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| Topic: Love & thanks ~ to our beloved Soldiers... | |
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Wed 03/26/08 12:49 PM
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080326/wl_time/therealmeaningof4000dead
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Real Meaning of 4,000 Dead By LIEUT. SEAN WALSH 1 hour, 24 minutes ago The passing of the 4,000th service member in Iraq is a tragic milestone and a testament to the cost of this war, but for those of us who live and fight in Iraq, we measure that cost in smaller, but much more personal numbers. For me those numbers are 8, the number of friends and classmates killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 3, the number of soldiers from my unit killed in this deployment. I'm 25, yet I've received more notifications for funerals than invitations to weddings. The number 4,000 is too great to grasp even for us that are here in Iraq. When we soldiers read the newspaper, the latest AP casualty figures are glanced over with the same casual interest as a box score for a sport you don't follow. I am certain that I am not alone when I open up the Stars and Stripes, the military's daily paper, and immediately search for the section with the names of the fallen to see if they include anyone I know. While in a combat outpost in southwest Baghdad, it was in that distinctive bold Ariel print in a two-week-old copy of the Stars and Stripes that I read that my best friend had been killed in Afghanistan. No phone call from a mutual friend or a visit to his family. All that had come and gone by the time I had learned about his death. I sometimes wonder, if I hadn't picked up that paper, how much longer I would have gone by without knowing - perhaps another day, perhaps a week or longer until I could find the time and the means to check my e-mail to find my messages unanswered and a death notification from a West Point distro list in my inbox. The dead in Afghanistan don't seem to inspire the keeping of lists the same way that those in Iraq do, but even if they did it wouldn't matter; he could only be number 7 to me. I'm not asking for pity, only understanding for the cost of this war. We did, after all, volunteer for the Army and that is the key distinction between this army and the army of the Vietnam War. But even as I ask for that understanding I'm almost certain that you won't be able to obtain it. Even Shakespeare, with his now overused notion of soldiers as a "band of brothers" fails to capture the bonds, the sense of responsibility to each other, among soldiers. In many ways, Iraq has become my home (by the time my deployment ends I will have spent more time here than anywhere else in the army) and the soldiers I share that home with have become my family. Between working, eating and sleeping within a few feet of the same soldiers every single day, I doubt I am away from them for more than two hours a day. I'm engaged to the love of my life, but it will take several years of marriage before I've spent as much time with her as I have with the men I serve with today. For the vast majority of American's who don't have a loved one overseas, the only number they have to attempt to grasp the Iraq War is 4,000. I would ask that when you see that number, try to remember that it is made up of over 1 million smaller numbers; that every one of the 1 million service members who have fought in Iraq has his or her own personal numbers. Over 1 million 8's and 3's. When you are evaluating the price of the war, weighing potential rewards versus cost in blood and treasure, I would ask you to consider what is worth the lives of three of your loved ones? Or eight? Or more? It would be a tragedy for my 8 and 3 to have died without us being able to complete our mission, but it maybe even more tragic for 8 and 3 to become anything higher. View this article on Time.com |
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20080326/wl_time/therealmeaningof4000dead -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Real Meaning of 4,000 Dead By LIEUT. SEAN WALSH 1 hour, 24 minutes ago The passing of the 4,000th service member in Iraq is a tragic milestone and a testament to the cost of this war, but for those of us who live and fight in Iraq, we measure that cost in smaller, but much more personal numbers. For me those numbers are 8, the number of friends and classmates killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 3, the number of soldiers from my unit killed in this deployment. I'm 25, yet I've received more notifications for funerals than invitations to weddings. The number 4,000 is too great to grasp even for us that are here in Iraq. When we soldiers read the newspaper, the latest AP casualty figures are glanced over with the same casual interest as a box score for a sport you don't follow. I am certain that I am not alone when I open up the Stars and Stripes, the military's daily paper, and immediately search for the section with the names of the fallen to see if they include anyone I know. While in a combat outpost in southwest Baghdad, it was in that distinctive bold Ariel print in a two-week-old copy of the Stars and Stripes that I read that my best friend had been killed in Afghanistan. No phone call from a mutual friend or a visit to his family. All that had come and gone by the time I had learned about his death. I sometimes wonder, if I hadn't picked up that paper, how much longer I would have gone by without knowing - perhaps another day, perhaps a week or longer until I could find the time and the means to check my e-mail to find my messages unanswered and a death notification from a West Point distro list in my inbox. The dead in Afghanistan don't seem to inspire the keeping of lists the same way that those in Iraq do, but even if they did it wouldn't matter; he could only be number 7 to me. I'm not asking for pity, only understanding for the cost of this war. We did, after all, volunteer for the Army and that is the key distinction between this army and the army of the Vietnam War. But even as I ask for that understanding I'm almost certain that you won't be able to obtain it. Even Shakespeare, with his now overused notion of soldiers as a "band of brothers" fails to capture the bonds, the sense of responsibility to each other, among soldiers. In many ways, Iraq has become my home (by the time my deployment ends I will have spent more time here than anywhere else in the army) and the soldiers I share that home with have become my family. Between working, eating and sleeping within a few feet of the same soldiers every single day, I doubt I am away from them for more than two hours a day. I'm engaged to the love of my life, but it will take several years of marriage before I've spent as much time with her as I have with the men I serve with today. For the vast majority of American's who don't have a loved one overseas, the only number they have to attempt to grasp the Iraq War is 4,000. I would ask that when you see that number, try to remember that it is made up of over 1 million smaller numbers; that every one of the 1 million service members who have fought in Iraq has his or her own personal numbers. Over 1 million 8's and 3's. When you are evaluating the price of the war, weighing potential rewards versus cost in blood and treasure, I would ask you to consider what is worth the lives of three of your loved ones? Or eight? Or more? It would be a tragedy for my 8 and 3 to have died without us being able to complete our mission, but it maybe even more tragic for 8 and 3 to become anything higher. View this article on Time.com one is one to many.. 
