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Dear Family and Friends,
Yesterday was a significant day in my life. It was a day I shall never forget…
It began, as every Sunday does for me in prayer, study and preparation for worship. Our numbers were down somewhat because of the OP TEMP (operation tempo – i.e. the pace, speed and numerical involvement of our soldiers in battle) but I was satisfied with our first service. I especially enjoyed the music of our choir/praise team. Immediately afterward, Dave and I grabbed lunch and then we headed over to an awards ceremony. It was the third ceremony I have attended since we have been here, however, the previous two were for soldiers in other companies. At this ceremony, Dave and I both knew, we would be receiving an award, along with every other soldier in our company.
As you know and others will learn, soldiers wear something called a unit patch on their left sleeve. A unit patch is a means of identifying what unit a soldier belongs to. It is a symbol of pride and solidarity. Our division, the 28th Infantry Division, the Pennsylvania Army National Guard is the oldest in the Army. We can trace our historical roots to Benjamin Franklin’s “Associators” in the 1740s. We were nicknamed, “Iron Soldiers” during WW I because the men were so tenacious and tough. Others call us the “Keystone” division because we are from the Keystone state. In fact, our unit patch is a simple keystone design much like you might see in any brick or stone archway. The Nazis named us the “Bloody Buckets” for the price our fathers and grandfathers forced them to pay in battle and because the Keystone patch they wore at the time was red, just as it is now on our dress uniforms. I, like all of our soldiers, am proud to be a part of this division, not simply for it historical achievements and accomplishments but also for what we are doing now. The National Guard of Pennsylvania is the most deployed Guard in the country. Many of our soldiers are on their second and third deployments since 9/11. We will go anywhere, endure any hardship, and fight any enemy to secure America’s freedom and safety. Which brings me back to yesterday.
The awards ceremony was held in order to present our soldiers what the Army calls, the “Shoulder Sleeve Insignia for Former War Time Service”. Soldiers simply call it a “Combat Patch”. Basically it gives us the privilege and honor to wear our unit patch, not only on our left sleeve, but now, because we are combat veterans, we may also wear it on our right sleeve. Soldiers always look up to other soldiers wearing a combat patch because we know they’ve been there, they have done what soldiers train to do. Some of us may someday transfer to other units. We may wear a different unit patch on our left sleeve but we will always be permitted to wear the patch of the 28th on our right sleeve since we served in combat under this great and historic division.
What was so significant about yesterday, was not simply receiving the prestigious award. What was significant for me and several others was the date…September 11th. The irony was not lost on us. We were awarded our combat patch on the very date this war began. As my friend, Tom put it, “I wouldn’t have it any other way”, because none of us have forgotten that horrific day, a day that penetrated us and the heart of America four years ago. We all remember where we were, what we were doing, when we learned America was under attack. I suspect the same is true for all of you. There is not one among us who can forget that soul retching day as we sat in stunned silence, others gathered up their children and held them, some wept, some called families and friends, some rushed to the armory, others rushed to church, some fainted, some fell to their knees and other clenched their fists in a vow of revenge. Little did any of us know then, that four years later, we would be in a distant place, far from home living, working and fighting while our families try to carry on without us.
The importance of the date was also not lost to our enemy. He attacked us, just as the ceremony was closing, with the largest rocket and mortar attack we’ve had to date. We immediately responded with ferocious lethal firepower of such magnitude, it seemed as if the whole earth was shaking and about to fall apart as we ran out of the building to our duty stations.
Thankfully, no one on our side was hurt. We can’t be sure about the enemy. But of this am sure, it was an ironic honor, even a blessing to be here in this place, standing shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and sisters at arms, taking everything the enemy could throw at us just as they did four years ago, but this time, like the crew and passengers of Flight 93 above Pennsylvania’s green hills and valleys, fighting back. I am sure you will also remember as well, the statement made by one of the passengers, when they initiated their counter attack, “Let’s Roll”. It’s hauntingly similar to the 28th motto, “Roll On”.
And so we shall. Until the mission is complete, we will roll…
A big thanks goes out to the following people, organizations and churches for all their expressions of support and kindness: Debbie Consiglio and Doris Van Meter, Brenda Mauldin, the Central Presbyterian Church in my mother’s beloved Chambersburg, Judy Volpatti (somebody should check and see if she’s dating the post man because she must be there all the time with all the stuff she sends), Karen Rumin, Meade and Pat Sutton, Rachel Murphy, Peg Fisher, Bruce and Karen Staudt, Conner and Shelby Staudt (I miss you too), Sherry McClean, LTC Don Ficco and the saints at the Church of St. Paul, Anna Marie Stewart and the Red Hat Society, and MG Jessica Wright. Thank you so much. We genuinely appreciate your TLC and support.
Our hearts go out to the victims of Hurricane Katrina. We are only now learning about the full extent of the catastrophic devastation because our news sources are so limited. If you would like to send them things and it means not sending us something, we want you to do it. We even encourage it. Soldiers can get by on nothing more than their own grit and determination. Those civilians and especially the children, shouldn’t have to. If, however, you still feel compelled to send us supplies, Dave tells me we are short of the following items: soap, shampoo, deodorant, jerky, tuna, twizzlers, AA batteries, wet wipes, snack foods, hand sanitizer and flea collars.
I am attaching a picture of Dave and me after returning from a patrol last week. Dave is on the far right and I am next to him. And no, that is not a shadow, but sweat from my head to my knees. It was 125 degrees that day.
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 |
