Sgt Eddie Jeffers: Still soaring through the Heavens

There is a special banquet being held in Florida this evening:

3rd Annual Hope Rides Alone Family Reunion Banquet
Saturday, September 18 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Come join us as we celebrate the life of Sergeant Eddie Jeffers on the 3rd anniversary of his death. Debbie Lee of America's Mighty Warriors is the keynote speaker. You will not want to miss this joyous and patriotic event. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Eddie's favorite charity.

As I recently wrote to Eddie's dad, David, there are not many days go by that I do not think about his precious son Eddie. On September 20, 2007, Flag Gazer wrote this:

Thursday, September 20, 2007

SGT Eddie Jeffers ~ Farewell, and Walk with God

"Blessed be the Lord my Strength,

who teaches my hands to war,

and my fingers to fight."

Psalm 144:1

Wednesday evening - I had just popped dinner in the oven and sat down at the computer to check my email. Up pops a message from David Jeffers, Eddie's father. It was titled Hope Rides Eternal. I expected a new essay from Eddie - a follow up to Hope Rides Alone. Sadly, that was not to be. I was not prepared for the sad news. This is what my email read:

It is with great personal sadness but joy in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that I announce the death of my son Eddie Jeffers. Eddie was killed around 7 am Iraqi time from an accidental vehicle roll-over. Although our personal loss is traumatic, we know he is in a better place. All of you have been so wonderful to my son and my family and he was so blessed and humbled by your love for him. He told me this past summer after the wonderful gift you gave his wife and him that he didn't understand why people were so generous and kind to him. You see to Eddie, he was just doing his job and what he believed was his life mission from God....

There was more, including links to three amazing pieces of writing from Eddie as he was deployed. But Flag Gazer ends with this:

I write this tonight with a heavy heart and great sadness for the loss to the spirit of our country. Eddie was so special to so many of us who never had the honor of knowing him, but whose hearts he touched with goodness and honor. He was a hero to so many of us. We felt fortunate to be able to show our appreciation for what he gave to so many of us... honesty, faith, hope and the American spirit...

Go read the rest of Flag Gazer's beautiful tribute to her friend here.

I heard about Eddie's passing through a different route, and the following Monday I wrote a public letter to this new Angel over on Tanker Bros blog:

Monday, September 24, 2007

Dear Eddie,

You didn't know me in the 23 years you were here, but I have been thinking a lot about you the last few days. Really, I have. This is not the first time I have thought of you, been aware of you. I remember back when your piece "Hope Rides Alone" became famous all over the internet. I know that piece of fine writing from the sandbox gave insights to many of how amazing all of you are, who are fighting today. I remember. I remember smiling because your words put the lie, yet again, to the notion that all soldiers are just killing machines, ignorant hick Rambos gone wild. And you kept fighting, and you kept writing, as the rest of us went on about our everyday business, doing whatever it is we all do, that is SO (sarcasm here) important.

And now? This last week has seen your work, again, all over the internet, and there has been much weeping and sorrow. I have read a lot of the stuff written about you and I feel as if I know you. I read with great sadness that you had died in Iraq. This human heart was heavy. But, as I have talked to people, re-read your writing, I have been so grateful to have been given a glimpse of you.


[...]

I came across another comment, on another post about you, these last few days: "words matter." Don't ask me where I found that, but this is a belief I have long held. And I know you have too. These last few days many people have been reading your words.... I know, from all I have read, that you... have been raised, and believe in living a life according to the scriptures. I know that your favourite verse is:

“Blessed be the Lord my Strength, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” Psalm 144:1

I know this because I found that on your dad's site. I also know that you believed in what you were doing for the children, the future of Iraq. ...

[...]

And so it is, through the power of the internet, from Freedom Feels Good (here), to The Real Deal in Ramadi (here), you shared your heart with us, and showed us what is really happening for families in a land far, far away from the comforts of your own family and home. I don't know if you were aware then - even as you surely must be by now - how many hearts you opened with your words. Words matter - and your words reach across time and space - will continue to do so - just as those other Words still resonate for a lot of us. Your words remind us all that OUR mission is not over yet, even as you embark on your new mission. Those of us left here get to renew, again, our commitment to this mission which you began. Yes, we do weep that you have gone on ahead, but as your dad says on his blog site:

...Although our personal loss is traumatic, we know he is in a better place....He told me this past summer...You see to Eddie, he was just doing his job and what he believed was his life mission from God....(source)

I also know you are in a far better place, Eddie. I do. And as I have thought about you these last few days, over and over in my mind - unbidden - have come the words:

