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Our daughter called this morning and told us that our son-in-law who is a policeman and in the Marine Corp Reserve got a call from the Marine Corp last night at 10:00 to get his affairs in order and be ready. He has been in the police dept for quite a long time also in the swat and was scheduled to go to two weeks training in motorcyles, they are not quite sure what is going to happen from here on. I guess we all wonder.
Dear Jackie,
I know how you are feeling. Our son is a Corporal in the marines stationed at Camp Pendleton and they flew out this morning for the middle east. He was able to get a call into us yesterday but we won't be able to have any more corespondance for some time. They have taken off all outside insignia from their uniforms so the enemy won't be able to identify leaders. He says he is ready to go to protect our freedoms. He will be giving us an email that he may be able to check from time to time depending on what goes down.
I am filled with such sadness. He is 25 and has been trained for this purpose but ..... Where is the little boy I carried? When did he get to be so big? Wasn't it yesterday I rocked him in his bed? When did he get to be so brave????
Lord be with them all and God bless America!!
I have the upmost respect, love, admiration for any of our citizens in uniform, military or civilan. To do something so dangerous that you feel it's your duty to do, knowing you are saving the lives of strangers is the utmost in bravery and compassion. It makes me cry that they may give their lives for ME so I can live in the splendor of democracy
I hope and pray that God protects them and watches over them but most of all that they come home safe and sound! Bless them. And please let them know I'll be thinking of them constantly.
Such a sad time. I'm sure everyone who has family members who already have or will be receiving that call are filled with mixed emotions, mainly fear and pride. I pray for all those who are willing to put their life on the line for this Country, for Freedom and for me. God Bless you all!!!!
Spencer he just got back from his monthly training at Pendleton. I don't think they know when or where yet. They are in their thirties with no children just two Schnoozers. Lorie called to say he gave her power of attorney and what else should they do.
Dixie I know how worried you must be, we have a Grandson who will turn 18 in May and we are quite worried about where this is all going. We still see them as our babies even though they are all grown up. My thoughts will be with you and your son for a safe return.
Don was in during Korea and Vietnam and said he would go in a minute right now, I said I don't think they will take 71 year olds just now but I'm sure everyone appreciates the thought.
I second everything that K9Karen wrote.
I have a co-worker whose husband is a Police Officer and another whose husband is a Firefighter. Both are working hard downtown at the site of the attack.
The one who is a firefighter was on leave because of an injury when this all happened, but as soon as he heard, he went right back to work.
Jackie and Dixieland Dancer, may God bless your family members as they go out and bravely defend our country, and may He bring them home safely to you.
Oh my, all of these stories make me so sad.
I will keep your loved ones in my thoughts and prayers.
Please keep all of us posted, we can offer support and love to each other in these difficult times.
Gini
Dear Jackie, you, your daughter and son in law, and your entire family will be in my thoughts and prayers. I second everything that Karen says. Bless these brave men and women who will be putting their lives on the line so that all of us can live free. They are heroes in every sense of the word. Please keep us updated Jackie. And love to all of yours. Sandra
I too...second..uh third :) what K9Karen said. These men and women truly are heros, risking their lives for us...for our freedom, standing for everything that America is all about. My thoughts and prayers are with all these families. Good will conquer evil, and America will stand proud!!
I received this cute story from a friend of mine today, and thought it was well written so I'm going to share it with you guys... :D
Rob Suggs is a children's author and illustrator. He works a lot with the children at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. He is able to "lighten their load" through his art and story telling therapy. This is what he has written to further explain the situation we are in to the children he is working with in the hospitals...adapted from a classic story...It merits sending to you to read. I guess you have to read it with "your child eyes."
The Binch
By: Rob Suggs
September 13, 2001
Every U down in U-ville liked U.S. a lot,
But the Binch, who lived Far East of U-ville, did not.
The Binch hated U.S.! the whole U.S. way!
Now don't ask me why, for nobody can say.
It could be his turban was screwed on too tight.
Or the sun from the desert had beaten too bright.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.
But, whatever the reason, his heart or his turban,
He stood facing U-ville, the part that was urban.
"They're doing their business," he snarled from his perch.
"They're raising their families! They're going to church!
They're leading the world, and their empire is thriving,
I MUST keep the S's and U's from surviving!"
Tomorrow, he knew, all the U's and the S's,
Would put on their pants and their shirts and their dresses.
They'd go to their offices, playgrounds and schools,
And abide by their U and S values and rules,
And then they'd do something he liked least of all,
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand all united, each U and each S,
And they'd sing U-ville's anthem, "God bless us! God bless!"
All around their Twin Towers of U-ville they'd stand,
and their voices would drown every sound in the land.
"I must stop that singing," Binch said with a smirk,
And he had an idea--an idea that might work!
The Binch stole some U airplanes in U morning hours,
And crashed them right into the U-ville Twin Towers.
"They'll wake to disaster!" he snickered, so sour,
"And how can they sing when they can't find an tower?"
