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Subject: The Dust is A'Flying! |
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Hello Family and Friends!
I hope this letter finds you well and enjoying the great summer weather of the states. Dave and I continue to thrive in this environment! We have been very busy! Mostly, like many of the other soldiers, we are applying a lot of elbow grease to our living quarters and office space. The previous unit let things slid a bit before they left so we have been creating quite the dust storm cleaning, scrubbing and moving equipment around. We have also been out on several scanvenger missions. That's right, we are now certified professional dumpster divers! Specifically, we have been traveling around the old British post looking for any thing we can use such as desks, chair frames and shelving units. The Iraqs have picked the post pretty clean, however, so there's not too much to be found. I may be the only Princeton graduate whose resume will also read, "Dumpster Diver".
All the time we are doing this, however, we are very conscious of the war raging around us. We are regularly attacked by rocket and mortar fire. We have not suffered any casualties for which we are grateful but the ground sure shakes when those rockets hit. I used to always wonder, serving in a Field Artillery unit for so long,, what was it like on the other end of the shot...now, I know. In some ways, it brings to mind the Biblical story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem with his sword in one hand and his hammer in the other. Please don't worry about us, however, because we truly are secure in the hands of God.
Speaking of which, the chapel sure is taking off. We are getting fantastic attendance and Dave is busy persistently arranging and rearranging our setting for different meetings, worship services and studies. Currently we are doing four services a week. I think we will be adding three more by the end of the summer. All the services are well attended! We even have are starting to get a few people from a neighboring FOB whenever they can make it. We have an absolutley fantastic sound system and these young soldiers enjoy comtemporary Christian pop and rock music so we really get the place rocking. I don't know which is harder on the chapel walls...the mortar fire or blasting music! LOL! Preaching is almost easier here because of the locale,, the immediacy of the need and the Pentecostal congregational responses during preaching such as, "That's Right!" or "Say it Again Rev" and of course, "Amen". It is the most interactive worship I have ever conducted but the soldiers are responding and that is what's important.
I also want to share a couple of links for you history buffs. Jodi's Aunt Marlyne sent these along to me. The net is too slow here right now for me to load the pictures but these sites will help you understand Habbaniyah better.
They include:
(This is the official RAF site. Notice too the different spelling by the Brits, there's no H at the end of the camp's name.),
(This is a Marine blog site. There are lots of pictures) and
(aritcle from stars and stripes magazine).
Finally, let me share a short story with you. I received an email from someone I respect and love very much confessing going to a party and having fun while we are here in the middle of a war. Please don't feel guilty about those sort of things. Yes, we are in the middle of a war. We are living in conditions none of us would choose at home for ourselves or our families, but we want you to live normally. We want you to be happy. We want you to do the things we can not do here, the things we long to do when we return. We are counting on you to keep on living a normal life until we return. We are defeating the terrorists here. There is no doubt about that. Please win on the home front for us. We need you to do those things, so that we know you are happy and safe, and so that we can return to them in a year.
Thanks for your support. I love you all. Keep us in your prayers as we keep you in ours and never forget, I am,
Faithfully Yours,
Chaplain(Major)Douglas A. Etter
1-110th IN, 2BCT PAARNG
Panther 39 |
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Subject: God's Providence |
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Dear Family and Friends,
Hello! I hope this finds you well and enjoying all the delicious sweet corn found in Pennsylvania. I think all my family knows, there are few meals I enjoy more than several fresh ears of corn and a few meaty tomatoes. Salt and pepper on both please! And speaking of food, you may be interested to know, believe it or not, last night at supper we had surf and turf! That’s right, lobster tails and steak. So you see, we don’t have it too hard even though we are at the end of the food chain (literally) at Camp Habbaniyah. Please don’t feel too badly for us. A lot of soldiers will probably lose weight here from the intensity of their exercise, but a few may gain weight and no one has any reason to want for food.
Being at the end of the food chain, or as we also refer to it, being at the tip of the spear is not, however, without its dangers. Last week Dave and I had a close call. We were behind the chapel discussing some “position improvements” (ways of making an area safer, since we’ve had three rockets or mortars hit close to the chapel). As soon as we walked back inside, a rocket struck 100 meters behind the chapel. The thick concrete walls violently shook and shrapnel sprayed the chapel but God’s providential blessing protected us. Dave was a little miffed that people were trying to kill us, but I tried to tell him they just don’t like the architecture of the current chapel, which was built by the French! All of our firefighter friends would have also gotten a big kick out of the Iraqi firefighters putting out the ensuing fire.
I have also had the opportunity, since that day, to go outside the wire a couple of times. For those of you who don’t know what that means, it is the way we describe leaving the FOB and going into hostile territory. There are some chaplains who might say that I am being reckless going outside the wire but I strongly disagree. I want to know what it feels like and I want to see exactly where and how things are happening. It will have a dramatic effect on my preaching! I am not taking unnecessary risks but I am also not sitting back waiting for soldiers to come to me. I am going to them. Some of them seem surprised to see me, but they all appear to be genuinely pleased to have their chaplain out with them in sector.
I will also tell you that I burst with pride watching these soldiers, these citizen-soldiers. Just a few months ago they were truck drivers, mechanics, store clerks, bankers, accountants, salesmen, managers, police officers, corrections officers, stocking clerks, farmers, and college students. Now they are in a hostile land, protecting liberty and assisting those who are less fortunate than themselves. If you want to be inspired, you should watch one of our patrols! Citizen-soldiers…they are not amateurs or weekend warriors. They are professionals. They are the defenders of America and her values. I am humbled to minister to them.
And speaking of ministry, our chapel attendance is booming (only occasionally literally, at which point we just sing louder!) We also, much to my joy, are having an incredible turn out for Bible Study. Never, in a million years, would I have guessed, especially based on our predecessor’s experience, how many soldiers would be seeking to know more about the Lord. God is truly blessing our efforts and I am trying to be as diligent as possible in my lesson preparation. For anyone who’s interested, we are studying the Gospel of John.
Finally, I want to thank Joe Worden, the Cenks, Hartsells, Sanzaris, Jodi, HHC’s FRG and Pat’s friend Judy Volpatti for all the goodie packages. If anyone is interested in sending our soldiers personal care items, that would be great. We certainly appreciate it since we still do not even have anywhere to purchase these items. I am getting requests for beef jerky, tuna fish, cigars, mouse and rat traps, Pringles potato chips, paper towels, bath luffas, Windex, Febreze, canned air, Gilette Mach 3 Turbo razor blades (apparently a popular razor around here), sponges, AAA and AA batteries and M&Ms. Some of the female soldiers have also requested finger nail brushes (to scrub under their nails after working on the tanks), scented body wash, hand lotion and other feminine products that I think you can guess.
Have a great weekend everyone. Know that you are loved and missed and that I shall always be,
Faithfully Yours,
Chaplain(Major)Douglas A. Etter
HHC 1-110 IN, 2/28 BCT
Camp Habbaniyah
APO, AE 09381 |
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Dear Friends and Family,
This past weekend was very hard…we had to say goodbye to one of our own, SSG Ryan Scott Ostrom. SSG Ostrom was killed last week while on patrol along MSR Michigan. He died instantly. Please do not ask me how he died because I am not at liberty to discuss it. Simply know that I gave him last rites with a small group of soldiers huddled around us. I blessed him, held him and when the brief service was over, we all cried.
Dave and I, as well as, our Task Force staff and members of Ryan’s unit worked very hard to give our friend and brother a fitting tribute. My goal for the memorial service was threefold: honor SSG Ostrom, comfort his grieving buddies and urge all of us forward in our mission, because that’s what Ryan would have wanted and that is our responsibility as soldiers. I think we achieved all three of those objectives. We have received numerous comments about how nice everything looked in the chapel (thanks Dave), how beautiful the music was (Thanks again Dave) and how fitting everyone’s remarks were who spoke at the service. I am attaching my sermon/eulogy remarks for anyone who cares to read them. Please keep Ryan, his parents, brothers and sisters, as well as, his fiancé in your prayers. Ryan attended our “Change of Stole Ceremony” (when the chaplain I replaced, officially transferred the authority for the chapel to me) and he was with us in spirit at chapel when he was unable to attend because of mission requirements. His leadership, genuine interest in others and strength of character will be remembered by all who knew him.
We also have seen the hatred, cruelty and complete disregard for human life in our enemy this week, when they shot and killed a small boy and his father. Our surgeon and medics worked valiantly trying to save the boy’s life but their efforts were futile. Nevertheless, I was so very, VERY proud of the medical team and how hard they worked. All those excellent medics and EMTs at McGonigles and Nogas would have been proud too. I was also proud at how our soldiers conducted themselves following this incident and Ryan’s death. There was no immediate panic or blood cry for revenge. They conducted themselves professionally and responsibly. The degree of self-control and military discipline displayed by our soldiers revealed their true character. We are professionals and I will never ever again tolerate hearing someone call Guardsmen, “weekend warriors”.
Packages have been slow to arrive recently but I still want to thank Judy Volpatti (again!), Joseph Luxenberger and Aunt Bev and Uncle Dale. You are making a difference in the lives of soldiers who are securing a safer tomorrow for us all.
God bless all of you and our American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. Until next time, I shall always be,
Faithfully Yours,
Chaplain(Major)Douglas A. Etter
HHC 1-110 IN, 2/28 BCT
Camp Habbaniyah
APO, AE 09381 |
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TWO THOUSAND ONE, NINE ELEVEN (2001-911) | Close |
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Two thousand one, nine eleven
Three thousand plus arrive in heaven
As they pass through the gate,
Thousands more appear in wait
A bearded man with stovepipe hat
Steps forward saying, "Lets sit, lets chat"
They settle down in seats of clouds
A man named Martin shouts out proud
"I have a dream!" and once he did
The Newcomer said, "Your dream still lives."
Groups of soldiers in blue and gray
Others in khaki, and green then say
"We're from Bull Run, Yorktown, the
Maine"
The Newcomer said, "You died not in vain."
From a man on sticks one could hear
"The only thing we have to fear.
The Newcomer said, "We know the rest,
Trust us sir, we've passed that test."
"Courage doesn't hide in caves
You can't bury freedom, in a grave,"
The Newcomers had heard this voice before
A distinct Yankees twang from Hyannisport shores
A silence fell within the mist
Somehow the Newcomer knew that this
Meant time had come for her to say
What was in the hearts of the five thousand
plus that day
"Back on Earth, we wrote reports,
Watched our children play in sports
Worked our gardens, sang our songs
Went to church and clipped coupons
We smiled, we laughed,
! we cried, we fought
Unlike you, great we're not"
The tall man in the stovepipe hat
Stood and said, "Don't talk like that!
Look at your country, look and see
You died for freedom, just like me"
Then, before them all appeared a scene
Of rubbled streets and twisted beams
Death, destruction, smoke and dust
And people working just 'cause they must
Hauling ash, lifting stones,
Knee deep in hell, but not alone
"Look! Blackman, Whiteman, Brownman, Yellowman
Side by side helping their fellow man!"
So said Martin, as he watched the scene
"Even from nightmares, can be born a dream."
Down below three firemen raised
The colors high into ashen haze
The soldiers above had seen it before
On
Iwo Jima back in '45
The man on sticks studied everything closely
Then shared his perceptions on what he saw mostly
"I see pain, I see tears,
I see sorrow -- but I don't see fear."
"You left behind husbands and wives
Daughters and sons and so many lives
Are suffering now because of this wrong
But look very closely. You're not really gone.
All of those people, even those who've never met you
All of their lives, they'll never forget you
Don't you see what has happened?
Don't you see what you've done?
You've brought them together, together as one.
With that the man in the stovepipe hat said
"Take my hand," and from there he led
Three thousand plus heroes, Newcomers to heaven
On this day, two thousand one, nine eleven
Author UNKNOWN |
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