Message from a Gold Star Dad
I started blogging on January 16, 2006 with my first post on mail rebate scams. The very first site I linked to in my sidebar was the webpage for Charlie Company, FIRST BATTALION, FIRST MARINES. THE 'MARTYR MAKERS' the unit my friend SGT Michael Wishnia is in. (Michael is the squad leader serving with 1st Plt Charlie Co and is stationed in Fallujah, Iraq and that's him in the poster above) Michael's company has been in Iraq for a while now and just last April a fellow Marine was killed.
I received an email requesting me to post the following message.
This is a message from a Gold Star Dad. His son was in Michael's battalion, who died in Iraq in April, as you can see below. It was posted on a Yahoo group for the 1/1 deployment.
For those of you who know me, I am not posting this because I lost a
son in trying to free the Iraqi people. I am re-posting it because I
believe it is true. I see so many of you going through these very
steps and want to slap you because of it. Could I, I would stand
beside any of those who serve for they allow me the chance to do so.
No one ordered them, they do it from sense of duty. Now tell me,
where is your sense?
Guy
Gold Star Dad, LCpl Marcus Glimpse, RIP April 12, 2006
Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.
He stays up for days on end.
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water.
You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He gets shot at as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.
You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He doesn't get to eat today.
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.
You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He's told he will be held over an extra 2 months.
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.
He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.
You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the wounded.
You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees the broken bodies lying around him.
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He does exactly what he is told.
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep, and eat.
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be woken by gunfire.
You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him!
And who supports our troops? Not the new democratic party:
don surber - [defunct blog],
The surrender partyWe can disagree on tax cuts. Minimum wage. Whether toilets should flow more than 1.6 liters per flush. But one thing we cannot disagree on is the defense of these United States of America. Mehlman made that clear:
"Today’s Democrat Party is the Party of George Soros, a man who said "By declaring a ‘war on terror’ after September the 11th, we set the wrong agenda for the world,” not JFK, a man who said "we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe in order to assure the survival and success of liberty.”
Xerox set up a site in June 0f 2006 that lets you pick out a card and have it sent to a military member for free. Click on image below to visit site.
Photos courtesy of keystone soldiers.
