Posted on 07/02/2004 1:29:58 PM PDT by BriansDad
Brian;
I finished talking to you last Saturday, long distance from Germany, where you were helping load up your unit for movement to the Middle East. I didn’t get to tell you everything I wanted to say, partly because I am not very good at expressing myself on the spur of the moment, and partly because I wanted the conversation to be as upbeat as I could manage.
You are, it appears, heading off to war. Unfortunately, volunteering to join the Army, and putting yourself in jeopardy for the sake of your country does not generate the open admiration that it has in times past. I want you to know that I am very proud of you, though. You continue a family tradition of service to country that passed from my father’s service in Japan at the end of World War II, through my enlistment and that of my three brothers in our generation. I was the one who suggested that you enlist, but you were the one with the dedication and love of country to make the decision. I saw you go off to basic training right after graduation from high school…a gawky, typically unfocused teenage boy. You returned from basic and advanced training not gawky but solid and strong, not scatterbrained but with a calmness and maturity that was very surprising after three short months. You came back a man. A man that was all I ever hoped and dreamed you would be. I admire what you have become.
Your choice of combat engineers was a bit frightening…early into harm’s way is not what fathers dream of for their sons. And now, you are preparing to go fight, to follow the orders of those above you, and I am scared. Scared for your safety, and for the safety of all your fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines.
You may have heard of some of the dissenting voices back in the United States. As with all wars, there are those who believe we should not fight, or that the cause is not just, or that the whole thing just isn’t necessary. You will note that many of the voices raised in dissent are the same voices that we have heard many times… the appeasers, the weak minded, those with agendas we can only guess at, and, unfortunately also those who just plain hate this country. Oh, they are here…count on it. You could hear them throughout the years constantly finding fault with everything America does, belittling what we stand for and what we are. Unfortunately, those in the entertainment industry tend to be over-represented in these voices of dissent. What was it that John Adams said in “1776”? “Those cool men” (and women, of course)….who speak out loudly and with feeling, but stand back and let others do the dangerous and frightening work that must be done to protect the country and the people. You never see them volunteering to place themselves in danger. They are never the police officers, the firefighters, or the military men whose daily lives are service to country. Sarandon, Sheen, Penn, and the others….always the same names. They cry the same platitudes, “Peace, always peace”, “There is no proof”, “Why should we get involved?” Strangely, or perhaps not so, these were many of the same cries made in the late 1930’s, and by the time they were stilled, whole nations and peoples had been destroyed. No one expects Saddam Hussein to conquer countries as Adolf Hitler did (not that he hasn’t tried, though), but he is a man of intense evil, and a man who has proven to have no hesitation at using chemical and biological weapons against those he dislikes. And, my son, we are on that list. All it takes is to remember the pictures you have seen of the victims of these heinous weapons. The caustic burns, children’s chests heaving to take a breath, or, worst of all, the mounds of lifeless bodies. You and your fellow military men and women are gearing up to prevent these same pictures from appearing on our T.V. screens yet again, but with the locations being L.A., or Akron, or Washington, D.C.; and the people in the pictures being Americans, not some unknown tribe’s people from a far off land.
So, go forth with the knowledge that our cause is just, and the battle is necessary. And pay no heed to the dissenters, they are not the majority or even a significant minority of the people in this country. That majority of good people stand behind you and the rest of the servicemen. Those people know that to have a safe world, to have a safe America, we must protect ourselves against our enemies.
Go and do what you must do. Know that with all of my heart I love you, I respect you, and I am so very proud of you. The other fathers of America and I place our country, our safety and our future in your hands. I pray that God watches over all of you.
All my love
Dad
Your son and all of his comrades in arms throughout the years have given us all the opportunity to enjoy the Freedom our country celebrates this Sunday. We won't forget him.
Please accept my condolences on your family's loss.
