I talked to daddy today

My regular readers know that the families of our fallen always weigh heavily on my heart. They also serve, especially the children. My friend Dean wrote and sent me the following, and gave me permission to share it with you all....

I talked to daddy today.

Daddy I miss you. Mommy cries alot now so I think she misses you too. Sissy walks around with a picture of you in her hand and every time she looks at it she stops and says "Why daddy, why did you have to go?"


I'm just little and don't understand and I sure wish you'd come home.
Brother is leaving for Afghanistan soon and I know that's where you were last I knew. He's almost as big as you.

Mom cries when she talks to him and doesn't want him to go but he says he must, he says it's his duty. But I'm just little and don't understand you know.


Some really nice men put this white stone here for you so I hope you can hear me. Why can't you just come home?

Pastor says you're in heaven with the angels and you're safe now. Is it pretty there? I'm so confused by all this but maybe God could spare you for a little while, so please dad, can you just ask Him about coming home? Even for a little while. Mommy would be happy and sissy too and maybe brother wouldn't have to go.

They gave mom a flag and some medals they say belonged to you. They say you saved some men. Were they daddy's too? Everybody says you're a hero but you're just my dad and I miss you.

There are so many white stones here I guess that's where other daddy's are too. So I'm pretty sure you aren't alone.


Mom says it's your day of honor and we'll come here every year to visit for a while.
Do you think God would let you come home and maybe those other daddy's too? Just for a little while?


I'm just little and don't understand.

Some men came by not long ago and pushed this flag in the ground. They said you are a hero and that's why you're here but I know you're just my dad, won't you please come home?


Daddy we miss you.

I know it's pretty here and all but I sure miss playing with you. I'll try to be brave because I know you want me to and mom says I look just like you but I'm just little and don't understand.


So if you can, won't you please ask God if He will let you go? All of us love you so much and we sure need you here.

Mom says it's time to go now so don't forget. Daddy we miss you, please come home.

~Dean~

Dean also said this, when I asked his permission to share his words:

You know when I saw this picture and I don't recall where, I tried to imagine what a young child might say to their daddy. It struck me that the little ones have no concept of what death is so I added a few words. They seemed to fit.

The picture alone made me weep like a child and I have difficulty reading the words now without a few tears being shed.

We owe so much to our brave heroes. Words will never be enough.

Dean has that absolutely right. Words will never be enough, but we can, and must, always remember and honour our fallen heroes, and their precious families.

Thank YOU, Dean, for everything. YOU know, and God knows, what I mean.

SEVEN things never to say to a veteran

From The Kitchen Dispatch:

SEVEN things never to say to a veteran

The other day, we had the most wonderful party here at the house. I was very selective in making the guest list. I only invited individuals who had proven themselves to be the epitome of grace and encouragement.

However, let's just say some of our rather insular neighbors --of whom we only have a passing acquaintance, have not. I'm writing this to ask you to pass it on. It's fair to say that most military families go through what we did: people don't care to ask how you are during the deployment, but they will give you --unsolicited, their two cents about the war. All of this has made a homecoming a little bit uneasier, as even taking the dog out can be like a walk through a social mine field.

Their boorish and rude behavior breaks every code of social etiquette. They also stomp without feeling on those who have been through a life altering experience. The following tips have been culled from DiversityInc. I've also compiled a reading list for those who are greatest in need. The books make great Christmas, anniversary or birthday presents! It's apparent that the rudest were never given (as I was) a copy of Emily Post when they were sixteen!

SEVEN THINGS NEVER TO SAY TO A VETERAN

1. "Thank you for your service, but I don't think we should have been there in the first place."

All that's needed is, "Thank you for your service." Anything more shows that you really are more interested in what you think, and that you think your opinion is of more importance than everyone else's.

Everyone has an opinion about the war but not everyone wants to hear it, says Ryan Kules, an Army veteran who spent 18 months at Walter Reed recuperating from wounds. People often use him as a sounding board for their take on the war.

"People should recognize their opinion is a personal view and not necessarily an appropriate thing to share with someone who has obviously physical injuries from a conflict," says Ryan Kules. This is especially true in the workplace.

2. "Is it worth it?"
People should understand that this is a multifacted question. The soldier and his family has done extensive research into the history of the region, the cultural differences, the needs, and also the politics. It is a highly subjective question, and usually the person who asks this has already made up their mind irrespective of the experience or education of the person they are addressing.

3. "Are you a lesbian?"

Don't even ask what a newly returned veteran thinks about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." It's a deep conversation, and you might find yourself pulled into a direction you don't want to go....

To read the rest of this - and it IS a must read - go here.

Meanwhile, "Thank you for your service" works really well..

H/T Janet #1!

Every Day Heroes:Guards for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

(source)

A Special Time for Unknown Tomb Guards

December 24, 2009

Army News Service|by Nancy Deweese

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, Va. - Since July 2, 1937, the Unknown Soldiers interred at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery have never been alone.

Sentinels who guard the Tomb constantly keep the Unknowns company through wind, rain, snow and heat. They maintain their vigil day and night; on weekends and holidays, the sentinels are there at the Tomb to guard the Unknown Soldiers and to ensure they will forever rest with dignity and honor.

The sentinels at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are a platoon of Soldiers from Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). They go through a rigorous training cycle to earn the right to call themselves sentinels at the Tomb.