Do Not Weep For Me Do not weep for me, for I have lived... I have joined my hand with my fellow's hands, to leave the planet better than I found it. Do not weep for me, for I have loved and been loved by my family, by those I love who loved me back. For I never knew a stranger, only friends. Do not weep for me. When you feel the ocean spray upon your face, I am there. When your heart beats faster at the dolphin's leaping grace, I am there. When you reach out to touch another's heart, as now I touch God's face, I am there. Do not weep for me. I am not gone. - Anon (another prolific writer here)

Oh Eddie, so many hearts you have touched and changed. "Your spirit will live forever/it lives in the laughing eyes of children/ who are free from want and oppression."...

On Wake Up America there was also a column about Eddie:

Thursday, September 20, 2007

In Honor of Sgt, Eddie Jeffers--RIP

This is from an email I received from a frequent reader of Wake up America, Michelle.

I am sending you a link to a letter (if you google Eddie Jeffers you can read all his letters) written by a solider in Iraq. Eddie Jeffers is…..ah, …was a friend of a friend of mine. He died two days ago.

Eddie was an Army Infantryman serving in Ramadi.

Please honor this young man and his undying love of his country. He deserves nothing short of a memorial in his honor, and we are working on one here.

Thanks,

Michelle

Letter from Sgt.Eddie Jeffers:

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.

And to think, I volunteered for this...

And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler....

And there is much more over here, including a beautiful poem in the comments which is a must read.

And then there is this beautiful video tribute I found:

jeffers221 | September 24, 2007

From little boy to mighty warrior, Sergeant Eddie Jeffers lived his 23 1/2 years to its fullest. He emptied himself completely.

Sgt. Eddie Jeffers: ALWAYS remembered and honoured.

Elections under way in Afghanistan

About 2,500 candidates are standing for 249 seats in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, or lower house of parliament...From the BBC, thumbnail sketches of three of the candidates:

THE STAND-UP COMEDIAN

Mr Kabuli is known for satirising politicians

Zamir Kabuli has old ties with Afghanistan's ruling establishment. He made a living imitating and satirising politicians. But at 39, this stand-up comedian says he has had enough of their incompetence.

"We gave them (the politicians) the job to run this country. And see what they have done," Mr Kabuli says, pointing to a pot-hole in the street.

''No-one bothers about the people. Disaster - be it natural or man-made - politicians neither have the time nor the inclination to help the masses. So I decided to run (for parliament)."

[...]

"Send me to parliament and I will solve your problems. I won't run away from you.

"Like that mountain, you will all know where to find me," he says, pointing at a snow-covered peak in the Hindu Kush range and generating laughs from the crowd....

THE TALENT SHOW STAR

Ms Tarana became popular after appearing on the Afghan Star TV show

Farida Tarana, 29, challenged religious hardliners when she appeared on Afghan Star, a popular talent contest on the private Tolo television network.

Some people in her home province of western Herat said she was a "bad Muslim" and brought shame on the region. She even had apples thrown at her.

But none of this deterred her from singing.

"Singing is my passion. I believe in what I do," she says....

[...]

Ms Tarana says the election campaign reminds her of the time when she was appearing on Afghan Star.

"There were supporters and fans that were ready to do anything to see me sing.

"And then there were detractors who were willing to go to any length to see me shut up," she says.

THE ENTREPRENEUR

Ms Anjila wants to push for laws which benefit women

Najila Anjila, 30, runs a logistics firm and gets major contracts from the international forces, charities and firms based in Afghanistan.

A few years ago, Najila was an employee, working for a few hundred dollars a month. But today she is a successful entrepreneur.

When the Taliban came to Kabul, Ms Anjila ran away to Karachi in Pakistan because of their treatment of women.

''There was little hope (in Afghanistan). Women were not allowed to study or work."

In Karachi, Ms Anjila studied for a master's degree in business administration (MBA), but says she was yearning to return to her country..

[...]

Ms Anjila says if elected, she would push for laws that advance the prospects of Afghan women.

"The Taliban phase was a dark period. We can't undo it.

"What we can do is ensure that women are never treated like chattel again. We owe this much to Afghan women," she says.

These are excerpts. Go read more on these three candidates at the BBC here.

Security Concerns Loom Ahead of Afghan Vote

Musadeq Sadeq/Associated Press

Ballot materials are carried by men and donkeys to polling stations in

Dara, Afghanistan.

