Not sure if anyone has read any of the letters or e-mailsfrom Newsweeks
"Voices of the Fallen" section(letters and e-mails donated by soldiers families for the most part) some are tough. My older brother leaves for Iraq the end of the month so Ihave beentrying to keep abreast of the situation over there(more than normal anyway), ecspeciallyany input thatis coming from the soldiers themselves. Some of it really hits home and honestly I feel helpless,he's my brother, I'm 32 and he"s 35 we have always been there for each other, and even though I know he chose his career and war was always a possibility, the thing that bothers me is I am not with him, I didn't choose thatcareer andI am not going to be therewith him (phsically anyway). I know he is not alone and his brothers in arms will be with him but I am not, and as hisbrother I wish I was (if only for him). To think that he can and will be in a fight for his life against any enemy and I won't be at his side has been eating at mesince hetoldme. I guess I am a littleirrationalbut somehow I feel like I am letting him down, anyway here are some links to a couple of theletters and such.
"śCourage brother, do not stumble, though thy path be dark as night: There is a star to guide the humble, trust in God, and do the right. Let the road be dark and dreary and its end far out of sight. Face it bravely, strong or weary. Trust God, and do the right." Norman Shwartzkopf
"I sought my soul but my soul I could not see. I sought my God but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three." Unknown
In respect for all of our troops, I found this quote which expresses something that many of us try to articulate without such eloquence.
Quote:
[blockquote] War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.John Stuart Mill English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873) [/blockquote]
__________________
Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Not sure if anyone has read any of the letters or e-mailsfrom Newsweeks
"Voices of the Fallen" section(letters and e-mails donated by soldiers families for the most part) some are tough. My older brother leaves for Iraq the end of the month so Ihave beentrying to keep abreast of the situation over there(more than normal anyway), ecspeciallyany input thatis coming from the soldiers themselves. Some of it really hits home and honestly I feel helpless,he's my brother, I'm 32 and he"s 35 we have always been there for each other, and even though I know he chose his career and war was always a possibility, the thing that bothers me is I am not with him, I didn't choose thatcareer andI am not going to be therewith him (phsically anyway). I know he is not alone and his brothers in arms will be with him but I am not, and as hisbrother I wish I was (if only for him). To think that he can and will be in a fight for his life against any enemy and I won't be at his side has been eating at mesince hetoldme. I guess I am a littleirrationalbut somehow I feel like I am letting him down, anyway here are some links to a couple of theletters and such.
"śCourage brother, do not stumble, though thy path be dark as night: There is a star to guide the humble, trust in God, and do the right. Let the road be dark and dreary and its end far out of sight. Face it bravely, strong or weary. Trust God, and do the right." Norman Shwartzkopf
"I sought my soul but my soul I could not see. I sought my God but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three." Unknown
Absolutely nothing wrong with loving your brother andworrying about him going to Iraq. More than likely he will beok, and as you said in the company ofbuddies that will look out for him. I did not have to worry about my older brother in 2003 when I was last in Iraq, as he was stationed in Great Falls MT, but did worry about him when we were both over for desert storm. Try not to get too wrapped up in the tragic stories, as there are many more very triumphent stories. Just wait until you get to greet him at the airport when he gets back. The dread and worry will be a HUGE amount of joy and excitement.
In respect for all of our troops, I found this quote which expresses something that many of us try to articulate without such eloquence.
Quote:
[blockquote]War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.John Stuart Mill English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873) [/blockquote]
Man that is a good quote Cal, and to think he wrote that in the 1800's, what do you think he would say now?
Thanks Red,
I willtry to not get too wrapped up in the tragic stories I just thought that even though it is hard to read and think about,the terms "soldiers" and"troops" get thrown around so much that you almost forget that they are actual individual people with families, friends, and loved ones, and sometimes it is good to put a face, or in this case their ownwords,with their stories even though some are tragic indeed.But Ihope and pray for triumphant stories andthe safe return of all of our service folks.
You could see if your brother's unit has a family support group, and participate in it while your brother is deployed, as it is usually a good source of ongoing information regarding how the unit is doing and a way that soldiers can pass on any needs that those at home may be able to help with. It is also a way that family members can stay in touch and use each other as support while loved ones are away serving.
It's amazing how each generation thinks we have unique problems and we continually try to reinvent the wheel. As somebody else (I can't remember the author) once said, those who are ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it.
I don't mean for any of this to be taken as any slight against your brother or any of our brave troops doing their duty and it's not meant as any opposition to the war in Iraq. What I'm thinking is that each generation seems to struggle with learning that some things are truly worth fighting for and that the worthwhile reasons for fighting a war aren't really about money, oil or whatever other anti-war propaganda is being spewed out.
Whether some people wish to acknowledge or realize it, our troops going into harms way in Iraq have greatly helped protect American citizens at home. To think otherwise is simply ignoring a sad reality. Now, we might not agree that conducting a continuing war in Iraq is the best way to protect American citizens but it's demeaning to our troops and being somewhat disingenuous to say that fighting in Iraq is doing nothing to protect Americans.
Please tell your brother Semper Fi and if you would, post his name in the religion forum so several members there can pray for his safety in Iraq and safe return.
__________________
Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
There are a couple of the letters I linked to that echo your thoughts Cal. Saying things along the lines of not thinking too much about all of the propaganda and focusing on the fact that they would rather fight there than have attacks at home that could harm Americans. My brother is a soldier and his duty will be performed and I fully understand why but sadly I have to admit that it is only now that he is about to be in harms way that I have really thought about what all of our servicemen/women sacrifice for us and some of those stories really drove that home.
Don't beat yourself up over this new. Most of us tend to block out the war and think of it as soemthing else that is happening "over there" as a defense mechanism. If we constantly thought about the war and all of the many tragedies contained within it, we would likely go crazy. It's only when a family member or close friend goes to war that we can't simply block it out as being something over there. Then we must deal with it daily and that is far more difficult.
__________________
Jesus Christ--The reason for the season!
If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can read this in English, thank a veteran.
If you're certain you know everything, there's little opportunity to learn anything.
Make sure you keep in touch with your brother every chance you get, NEW. He might not be able to write back immediately, but he'll appreciate having a little piece of you over there with him. We'll keep supporting him and his comrades here on our end.
Tough Read