The Binch cocked his ear as they woke from their sleeping,
All set to enjoy their U-wailing and weeping,
Instead he heard something that started quite low,
And it built up quite slow, but it started to grow--
And the Binch heard the most unpredictable thing...
And he couldn't believe it--they started to sing!
He stared down at U-ville, not trusting his eyes,
What he saw was a shocking, disgusting surprise!
Every U down in U-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any towers at all!
He HADN'T stopped U-ville from singing! It sung!
For down deep in the hearts of the old and the young,
Those Twin Towers were standing, called Hope and called Pride,
And you can't smash the towers we hold deep inside.
So we circle the sites where our heroes did fall,
With a hand in each hand of the tall and the small,
And we mourn for our losses while knowing we'll cope,
For we still have inside that U-Pride and U-Hope.
For America means a bit more than tall towers,
It means more than wealth or political powers,
It's more than our enemies could ever guess,
So may God bless America! Bless us! God bless!
Oh I love it, it's wonderful it should be circulated to everybody. If I can figure out how, I'm going to send it to everybody I know. Thanks so much
Jackie
My dad was in the service during Viet Nam. In fact, he spent quite a bit of time in Southeast Asia, training the pilots of all the allied countries in Southeast Asia (Laos, Camodia, etc.) Many of my school friends' dads were killed or disappeared. One of my parents' best friend's plane was shot down over Cambodia and 31 years later has still never been found.
But I was too young to understand enough to be afraid.
My brother was in the Army and was in Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and Bosnia.
But he was a journalist and never saw direct combat.
My son will turn 17 in about six weeks. Even though he is not even 18, and as of yet we still have no draft, I am still ill-at-ease, because I know if war should erupt, it will either have occurred or be emminent by the time he is 18. And I know the draft can be reinstated at a moment's notice - which is the reason why 18 year olds are still required to register for the Selective Service.
He is my only child, my only son, and my only family.
I keep telling myself that war is different now, that fewer men are used as our weapons become more sophisticated.
My prayers are with all of you who have active duty or reserve personnel in your family.
Feline House, this is a very uncertain time, I know we are all uneasy, as you say the draft could come at any time should they need them. I would hope it doesn't come to that. I think with the sophisticated equipment they will need people who are highly trained. Don was a crewmember in a HS Squadron in VietNam based on a Aircraft Carrier. I know how you feel having a son who is getting close to that age, lets all pray and think positive that this will be over quickly and all return safe and sound.
What a great story! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. And I fourth what K9Karen said :) God bless those of you who are trying to put an end to terrorism, and your families too!
We are waiting to hear about either or both of my brothers-in-law to 'get the call.' They are both Guardsmen, as is my father-in-law, who probably wouldn't get called up because of the position he is in. But 2 of my brothers-in-law are fair game.
I have mixed feelings about this: I want the terrorists elminated, but I fear for all our soldiers. My poor mother-in-law has already lost one of her 5 sons, and now she is so worried about 2 more of them.
This is an awful period of time that we have now entered, where we will constantly be on edge about what will happen next.
Thank you for that story! I have forwarded it to everyone I know.
Jackie, Dixieland, and 3 greys, and all of you...our thoughts and prayers are with you as each of you face having loved ones participating in this strange "war" on terrorism.
I don't have a military family, as most of my relatives did their "time" during periods where there was no war. But it doesn't diminish my concern for the rest of you.
We love and care for each of you and will lift your families up in prayer daily.
hi Wolflady! thank you for sharing this w/ us! i hope you don't mind, but i'd like to share this w/ some of my other message boards.
Having been almost all over the world, and enjoying 99% of it, I will utter the famous words of Dorothy (W of OZ) "There's No Place Like Home!"
I'm a maniac when flighting for something I believe in.
I think it will be an "air" confrontation more so than land, tho there was an article in the local paper about SEALS, Green Berets and various get down and dirty military groups being prepared!
I do though, want to know where Rambo, Arnold Scwartzenager and Bruce Willis are when we need them!? ( :D a light hearted joke if you all don't mind! :rolleyes: ) If they can beat the enemy single-handedly, think what they can do as a trio! ;)
Apart from massive planning any attack on Afghanistan will take massive amounts of ground troops.
Afghanistan has been under attack many times and never in it's history has it been defeated. This will not continue, I have every confidence in that.
Those that take shelter there are as safe as they can make themselves.
Together we will overcome them, we will shock them and we will show them that there is nowhere that they can hide from justice. It will not be an easy task but we are prepared.
26 British warships are on their way to the Gulf region along with thousands of troops. By the end of this month a quarter of the British Army will be in the region. (Considering our commitments in Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, Bosnia and Kosovo to name the more high profile areas, this is a huge number of troops.)
Officially this is for a long planned excersise.....I leave you to draw your own conclusions.
When needed I have no doubt that more will follow.
America does not stand alone.
God bless all of your families and I hope and pray they remain safe.
I just got back from Camp Pendleton. I had to say goodbye to the most courageous, selfless person I know. He has always been there for me, standing by me through thick and thin. And now he is putting his life on the line for me, and for every other American. He is leaving next Wednesday at 2am for the Middle East :( :( :(
I told all the other marines I saw there that America is standing behind them and we will be praying and praying for them. I respect what they do so much. But I wish this hadn't happened and I wish there wasn't such a huge possibility of war. I'm scared.
