'My Daddy's not Dead Yet'
The questions posed to the North Carolina congressman by many of the 15 kids at Camp Lejeune during National Reading Day in 2007 were, initially, what he'd come to expect: Do you have a dog? Have you met the President?
But the last child, Rep. Walter Jones recalled July 22 during a House Armed Services Committee subcommittee hearing on family support programs, left him stunned and speechless.
"The little boy looked up at me and said, 'My daddy's not dead yet,' " Jones said, then repeated the question more slowly for emphasis: " 'My daddy's not dead yet.' "
"I was so shocked it had to be at least 40 seconds -- I couldn't respond. I came out with the response that, "Well, God loves our moms and our dads.' "
And with that Jones asked the panel -- which included a deputy undersecretary of defense and the top noncommissioned officers from each of the four service branches -- if enough is being done to get the children of servicemembers the mental health treatment they may need.
"Are we really able to help those children -- who are five, six, seven, eight -- think about [their dad] not coming back, or mom not coming back, or one coming back who is paralyzed, or one coming back whose face will not look normal again?" he asked. "Do you really feel that, with the shortage of medical professionals, that we are doing -- I know we are doing the best we can do, but can more be done for those children. This has preyed on my heart for a long time."..
I know I always tell you to read the comments on these articles, but on this one, that really IS a must. Go here to read the rest of this important article.
Bless the children, who also serve.
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