEN HIT THE DELETE BUTTON --- IT IS YOUR CHOICE. WE LIVE IN THE LAND OF THE FREE, ONLY BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE. THEIR BLOOD RUNS RED---- SO WEAR RED! --- MAY GOD HELP AMERICA TO BECOME ONE NATION, UNDER GOD. HAVE A GREAT DAY. LARRY FRISBY II SEMPER FIDELIS