An Open Letter to Our Service Members

3/25/2003 | Victoria L. Dearing

[cherry_bomb88]

This is a letter I wrote myself and post here in the hopes that it will be seen by even a few service members...I felt I had to do something to counter the media attention of the protesters, however small that something might be:

Dear Any Service Member,

I do not know who you are or where you come from. I know not if you have a spouse or children. I don’t know your age, the color of your hair or the color of your eyes. Yet I pray endlessly for your safety and wish you Godspeed in your task. I pray for your family and friends that they have the courage and comfort they need. I pray that they are as proud of you as I am. I have endless admiration for the depths of your courage. You fight for my daughters, and me yet you know not our names. You have placed yourself in the face of grave danger and you stand fast and you stand true. My daughters and I cry with the families of your fallen compatriots.

I hope that you and the other brave men and women that stand shoulder to shoulder with you, both from our country and our allies, pay no heed to the medias portrayal of the protests that go on in America. Know that they only garner the attention of the media because they are not peaceful and they commit outlandish acts in a desperate attempt to be heard. They cannot accept the fact that the right to free speech does not give them a right to be heard and heeded. The majority of the country is behind you. Tens of thousands rallied in your support around the country over the last week. I know this to be true as I personally attended the rally in Chicago that outnumbered the protesters that assembled 10 to 1. Please know, dear service member, this country loves you, respects you, honors you and is grateful for the sacrifices you make on our behalf without even knowing who we are. Pay no attention to the protesters; they do not speak for us. Additionally, pay no attention to the Hollywood celebrities; they now more speak for the country than Saddam himself.

We watch the news with great intensity, praying endlessly that we will hear of no more prisoners or casualties. Our hearts sink and we shed tears as we hear of our losses…but make no mistake, these losses do not discourage us, rather our sadness only strengthens our resolve to see this through. Our strength increases, even through our sadness. Our wills gain resolve to ensure that you have the support, both in morale and in supplies, equipment and funding, that is necessary for you to achieve success in the mission that was set before you. We will not let you fail. We rally with greater intensity, we write letters to our congressmen & senators, and even to your commander-in-chief. We let them know the country stands behind them and that we support their efforts to ensure your ultimate success.

Dear service member, I hope this letter finds you safe and well and in as good as spirits as is possible. I hope that this letter increases that morale, knowing that the majority of the country is behind you. Please know that you and your loved ones have my gratitude, respect and endless prayers. Perhaps the words of one unknown person won’t seek to comfort you; however some how I know that if you fight for me, the unknown person, my words of comfort will find a place in your heart. Accomplish your mission, and come home safely, Godspeed.

With gratitude, love, respect, support & resolve for you unto the end of the war,

Victoria Lynn Dearing

[cherry_bomb88]

yikes...I just realized there's a typo in there...(now should be no in regards to the celebs)

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Pinging 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub. Cherry_bomb88, "Tonk" regularly sets up the USO Canteen threads here on Free Republic, which are indeed monitored and read, apparently quite heavily, by active US Military personnel. No doubt he will want to include your letter in the next USO Canteen thread. Tonk, it's in your court now! ;-)

[cherry_bomb88]

Thanks! I just want the men & women in our service to know we support them! :)

[68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub]

An Open Letter to Our Service Members PING!

Cherry_bomb88 Thank You for this beautiful letter to our military.
NotJustAnotherPrettyFace Thanks for alerting me to this.

[TaRaRaBoomDeAyGoreLostToday!]

A heartfelt, tearful

[MoJo2001]

BTTT! Thank you for the ping!! Bravo Cherry_bomb88!!

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

ABSOLUTELY beautiful. Thank YOU!!!

[snippy_about_it]

Please stop by the Canteen where we honor and support our military past and present every day!

[2Jedismom]

Wonderful letter.

My two jedis (see profile) and I just spent a good long time in prayer for the service members, the families of those who have lost their lives and the ones in captivity.

[SAMWolf]

Bump and Welcome to Free Republic.

[ALOHA RONNIE]

NEVER FORGET

...We support our Troops...

...at the OSCARS =

http://www.tripflicks.com/pro/


Signed:..ALOHA RONNIE Guyer / Yellow Jacket Vietnam Vet-7th Cavalry-1965/66
http://www.LZXRAY.com

NEVER FORGET

[cowgirlcutie]

Thanks for the ping. What a beautiful letter! This expresses my sentiments exactly!!!

[EdReform]

Very nicely done!

M&M - could you ping your list?

Dave - thought you might like to see this!

[cherry_bomb88]

Again, Thanks to all of you for the compliments...I just hope this has as great an effect with our troops and reaches them deeper than the protests :)That is my only goal.

[EverOnward]

You express my thoughts and feelings. Prayers for our hero troops.

[Kathy in Alaska]

Thank you for such a beautiful letter to our military men and women.

[weldgophardline]

A great letter of how many of us feel and know that we wo'nt falter and we will not fail in defeating this cancer on the earth.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank you so much for the heads up!

[EdReform]

Ping