Although Soldiers who pass training are able to wear the prestigious Tomb Guard badge, the sentinels who earn the badge do not do what they do for the prestige of being one of only 576 Soldiers to ever wear the badge; they do it because they are committed to giving back to these unknown Soldiers who gave everything they had - their lives, their identities - in sacrifice to their country.

No matter what the holiday, the dedication of these Soldiers will not waver. Before dawn on Christmas Eve, Sgt. Jonathan R. Pierce, the assistant commander of the relief for second relief, and seven other Soldiers, will report for duty at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They will guard the unknowns throughout the day and night, pacing silently for 21 steps in front of the Tomb to show visitors these Unknowns deserve the utmost respect and honor.

Pierce and his Soldiers will guard the Tomb until early Christmas morning. Only after the next relief of Soldiers arrives to take responsibility will they be able to go home.

Pierce has been assigned to the Tomb of the Unknowns for a year and a half. This will not be the first holiday he has not been with his family because he was guarding the Tomb. In the past 12 months alone, Pierce has been on duty on Veteran's Day, Memorial Day and Thanksgiving Day. This will be the second Christmas Eve he has spent with the Unknowns. Guarding the Tomb on holidays is a little different than it is during the rest of the year, said Pierce....

There is more here.

I also found a great site about these Every Day Heroes. Society of the Honor Guard has so much information, take the time to go read about these usually unsung heroes. In the history section - here - it tells where the idea originated:

The idea of honoring the unknown dead originated in Europe after World War I. The first country to honor its unknown warriors from that war was Great Britain. While on the Western Front, Reverend David Railton thought of arranging for the body of one, unknown serviceman to be transported back to England, and buried with full honors. Mr. Railton tried to express why (he) felt this was so important. In a letter he recalled an incident near Armentieres, where he came across a grave with a rough wooden cross inscribed "An unknown British soldier, of the Black Watch":

"How that grave caused me to think! But, who was he, and who were they [his folk]? Was he just a laddie? There was no answer to those questions, nor has there ever been yet. So I thought and thought and wrestled in thought. What can I do to ease the pain of father, mother, brother, sister, sweetheart, wife and friend? Quietly and gradually there came out of the mist of thought this answer clear and strong, "Let this body - this symbol of him - be carried reverently over the sea to his native land. And I was happy for about five or ten minutes."

Go read more here.

Thank you ALL for your service.

Music and Me

:) From their only Top of the Pops appearance in 1966 ...(and no, I wasn't at this one...)

One in every crowd!

Just because these made me laugh.;)

Both sent to me by my big sister!!! Yes, 'warped' is part of our genes. What can I say?

Red Bulls Caught With Their Hands in the Cookie Jar

From CJ:

Red Bulls Caught With Their Hands in the Cookie Jar

January 1, 2010 By CJ
Posted in Uncategorized

COB BASRA, Iraq – Soldiers on Contingency Operating Base Basra were delighted and eager to tear open buckets of Sweet Martha’s cookies and dunk them in fresh milk, all courtesy of a joint-effort with the Blue Star Mothers of America and the Exchange Clubs of Minnesota to send holiday treat to those deployed during the holidays.

(U.S. Army photo by PFC J. Princeville Lawrence)

A taste of home

Eyes lit up as Soldiers of the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division popped the lids off of the familiar buckets and told their counterparts who had never had a Sweet Martha about the famous cookies, and how a trip to the Minnesota State Fair just isn’t the same without them.

Since many Soldiers were deployed to Iraq during the fair this year, they were grateful to sink their teeth into something unique to Minnesota and to share that experience with others.

(U.S. Army photo by PFC J. Princeville Lawrence)

Chief Warrant Officer Krystal Jancze, a Portland, Ore. native, initially turned down a box of cookies. When she realized they were from Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar, a wide grin spread across her face and she quickly changed her mind.
“She was really ecstatic about the cookies,” said Sgt. 1st Class Angela Amundson. “She even warmed them up and had lots of milk.”..

For a reminder of what we take for granted, but what means so much to our troops, go read the rest of this one here.

Kill the Protesters!

From Monkey in the Middle:

Friday, January 1, 2010

Kill the Protesters!

That is the cry from Ayatollah Mehyaddin Haeri Shirazi on Iran Television recently in a live interview. (View it here.)

In a live interview broadcast on the Islamic Republic's national television station sometime within the last two weeks, Ayatollah Mehyaddin Haeri Shirazi described a Communist protest movement from the early years of the Islamic Republic, noting how it was effectively crushed by the authorities. The government targeted opposition activists, he said, "arrested them in the afternoon and the same night announced the names of 30 people killed or executed by the government forces."

In reaction to the arrests and killings, Shirazi continued, "nothing happened. Why? Because they killed them."

Expanding on what he sees as the lesson from those events, the ayatollah said,"The more of them [the opposition] are killed, the more beneficial [to the people]. If the armed forces kill some of them, it is to our benefit."

On the other hand, Shirazi continued, "When they are arrested, it is bad [for public opinion], when they are captured [it is bad for public opinion]. Do not make victims out of them."

Killing the opposition protesters, the ayatollah insists, "is sanctioned by obedience to Allah and the prophet and is handed down to the Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Khamenei]. When it is sanctioned by such a power, there is no need to go through the government powers."...

There IS more, and you can find it here. Pay attention!