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Thu 03/27/08 10:38 AM
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Hi Jackie....
 
yes, My Dear Sister... 
one is one too many 
Sending prayers love & warm blessings
to all of the victims of war & to their families.
I pray that we end the war & bring home our Troops
& finally bring peace & brotherly love to our World
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Hi Vanessa!
Yes one was too many... God bless all the soldiers.... |
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Fri 03/28/08 08:30 AM
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Good Morning & Blessings to my Family,
Friends & extended Family ...
all of our Military Personnel all over the world...
& pray that they be safe
 in all that they do & everywhere they go
 & that no weapon formed against them shall prosper...
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prayers for & love to our troops
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Thoughts and prayers to the soldiers...
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Please Lord...
end all of these wars ...
please bring all of our loved ones home
soon and safely
without further injury or fatality
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prayers to the troops and their loved ones keeping the home fires burning
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Strength and hope and prayers for the soldiers and their families....
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Sun 03/30/08 12:16 AM
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this is for you Brigade ..
and for Combat Medic68W
Soldier for America
AMP dog
Tido
for Old Sage's Son overseas
Eaglewood's Sons
and all those whom i do not know or have missed
and to all of our military soldiers
who have served for our freedom
and for righteousness
i tip my hat to you
and curtsy deeply 
here is a bottle of Crown Royal
for you dear " brigade "
with no coke 
"Give thanks to those who defend democracy - for they bear the gift of liberty and pay the price of freedom". just a reminder as to who this thread is dedicated to :
special thanks to " peacekeeper "
who checked in once with us here 
and to all of our active military all over the world....
and to all of our retired military personnel....
much love & great respect for all of you
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In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae In Flanders fields the poppies grow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place, and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the dead; short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe! To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high! If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields. |
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MAY GOD KEEP YOU ALL SAFE AND BRING EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU HOME IN GOOD HEALTH,AMEN.
And I salute you ALL as MY hero's over there and when you return here!!!CHEERS
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 03/31/08 11:07 AM
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MAY GOD KEEP YOU ALL SAFE AND BRING EACH AND EVERYONE OF YOU HOME IN GOOD HEALTH,AMEN.
And I salute you ALL as MY hero's over there and when you return here!!!CHEERS
AMEN AMEN AMEN
You are all my very special heroes & heroines
Thanks so much for your enthusiasm,
 for your constant love & heartfelt prayers,
<<< Terry >>>
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 03/31/08 11:11 AM
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prayers to the troops and their loved ones keeping the home fires burning
Amen, I second the motion...
((((( <<<<< JACKIE >>>>>)))))
thank you i love you so much , Sis
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 03/31/08 11:18 AM
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Strength and hope and prayers for the soldiers and their families.... Yes, Amen, ~ Sherry ~ my dear spiritual Sister ...
Love and prayers
for our beloved Soldiers & all of the awesome Troops
& all of their blessed Families
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 03/31/08 11:32 AM
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http://www.soldierworks.com/
A Tribute to those who fight to keep us free "Freedom is never Free"
SoldierWorks is just that.
Works by Soldiers from their War Experience;
Soldier Stories, Soldier Poems, Soldier Songs, Stories of war, and War Stories.
Our goal is to bring to the public the self published,
or heretofore unpublished Story of War by those who actually experienced it.
They never forget the Lost Soldier,
the Wounded Soldier,
or the Soldier that became a Friend forever
on the Battlefields of time.
SoldierWorks is an effort to bring stories of war that you can find nowhere else. Here you will find here the words of those sent to war, who discovered their very soul, and wrote down the experience of it. If you have never seen combat except on on the big or small screen, you might consider the words of those that have seen it first hand. Wars simply refuse to go away, and the insight you will find here will be worth the time you spend. Some Stories submitted by Vets will be added here from time to time, and those are free. The soldiers that fought the fight, and wrote those experiences down know what they were fighting for, and hope that you do too.
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Edited by
Rapunzel
on
Mon 03/31/08 12:02 PM
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These Veteran Authors tell the story of War
as only they can tell it These works may not be on the best seller list, but perhaps they should be Works for Sale Written by Veteran Authors: BROWNWATER by Samuel C. Crawford http://www.soldierworks.com/crawford.htm PRIVILEGES of WAR by Thomas A. Ross http://www.therossjewelrycompany.com/tom.ross.html http://search.a1books.com/cgi-bin/mktSearch?act=showDesc&code=gbase&rel=1&ITEM_CODE=0975485903 THE AMERICAN DOCTOR OF MO CAY by Marie Peters http://www.doctorofmocay.com/ MIRROR - Veteran’s Poetry by Ray Castaneda <site not found> NOT ENOUGH TEARS by Dave Wright http://www.soldierworks.com/dwright.htm VIETNAM: NO REGRETS - One Soldier's Tour of Duty by J. Richard Watkins http://www.vietnamnoregrets.com/ Draftee: A High School Teacher Goes to War by David Volk http://www.soldierworks.com/volk.htm POEMS IN THE KEYS OF LIFE by Kerry "Doc" Pardue Reflections of a Combat Medic http://www.freewebs.com/kerrypardue/book.htm |
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