Saying goodbye to brother off to Iraq

[liberiamom]

Yesterday, I had to say goodbye again to my little brother as he goes on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is a career officer, a Lt. Col in the Rangers, in charge of over 6,000 young men, and he will be over there for the next year. I told him that I wish he didn't have to go, and he said he wished he didn't either, but that is his job. We don't discuss politics - we've learned not to provoke each other. He tries to focus on the small gains they have made and continue to make over there. He says that often any evidence of progress is not reported in the news, and he's the one that has been there, not me, so I just listen, and make sure he knows that I love him and I am proud of his sacrifice.

After I got off the phone with John, I cried. I've cried for loved ones leaving for war too many times. When I was a child, my dad was an officer in the Marines serving several tours of duty in Vietnam, and I grew up watching the casuality numbers on the nightly news. There wasn't anything I could do then to keep my dad safe, and I am helpless to protect my "kid" brother. And my darling 24 year old niece's brand new husband is an enlisted man who was just sent over there last month.

I pray this war is stopped soon - though I am not always sure who or what I am praying to- or is prayer just a way to assuage the feeling of helplessness?

[Skink]

I send love,,,do discussion...

[Psycho4Bud]

MUCH respect for your brother and best wishes to you and your family. The good news from over there is rarely reported. If you wish....I could send ya many, many articles on what accomplishments there have been and there are also some good sites to read from. Do a google search under "Good new from Iraq"....hope this helps.

Have a good one!:jointsmile:

[daima]

Yesterday, I had to say goodbye again to my little brother as he goes on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is a career officer, a Lt. Col in the Rangers, in charge of over 6,000 young men, and he will be over there for the next year. I told him that I wish he didn't have to go, and he said he wished he didn't either, but that is his job. We don't discuss politics - we've learned not to provoke each other. He tries to focus on the small gains they have made and continue to make over there. He says that often any evidence of progress is not reported in the news, and he's the one that has been there, not me, so I just listen, and make sure he knows that I love him and I am proud of his sacrifice.

After I got off the phone with John, I cried. I've cried for loved ones leaving for war too many times. When I was a child, my dad was an officer in the Marines serving several tours of duty in Vietnam, and I grew up watching the casuality numbers on the nightly news. There wasn't anything I could do then to keep my dad safe, and I am helpless to protect my "kid" brother. And my darling 24 year old niece's brand new husband is an enlisted man who was just sent over there last month.

I pray this war is stopped soon - though I am not always sure who or what I am praying to- or is prayer just a way to assuage the feeling of helplessness?


My son, Jesse, is a Marine.

dai*ma:stoned:

[Bong30]

He is a true hero.....

Send Him our Best....

[partyguy420]

he is a good man... and i hope that this stupid pointless war is over soon

[BlueCat]

Yesterday, I had to say goodbye again to my little brother as he goes on his third tour of duty in Iraq. He is a career officer, a Lt. Col in the Rangers, in charge of over 6,000 young men, and he will be over there for the next year. I told him that I wish he didn't have to go, and he said he wished he didn't either, but that is his job. We don't discuss politics - we've learned not to provoke each other. He tries to focus on the small gains they have made and continue to make over there. He says that often any evidence of progress is not reported in the news, and he's the one that has been there, not me, so I just listen, and make sure he knows that I love him and I am proud of his sacrifice.

After I got off the phone with John, I cried. I've cried for loved ones leaving for war too many times. When I was a child, my dad was an officer in the Marines serving several tours of duty in Vietnam, and I grew up watching the casuality numbers on the nightly news. There wasn't anything I could do then to keep my dad safe, and I am helpless to protect my "kid" brother. And my darling 24 year old niece's brand new husband is an enlisted man who was just sent over there last month.

I pray this war is stopped soon - though I am not always sure who or what I am praying to- or is prayer just a way to assuage the feeling of helplessness?

I am so terribly sorry. I know what you are feeling I cry all the time. They are all heroes as far as I am concerned. I hope they will all be ok.