By ALISSA J. RUBIN

Published: September 16, 2010

KABUL, Afghanistan — Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections on Saturday could determine whether a viable opposition remains in the legislature, but turnout — and the legitimacy of the second election in a year — hangs in the balance as voters fear waning security and brace for fraud.

The Parliament that is leaving office has gradually become an independent force, often challenging the government of President Hamid Karzai and blocking his nominees for ministerial posts.

Eager for a more pliant legislature, Mr. Karzai and his political allies have recruited candidates and backed their campaigns, according to local leaders in several large provinces who asked not to be named because they did not want to anger the president. Mr. Karzai is seeking support on issues like how to bring the Taliban into the political structure and whether to amend the Constitution to allow him to retain power beyond his second term, according to Western diplomats.

Worried that this year’s election could provoke the kind of brazen fraud that marred the last one, Afghanistan’s recently appointed chairman of the Independent Election Commission made a passionate plea on Thursday for all election officials to police fraud.

“Last year the elections got defamed,” said Fazil Ahmad Manawi, chairman of the commission.

“Public trust towards elections was severely affected,” he said. “The bad experience of last year must not be repeated. No polling center must be opened where its security is not ensured.”

[...]

Areas that are insecure will be the most vulnerable to fraud because there will be few observers and potentially few voters going to the polling places, making it easier for local power brokers to stuff ballot boxes.

That was the pattern that election experts observed in the 2009 presidential elections, where more than a million ballots were thrown out because of voting irregularities. The fraud was so extensive that it forced Mr. Karzai into a runoff. Ultimately, his opponent withdrew and Mr. Karzai was declared the winner.

This year, the election commission has made strides by removing several provincial election officials who oversaw areas where extensive fraud occurred, shuffling others and cutting the number of polling stations to prevent abuse in remote and insecure regions. But many election districts remain insecure, and some people worry that turnout in such places may end up being so low that it could raise questions about the legitimacy of the elections. “Is an election with 5 percent turnout a valid election?” asked a Western diplomat in Kabul...

[...]

Johann Kriegler, a member of the Electoral Complaint Commission, which sorts through complaints about election improprieties, said, “Of course there will be fraud, but this election is not about fraud, it is about the Afghan people in extremely difficult circumstances; it is about letting honest people feel they have a say in the government of their country.”...

More at the New York Times here. And from ISAF, an article about technology which seeks to address the security issues:

New Security Measure in Place for Afghanistan Elections

By Capt. Anthony Deiss
Task Force Rushmore Public Affairs

CAMP PHOEINX, Afghanistan – While the world will be watching Afghanistan's parliamentary elections on Saturday, Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) officials will be keeping an eye on the capital with the help of a new security measure; the Persistent Surveillance System (PSS), which took flight this week at Camp Julien in south Kabul.

100914-A-5891V-040: A new Persistent Surveillance System (PSS) begins its assent above Camp Julien Sept. 14, 2010, to provide the Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Force officials with an extra level of surveillance capability for security operations around Kabul, Afghanistan. The PSS, a floating aerostat (or blimp), has high-tech camera equipment able to provide 360 degree views of the city. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Travis Vallery)

The PSS, a floating aerostat (or blimp), has high-tech camera equipment which will provide an extra level of surveillance capability for security operations around the city.

“The system has the ability to provide instant situational awareness for security forces throughout Kabul,” said Maj. Todd Bartunek, director of Plans, Training and Mobilization for Task Force Rushmore, Kabul Base Cluster Installation Command. “The elections are just around the corner and a lot of time and effort has gone into ensuring that polling centers and voters are safe.”...

Read more on this here. (Also an interesting article from the UK Forces via Helmand Blog here.)

It is pretty amazing to me that such twenty-first century technology is being used to ensure the integrity of what we consider a most basic of rights here in the west, in a country many consider still stuck in the primitive dark ages. We here in the west are always casual, cavalier even, about voting in elections. Voters are more often than not apathetic when it comes to being involved in our election process. The Afghanistan people risk their lives to cast a ballot.

The world is, indeed, watching, as Afghanistan takes yet another step towards a functioning democracy.

POW/MIA Day

(source)

Officials Unveil Pentagon POW/MIA Exhibit

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2010 –

Defense Department officials today dedicated a portion of the Pentagon to military prisoners of war and troops missing in action, honoring one of the military’s guiding principles: Never leave a comrade behind.

Michele Flournoy, the Defense Department's policy chief, talks about the importance of the military's mission to recover all prisoners of war and those missing in action during a Pentagon ceremony Sept. 15, 2010, in Washington, D.C. Flournoy helped dedicate a Pentagon corridor to American military prisoners of war and those missing in action. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden

Michele Flournoy, the Pentagon’s policy chief, hosted the ceremony on the building’s third floor, in Ring A between corridors 6 and 7.