Please also accept my thanks. The focus is (rightly) always on the sacrifices that the troops have to make when they serve, even if they do not suffer a scratch while doing so. However, the families of those who serve for the benefit of our entire society almost always suffer in silence, with the media and most people not noticing them. Even if Brian had come back after serving, you and your family would have been through Hell every single day, always wondering about your son. To say that you've been through far more suffering than that would be a considerable understatement.
Yet...it is because of your suffering and Brian's sacrifice that people like me can sit at a computer keyboard, in the knowledge that the worst that probably will ever happen to me on the job is a papercut or some repetitive stress injury, i.e. nothing. I know, as do my wife and kids, that I will be home in the evening, and it is thanks to both those who serve and their families.
I hope that the knowledge that others appreciate what you have been and will go through can bring you and your family some measure of comfort. G-d bless you and your family.
bump
Owl_Eagle
”Guns Before Butter.”
I've sat here for the last 5 minutes bawling my eyes out. As many can see from my tagline, I'm a Ranger. I've lost several close friends in this conflict but this hit me the hardest. How would I ever let my son go into what I know from first hand experience is going on? BriansDad, you have more courage than I. God bless you. Thank you for giving us your son. Thank you for sharing this email.
BriansDad, Like you, I am not good at expressing myself on the spur of the moment. I have 3 sons and I can appreciate the pain you must feel at the loss of your wonderful son. Please know that my prayers go out for you and your family, and for God to bless Brian. I am thankful every day for our young people like Brian and all that served with him and I know God will bless them.
I have a soon to be 15 year old, and have begun to consider what his future holds in this area. It's not a long reach, in my imagination, to substitute my Ben for your Brian.
I hope I would be as brave as you and your son are.
This American thanks you and your family for your sacrifice. I must not be in vain; nor shall it be!
For my dearest brother, fellow Patriot and fellow Father,
there are no words to properly assuage the loss of your son, and so fine a man that he is become under your guidance of your hand. Though my son is but 11 months old, I cannot imagine going through something similar with him.
Yet, it is precisely this sort of man that I pray God I have the wisdom and perseverance to raise. Despite the dangers, or the human frailty from which tyrants can be born, and because of which wars must be fought by men such as your Son, we cannot do otherwise.
It can be no other way; we cannot strive to be strong for our children and not be ready to respond when our strength is needed by those who can't defend themselves. Brian answers this challenge, as we would too if the reckoning had come during our watch. God truly has granted us Liberty, and we do owe him our Courage in return.
If I may, I will share with you the following: our God teaches us that eternity is with Him, and that this life we have here is so, so brief by comparison. Despite the inmeasurable pain of your loss, please know that your Son is now home, and there will come a day when you will hold him in your embrace again. On that day, your tears of sorrow will transform into tears of joy. And that day will last forever.
With my most humble respects and prayers, I remain your faithful servant...
CGVet58
Sir, I was about to cry reading your letter to Brian, before I read that he had made the supreme sacrifice. I cry now. Please know that this nation is grateful for his and your sacrifice, and that we remain free, due, in no small part, to that sacrifice.
God Bless the USA, and God Bless you.
So very sorry about Brian. May God bless, comfort and heal you and your family. Brian will live with you always in your heart and be with you daily there after a time.
Never let anyone tell you his courage, bravery and love of his country were a waste - they were not. The very things that brought him to volunteer are the things of character, love of country and of being a fine man.
It is such a horror that these fine men have to go fight against those so evil that they can destroy thousands of people. But they are allowed in this world and solely due to our soldiers they are kept from stealing freedom and America away from all.
Your words to him were beautiful and I am sure he treasured you as his dad. It is wonderful you told him how proud you were of him.
May the Lord gently cradle your family in His loving arms.
Peace be with you BriansDad
God Bless You
We will never forget.
God bless Brian, God bless you and yours, and God Bless The United States Of America!
Salute
ping
The selfless courage of each and every heroic American soldier, from the American Revolution to Brian's laying down his life for US... for his country can ever be measured in human terms.
Thank you Brian, I know you are watching us..... Thank you for being a true protector of what is good... for liberty... and especially for allowing me the profound privilege to honor your memory.
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