You must be on some roller coaster ride geez adoption and this...

Sending you good vibes....be strong :)

[geonagual]

Tell your bro to keep his head down.

He will be fine.

[slipknotpsycho]

imho, this 'war' (although aside from a few bombs here and there it is basicly over) can only hope to stop after bush leaves office.... as long as he's in there this war will continue, more and more troops will be sent there.... bush is a total idiot....

anyways, i hope your brother stays safe, as well as anyone else over there... it sucks to lose anyone close to you, friend or family.

as i watch the death toll rise, i wonder how many more people are going to have to die, before we're out of there for good... although i can see the reasoning in it, i'm really tired of america being the bigger brother and jumping in everyone's wars... just think about how many wars we've had in the history of america, and think how many of those we weren't even involved in until we involved ourselves in it.

[mfitzp]

i will never be able to understand how someone could actualy willingly go over there and fight for what there fighting for i hope your brother and everyother lad and girl over there thinks about what there doing and finds away out of it.

[Dutch Pimp]

...American soldiers...always say they are sorry...to the last person they see...before they leave....

...."I'm leaving on a jet plane....don't know when I'll be back again".....

[tschmidty32]

your bro, and any soldier for that matter, is a hero and gets my undoubted respect...i've considered many times of enlisting, mostly for the benefits package, but it just aint for me...It takes a courageous, selfless person to be a soldier and anybody who doesn't appreciate what they are doing should be shot.

[liberiamom]

...American soldiers...always say they are sorry...to the last person they see...before they leave....

...."I'm leaving on a jet plane....don't know when I'll be back again".....

Are you a Ranger?

[Dutch Pimp]

....my shit is too weak..to be a ranger...it was just a salute from one old soldier...to the type of soldier... that other soldiers admire.....LTC in the Rangers?.....Damn ..your family has some strong stock....we admire that down here....:)....

..did you comprende?...the song..?...

[smok3y]

One of my child hood friends is in Iraq just now.. sucks... Hope they all come home safley.. Fuck the war in Iraq.. Plus it aint even our war...
Fuck bush & blair

[GotWake88]

imho, this 'war' (although aside from a few bombs here and there it is basicly over) can only hope to stop after bush leaves office.... as long as he's in there this war will continue, more and more troops will be sent there.... bush is a total idiot....


He's just trying to stall until the GOP loses the White House, so he can say "the democrats lost Iraq..."

[liberiamom]

He's just trying to stall until the GOP loses the White House, so he can say "the democrats lost Iraq..."

I think you are right GW- though your initials make me nervous ;)

Dutch Pimp- I remember the song well- "I hate to wake you up to say goodbye"

Thank you to everyone for your support and kind words! it is so nice to be able to share feelings with people who care- it doesn't matter so much that we cannot see each other's faces- in a way that might make it easier to see each other's hearts!

Politics aside, I've always loved and supported my dad and my brother (both have been awarded the Silver Star!) and am awed by their strength. That feeling extends to all soldiers, who endure things I cannot imagine. In my brother's first tour in Iraq, early on, he witnessed a couple of his men getting blown up in front of him.

I hope we support the men and women of our military forces, the ones fortunate enough to come home, with the services and respect due them. We treated our Vietnam vets like crap.

Today I read about the murder of Andrea Parhamovich, a lovely 28 year old woman who was in Iraq working with a non-profit organization to help Iraqi polititians with voter outreach. This is just the sort of tragedy we will discuss in my philosophy class when we talk about the problem of evil.

Sometimes it is difficult to remain optimistic about the world, but then I think about the strength that community provides, and the many good people who exist, and I know we can keep forging ahead if we work together, as a force for good. It sounds a little corny, but damnit, it works. The alternative is nihilism - ick!

All this thinking needs to be rewarded with a bowl of relaxation. I am home working today after a nice week of smart students in fun classes.

Have a great weekend all!