The hallway is lined with information, artifacts and photographs underscoring the service and sacrifice of more than 80,000 MIAs and POWs from the present conflict in Afghanistan and dating back to World War II.

“No matter how far away or how long ago, we will do everything humanly possible to bring all those missing servicemembers home,” Flournoy said. “We do this for the sake of their family members, and we also do this for all who serve today.”

The display exhibit was designed in the corridor, because thousands of people -- servicemembers, defense civilians and tourists -- walk through it each year, Flournoy said. The exhibit’s location, she added, underscores the importance the Defense Department places on recovering prisoners of war and those missing in action.

“As we stand here today,” she said, “many thousands of servicemen and women are deployed around the world in harm’s way. And in the days and years to come, some of them will give their lives to their country. Some of them may fall into enemy hands...(More here)

War on Terror News has a great column up on POW/MIA Day, which begins which a description of the Missing Man Table and Honours Ceremony:

17 SEP 2010 is POW-MIA Remembrance Day

In Honor of POW's and MIA's

17 SEP 2010 is POW-MIA Day

Missing Man Table & Honors Ceremony"

In remembrance of those still missing and those who suffered capture, the following is included in all formal military dining events, called a "Dining In" in the Army:

Explanations of the ceremonial table and what we place there:

This table set for one is small... It symbolizes the frailty of one prisoner against his oppressors.

The tablecloth is white... It symbolizes the purity of their intentions responding to their country's call to arms.

The single rose displayed in a vase... It reminds us of the families and loved ones of our comrades in arms who keep faith awaiting their return.

The red ribbon... Tied on the vase, is reminiscent of the red ribbon worn by thousands who bear witness to their determination to demand proper accounting for our missing.

A slice of lemon... Is on the bread plate to remind us of their bitter fate.

There is salt... Upon the bread plate symbolic of family tears as they wait.

The glass is inverted... They cannot toast us today.

The chair is empty... They are not here.

Remember all of you who served with them and called them comrades. You who depended on their might and aid and relied upon them.

Do not forsake them.

Pray for them and remember!

They have much more, including on the history of POW/MIA Day. You can find it here.

On this solemn day, yes, let us ALL "Pray for them and remember!"

Eileen Nearne: Another modest British hero dies

Eileen Nearne died 2nd September. You may not have heard of her, as most of us certainly had not. Having lived for the past twenty years or so in a quiet seaside flat in Devon, it was only after her death that the story of Miss Nearne's earlier heroic deeds in service to England are becoming known:

14 September 2010

War heroine found dead in Devon to have council funeral

Eileen Nearne was captured and sent to concentration and labour camps

A wartime heroine who was captured three times by the Germans and endured spells in concentration and labour camps is to be buried by a council because no friends or family can be traced.

Eileen Nearne, 89, who died in her Devon home on 2 September, was one of 39 female agents sent to occupied France in her capacity as a member of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II.

Miss Nearne, who was fluent in French, was captured by the Germans just four months after arriving in France, but managed to persuade them she was an innocent French woman.

Her bravery and resilience continued throughout the war - she was caught again and sent to a concentration camp before being transferred to a forced labour camp in Silesia where she managed to escape.

She was later recaptured in Germany by the SS, but was again able to persuade her captors of her innocence and was released.

According to reports, she was hidden by a priest in Leipzig until the arrival of US troops.

Despite her daring adventures on the continent in the 1940s, Miss Nearne survived the war and ended her days in Torquay.

She was found dead at her home in Lisburne Square, off Babbacombe Road, on 2 September and her possessions are to be handed over to MI5.

Professor Michael Foot, who wrote a book about SOEs, described Miss Nearne as "a real heroine, although a silent one".

He told BBC News: "I came across her some 50 years ago and found she had done some important work in the spring and summer of 1944 when she was working a secret wireless set from Paris to England. (BBC Devon here)

When she was first found in her flat, it was presumed that she had no living relatives. Since then the Royal British Legion has stepped up, and a niece has also come forward:

The spy who we loved: Eileen Nearne was cherished says niece

Relative of modest wartime heroine is traced and says her intrepid aunt wanted her ashes scattered at sea

Steven Morris guardian.co.uk

Eileen Nearne during the second world war,

when she served as a spy.

Photograph: SWNS

Concerns that the funeral of a British second world war spy who died alone at her seaside flat would pass unremarked vanished today when a relative came forward and former service personnel vowed to give her a proper send-off.

