Posted on 05/09/2009 10:29:07 AM PDT by STARWISE
He came. He saw. He inhaled half the desert. David Feherty spent six days in Iraq & Kuwait on a USO tour. His mission: Make our brave troops laugh. This is his personal journal both hilarious and heartbreaking from the front lines
###
What the hell am I doing going to a war zone? That's what I thought as I boarded a flight from Dallas to Kuwait City, and then to Iraq, where I would join Butch Harmon, Tom Lehman, Tom Watson, Howard Twitty and Joe Inman on Operation Links, a USO-sponsored visit to boost the morale of American servicemen and women.
I grew up in Ulster, in Northern Ireland, in the 1960s and '70s, and the thought of being in a war zone never bothered me. So why did I feel uneasy this November morning? Perhaps because I was a child then, and now I had children.
On my flight out of Dallas, I examined the USO's press packet, filled with useful information about Arab culture, such as: Don't lean away if a man tries to embrace you, even if he's just farted Arabs have little concept of "personal space." Me, I have a Heisman stiff-arm zone around me into which only freshly showered family members, friends, and beagles are allowed, so if I was to avoid an international incident, adjustments were in order. Before I knew it, we were wheels down.
(Excerpt) Read more at golf.com ...
~~~
Send your letter of support to David Feherty at
feherty@golf.com
Feherty helped open a driving range dedicated to CSM Jonathan Lankford, who died of cardiac failure at Camp Victory.
I know exactly where they are in that third pic. :)
;) ... hi sweetie ... how’s things with you?
Hope he’s wearing his flak jacket, ‘cause
I have a feeling there’s gonna be more
incoming.
God bless ya.
“We boarded the C-130 to go back to Kuwait, and that’s when it happened. “We have to pick up HR,” the brass told us. “HR” means human remains. We landed at Balad Air Base, about 40 miles north of Baghdad, at dusk.
Our group walked off the plane and watched from a respectful distance as six Air Force airmen stood in doubleline formation.
A flag-draped casket was wheeled from an unmarked white van into their awaiting arms, and was carried to our plane with the delicacy of a funeral procession.
In the background, a pilot taxiing his C-5 Galaxy transport plane saw the unfolding scene, stopped, and silenced his engines. Only the distant screams of F-16s that patrol the Iraqi skies 24/7 could be heard as the body of the fallen warrior was gently loaded onto the tailgate, slid into our aircraft, and secured to the deck, resting inches from our seats.
As it should be. This wasn’t cargo. This was another passenger.
Moments later, we were wheels up, off on our 24-hour journey home. It was hard on Butch, who had seen this before, many years ago.
I sat in a trance, staring at the gunmetal-gray casket for most of the trip, and the words of Baghdadi police chief Shab’an B. al-Ubadi came back to me. “The tree of freedom does not grow without the blood of sacrifice.”
I wish I knew who was in that casket one of the 3,887 Americans killed in Iraq as of December so I could write to the family to tell them what an honor it was to be on the same airplane as their son or daughter, and to thank them.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the men and women of the U.S. armed forces, not just because of what they are doing in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere, but because of what they left behind.
The insurgents they face have left one barren, theocratic hellhole to go fight in Iraq. Big deal. Americans leave behind America, the best place in the world to live.
The message that Tom Watson, Tom Lehman, Butch Harmon, Howard Twitty, Joe Inman and I bring home is right from the lips of people who, thousands of miles from their families, lay their lives on the line every day to protect our way of life, and to improve it for the inhabitants of wherever they fight.
The worst thing we could do is make them come home before they have had the chance to finish their job. I am proud to write their message.”
~~~
God bless and protect our awesome military and their families.
~~PING!
Well, that made me cry.
I know ... sniff.
the Congressional Tournament is held every year around June in Maryland...Tiger is the host and the entire weekend is dedicated to the military- great to watch...
at last year’s tournament they were interviews w/condi rice and a bunch of others who were at the tournament..they had the kids of our military out there golfing and having fun....
Feherty walked the course on Sunday, giving his insight...on the 18th hole he talked about how tired he was as he had an Iraqi vet walking with him and he struggled to keep up with the Iraqi vet....he then brought the vet onto the camera and the young man had lost a leg and had a prosthetic device but was pumped as all hell to be on the course walking with the pro’s...
Feherty, who was born in Ireland, then thanked the young man and the rest of our military for “keeping the world safe and free for all Americans and legal immigrants such as myself”....
I will not forget that piece anytime soon....
I do, too.
Must’ve been wonderful to be there. Tiger
does so much for our troops in honor of his
Dad ... and he honors his father’s love of
the military and his service when he does.
Earl Woods had a formula for raising good,
smart and decent children that is amazing.
BTTT
i was not there- I was watching it on TV....Fred Couples was hosting it last year, if memory serves me, as Tiger was still rehabbing from knee surgery...
Hope hes wearing his flak jacket, cause I have a feeling theres gonna be more incoming.
Cor blimey, I hope not. Incoming has pretty much become a thing of the past. I'd sure hate to see that cr@p start up again.
We mostly just hear controlled dets these days.
Take care of you and as always, your support is much appreciated by many.
We need more media personnel like this one! He might be Irish-born, but he’s a “great American”, too!
Oh, yeah...I can totally dig that. :)
Ooh .. not for you guys, for Feherty for his
piece below.
I’ve recently thought I should ask you if you
have room in your quonset hut for me. With
all the crap that 0’s inflicting here, you just
might be in a safer place .... LOL.
Feherty’s getting that well-worn lib hypocrite
routine — we can bash yours but you can’t
bash ours or we’ll decimate you, your
family’s life, your livelihood, your wellbeing,
your health, and take your children’s and
grandchildren’s future from them.
~~~
An F-List Celeb Imagines What Preston Hollow Life Will Be Like For W
D Magazine ^ | 3/18/09 | David Feherty
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2247044/posts
~~~
“Mr. Feherty’s violent comments about Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are disgusting,” said Media Matters President Eric Burns. “Suggesting that our troops would attack the leaders of the very democracy they’ve sworn to sacrifice their lives for is an insult to their integrity, honor, and professionalism. CBS Sports should demand its golf analyst apologize to our soldiers.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2247213/posts
Amen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.