For those of you with 18 yr olds, I have heard that the 18 yr olds would be drafted last. First they would draft 20 yr olds, then 21-25 yr olds, then 19 yr olds, followed by 18 yr olds.
[ September 20, 2001: Message edited by: aly ]
Aly, sorry to hear your friend is leaving, these are such uncertain times, our world as we have come to know it, is changed forever.
Too bad we didn't get together, you were only about 40 miles from me. Our prayers will go with your friend and we will hope for his safe return.
Jackie
Hi Jackie, on the plane on the way home I realized I had been close to you. I have been completely out of my mind lately. If I had been thinking straight, I would have contacted you. I'm sure I will be there again when they are released to go home.
I live not to far from an air force base, and a lot of my friend's parents are leaving. :( Everyone who is out there protecting us- I am forever grateful that you would risk everything for the sake of others. You have more courage, bravery, and intelligence than I will ever have. A huge 'thank you' to anyone who helped out at all in this tragedy. Everyone injured and their friends and family are in my prayers, as well as those entering this terror for the sake of a safer country.
Thank you to everyone...I wish I could help out more.
I would also like to add, that even though I live in a tiny town, my middle school raised $1,200 for the American Red Cross. We were happy to contribute. :)
dababy, Congradulations on collecting that much money for the Red Cross, they are helping in so many ways and can really use all the help they can get. Also I think you are a very caring young person and we need many more like you.
Jackie
I haven't posted here until now because I find it very hard to talk about this. I agree with everything that Karen said about the respect and admiration that the men and women in uniform deserve. My heart aches at the thought of all the young lives that may be affected by these terrible events and the pain of their families. My niece's husband is in the Marines, they have a two years-old little girl. Although he has not received new orders yet, I can understand how she and all of you who have family in one of the services feel right
now. May God give enough wisdom to our leaders
to be able to conduct the forthcoming (whatever it will be, I just can't face calling it a war)
with a minimum of human suffering.
We found out that my husband's 20 yr. old nephew has been sent "over there." He's in the Navy. We haven't heard a thing about his brother yet. My mother-in-law has called a few times and has never been able to get a hold of anybody. The last we heard they were struck in California. That was the 11th. I don't understand why his wife hasn't called if he's already gone. He fought in the Gulf War. He was actually in combat so I know he'll be in combat with this one too. He shot down enemy planes. He watched five of his friends die in front of him. Now he has to go through it all again. My husband's other nephew left for boot camp in August. His job will be working on tanks so I don't know if he'll actually be in combat. He's only 18. He lived with us from December until he left. I am so proud of them but I am also so scared, as is everybody else who has a family member in the military. These are trying times and we just have to have faith. God be with us.
We heard from our son! :D :D :D He called at 1:20 in the AM and told us he had a 40 hour plane flight to where he is but he is not allowed to tell us where that is. He is also probably not going to be able to call again for some time. Since we didn't expect to hear from him this time, it was a great blessing to answer that call.
Our prayers are for everyone who has family in the military. May God stand beside them in this war against terrorism!
That's great news. I'm glad you got to talk to him. This is a really hard hard time for everyone worrying about the people in the military. My friend is leaving in about 30 hours :( :( :( I cried the whole weekend.
Oh, Angie, he LOVED those pics. Thanks so much for making them. He said to tell you thank you too.
UN troops, including a large deployment of British troops, have announced that they have completed their mission in Macedonia and will begin to come home tomorrow. In less stressful times this would be great news. It is still good news as the returning troops will free up more for deployment to the Gulf. The timing of many things military seems a little more than coincidence to me.
We finally got an email from our son! He is doing ok so far but said they are working about 20 hours a day. He is still not allowed to tell us where he is but said the troops morale is high and that they appreciate all the support they are getting from everywhere! It makes them feel more inspired to get the "BAD GUYS"! :D
I would like to thank everyone who has been praying for him and all the troops! Don't stop now!! We have a long way to go!!!!
Dixie - you must be so very proud of your son - because of him and others I am so very honored and proud to be an American :)
I used to take America and everything wonderful about her for granted..safety, free speech, voting, abundance of food....
But now, here's some 19yr old kid I don't know, proud and courageous and wise, far from home, helping to protect us and so willing to do it!! My clothing is adorned with different flag pins and flags are waving from my front lawn and porch, so DLD, and Jackie and anyone who speaks to their loved ones far away...please tell them that we love them and are rooting and praying for them and OUR morale is as high as theirs!! Much indescribable admiration and love from Karen
Karen, that was SO beautifully written...truly from your kind heart. I had the same "taking for granted" attitude before this all happened. I have so much respect and admiration for all those heros who are doing their parts to keep America free and beautiful. Jackie & Dixieland and everyone else who has beloved family members who are fighting bravely for the U.S.A....please give them well wishes for me, and tell them I said THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart.