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Dear Family and Friends,
I hope this letter finds you well…healthy in mind, body, spirit and heart. We here in Iraq remain so and pray the same for you. Although we are separated from you by geography, nothing else keeps you from us. You are always with us. You are our first thought as the sun rises and our last thought when we lay down, long after the sun has set. Whether our bed is a bunk, cot, sand, concrete floor, fighting position, vehicle, mat, chair, rock pile or a few sand bags, you are with us. We miss and long for the time when we can spoon again, to feel your touch and caress but for now, we hold you tight every night, if only in our hearts and minds. Some soldiers do this by holding the pictures of loved ones as they slip into the peace of sleep. Others tack the pictures to their walls. Some tape them to their computers; others carry them in their Bibles and kiss them each night or morning after they have read a short passage. Moving through the living quarters, I have seen battl
ed hardened soldiers sleeping with the erratic crayon drawings of a small child on their chest…or on the floor, where it floated, just out of reach of daddy’s exhausted outstretched dirty hand…. Please never doubt, you are with us.
And thank you for reminding us each and every week, we are with you. For example, in just the past two weeks, we have received care packages from Oregon, California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, Ohio, and more small towns in Pennsylvania than I can count. In some ways, everyday is Christmas Day for Dave and me as we open your gifts and packages. We see your support. We feel your support…and we are grateful, more so than you could possibly know or understand, unless you have lived in these circumstances. And as we distribute the goodies, the irony is, the soldiers thank us, as if we had anything to do with your expressions of love and support!
But I also must be honest with you, some of our soldiers, and I emphasize the word some, feel as if they are forgotten, neglected or unappreciated. I’ve had several conversations in the past two weeks with different officers, NCOs and enlisted soldiers who all feel let down by friends, co-workers or family members. These people in one fashion or another promised our soldiers (and soldiers in combat are big on promises…with almost everything else stripped from us, a person’s word is all we really have), these people promised to stay in touch, to write, to drop an e-mail, or to send a package. But now with two months already under our belts in theatre, these soldiers wonder what’s happening. As one boy put it to me, “What do they have going on that’s more important than dropping me a note when people are trying to kill me everyday?”
I’m not exactly sure how to respond. I try. I tell them how busy people are, how much time work and the kids consume…but, I also can read it in their eyes. They think my answers are shallow and hollow.
It reminds me of a time when my friend Peggy was diagnosed with cancer. She needed to have surgery. She needed to have chemotherapy. She had to take off a lot of time from work. She needed a friend. I told her, I would be there. But then, I got caught up in things, you know how it is, in the living of life, in doing stuff, in going places, in working, in taking care of the house, in looking after the kids, in having good intentions and before I knew it, a year had passed. That next time I saw her, I felt ashamed. Real shame, like I had never known before. Peggy was hurt and angry. It was hard, to look into her eyes. It was hard, to admit I had broken my promise. It was hard, to see her tears. It was hard, to hear what she had to say. But somewhere, in God’s providence she found the grace to forgive me. We are friends, still to this day, because of her grace and God’s mercy.
So all I am saying is this, if you told a soldier, or a sailor, or an airman, or a marine that you would do something, please do it. If you have a friend or even an acquaintance who is here living, working, sweating and fighting…please drop them a line. Let them know you care. Send them a package. Let them know you are with them. The support of so many strangers is fantastic. But the support of our loved ones, friends and co-workers is still sweeter.
Speaking of which, the sweetness prizes this week go to Marietta Spagnola and St. Patrick’s Church, my own Fairfield Presbyterian Church, Dave’s and my employer and co-workers back home (yes, we work together in the real world too) McGonigle Ambulance Service, Sue and Wayne Stratos, Martin Sonnier, Jacque Meyers and the Door Fellowship in Williamsport, Mary Berrier (ah, was I supposed to share those cookies?), Anna Marie Stewart and the Red Hat Society, my old fraternity brother turned dentist Jack Reed, the Clan McCown my adopted family, my enduring wife Jodi, Doug and Victoria Cluck and the good people at Harland Financial Solutions including Lisa, Doug G., Karen, Angie, Paul, Doug C., Victoria and Linda.
We got a lot of stuff this week which was great since we were literally wiped out on Monday morning. Our tables were bare but by the afternoon we were back in business. So here are some items we can still use: baby wipes, hand sanitizer, soap, deodorant, shampoo, blanket cases, beef jerky, tuna, Christian books, DVDs and CDs, mouse and rat traps, and any sports gear you would care to send like footballs, basket balls, volley balls, wiffle balls and bats. You can also hold off on chap stick, bath and body sprays, tooth brushes, toothpaste and feminine hygiene products. The girls tell me there’s more than enough right now.
Thank you for all you do for us. May God bless you and our American soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines. You’re in my heart America, and I shall always be,
Faithfully Yours,
Chaplain(Major)Douglas A. Etter
HHC 1-110 IN, 2/28 BCT
Camp Habbaniyah
APO, AE 09381 |