The story of 89-year-old Eileen Nearne's heroic exploits as a radio operator in occupied France emerged after Torbay council revealed it could not trace any of her relatives.

It seemed likely that Nearne would be buried in a modest grave by the council, with no one expected at the funeral service.

However, today a niece, who lives abroad, surfaced to pay tribute to "Aunt Eileen" and to reveal that Nearne wanted her ashes scattered at sea.

The niece, who has asked not to be named and was traced by genealogists at investigations firm Kin, said Nearne was cherished by her family.

She said she was distressed that Nearne had been portrayed as being "alone or unloved" adding: "Although I don't live in the UK, I was very close to Aunt Eileen and visited her often. I only saw her six months ago. She was always cherished by the family."

Details of Nearne's amazing personal history emerged after old French currency, correspondence written in French and several medals were discovered among her possessions at her Torquay flat.

Nearne was a member of the Special Operations Executive, the organisation set up by Winston Churchill to spy and carry out sabotage missions behind enemy lines....(Guardian here)

In recent days, the details of this amazing woman's heroic acts have been broadcast around the world. In South Carolina, this:

Recluse found to be UK war heroine after her death

By GREGORY KATZ - Associated Press Writer

LONDON — Her secret is out. But it is too late for Eileen Nearne to bask in the glory Britain loves to bestow on its World War II heroes.

She died alone, uncelebrated, on Sept. 2 of a heart attack at age 89. Only on Tuesday did the nation learn of her bravery behind enemy lines: She went on a clandestine mission to France in 1944 at the tender age of 23 to operate a wireless transmitter that served as a vital link between the French resistance and war planners in London.

Nearne posed as a French shop girl. She meanwhile helped coordinate supply lines and weapons drops in advance of the D-Day invasion that marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe, then stayed on the job until the Nazis caught her in July 1944, and sent her to the Ravensbruck concentration camp. She later escaped after being sent to a smaller nearby camp.

The accounts of her extraordinary deeds - her grace under fire - were made public by military historians and special forces veterans who had read her secret files and knew what Nearne had accomplished but declined to discuss. Her wartime role was not publicly acknowledged until local officials went into her apartment after her death and found a treasure trove of medals, records and memorabilia, including French currency used during the war.

"She was an excellent agent, very imaginative, but very unobtrusive, and that is a very important quality," said Royal Air Force veteran Beryl Escott, author of an upcoming book on the Special Operations Executive, set up by wartime leader Winston Churchill to infiltrate mainland Europe and provide support for resistance forces. "It was vital and dangerous work, especially for wireless operators."

Even when Nearne was caught, according to Escott and others, she was able to endure water torture without cracking and providing the Gestapo with information about the top secret network....

[...]

"We will make sure she gets the dignity and respect and homage that befits a lady of her experience," John Pentreath, county manager for veterans' charity the Royal British Legion, said Tuesday.

"It's a staggering story for a young girl," he said. "We hold her in awe and huge respect. All Brits do. We are very disappointed we didn't know about her when she was alive, we would have dearly loved to have made contact with her."

He said it was terribly sad that her story had not been known before her death. (More - and yes, it is a must read -here)

Forgotten: The first floor flat on the Georgian crescent in Torquay where Eileen Nearne lived out her final days. She will receive an all-expenses-paid funeral following public outcry that she was to be cremated unmourned (Daily Mail here)

[...]

...Among items found in her home were discontinued French currency, dating back to the War, an array of correspondence written in French and a selection of medals.

Steven Cook, a neighbour, said: “I have known her for about six years and she was well-known in the area even though she was very reclusive. I have been told she died of a heart attack.

“We thought she may have been in the French Resistance from rumours and hearsay over the years.

“I was very surprised at the extent of her heroism. You would never have thought it, as she never spoke of it.” (Telegraph here)

An interesting interview with Professor Foot (who also was a clandestine operator in France in WW2) about Miss Nearne's wartime exploits here, and here.

There is much being written these days about Eileen Nearne, whose MBE medal was found among her personal belongings. That she was an amazingly brave, patriotic hero of England, is becoming more than obvious. That she chose, following the war, to not talk of her actions, says much of her character. It is also becoming apparent that she is now going to be given a full military funeral next week. At last, England will be able to properly acknowledge this - thus far - unsung hero's service to her country.

Thank you for your service, from THIS grateful Brit, Miss Nearne.

Rest in peace.




[Bratnote: In case you missed it, back in March we lost another amazing WW2 heroine. Here]