There is a war going on. It is not in our backyards, it is not where we can see it, hear it, smell it, touch it. But we can feel it. We should we feel it.
This war, whether we like it or not, continues on while we read blogs, write posts, eat watermelon on a sunny day and laugh with our children.
Thousands of men and women, RIGHT NOW, are in a desert, with their military families by their sides, risking their lives for their country and for the citizens of Iraq. Over 3,000 soldiers have been killed in Iraq. That is JUST in the Iraq war. I hope you take time today to remember the soldiers who have given their lives, who have been wounded, or who have served in their lifetime. I hope you hang a flag in support for the husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunts.
You may not support the war, but I hope you truly support the soldiers.
On July 1, 2008, my brother, an Army Major, an Army Ranger, a Purple Heart and Silver Star recipient, a father of three, a loving husband, a thoughtful son, an awesome brother, will be deployed to Iraq. For the THIRD time.
I am fearful. I am angry. I am worried. I am saddened that we as a family we will have to face his deployment once again.
I am saddened knowing how badly he wishes he could stay in the United States with his family. Dan has narrowly escaped his own death in the past, I can’t imagine what he must be feeling knowing he’ll have to go back to fight this war.
I am angry.
But I am also proud. So proud of him and every soldier who reports for duty either in Iraq, Afghanistan or right here in the United States, just like my other brother, Dan’s identical twin, Dave. I think about how often we, as humans, dread going into to work for the day, or we dread walking into the grocery store on a busy Friday afternoon, or we dread cleaning the toilets at our own home. And then I think of my brothers. And my thinking is readjusted. I think of ev
ery soldier and each of their families on a daily basis knowing that their life is so hard and faces more challenges in a week, then some of us in a lifetime.
I realize how good I have it. Thanks to our American soldiers.
Today & always, I remember. I hope you do, too.
Thank you, Dan and Dave. (Thank you, Dimi.)
If you have a family member or a friend who is a member of the military, I want you tell me about them in my comments, I’d love to learn about the them.
