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
I'm sorry to hear of your loss. Please know that some of us out here thank that young man, your son, for serving, and sacrificing for our freedom. His life is not in vain, he is safely in Gods arms now. Thank you Brian.
Carolyn
USMC 1977-1981
God Bless you and all of yours. I haven't lived through what you have but my son whose name happens to be Brian too, is twelve years U. S. Navy. He has been assigned to a unit that could get him in Harm's Way also. My prayers don't just go out for him but for all of them that do what they do for us. Yes, they are all HEROS and more. You and I are both standing shoulder beaming with PRIDE because they are the BEST of the BEST. Your Brian is living on with all of them who keep protecting America. From one Dad to another these words come from deep in my Heart!
My sincerest condolences on the loss of your son.
I'm not looking forward to writing the exact same letter this time next year. My youngest has his heart set on being a grunt and changing the world. He graduates from high school next June.
I'm extremely proud of the way he has grown-up, but as a parent, and both my wife and I are Army, it's only natural for us not to want our children in harms way.
God Bless you and your family.
I am truly speechless. May you somehow find comfort in your loss until you are reunited once again with your wonderful son. What a wonderful letter you wrote to Brian. He certainly knew of your love and support. He died a hero. God bless you and I will remember to pray for you. Thank you for sharing your son.
Your letter is Excellent and it expresses your Love and the dedication that you and your Son have for this Country. I cannot feel the grief that you feel as a Father to one of Our Heroes. Please know that we support you and Thank you for sharing this letter.
For your Son, I didn't know him, but I can't stop the tears from flowing from my eyes. My Prayers are with you and your family.
Thank God Almighty we have such brave Men to stand up and Protect us from the evil that has entered this world.
I am Brian's Mom. My Brian is sleeping peacefully upstairs at this moment, because of your Brian's sacrifice.
Having read through this thread, and learning that your Brian also played baseball, and played in the band, and has a sister and a brother, my heart is aching for you.
My Brian and his sister and brother have their freedom at a dear cost.
Your Brian will never be forgotten by my family. Everytime I look at my Brian, I will know that he is safe and secure in his freedom because of the sacrifice of your Brian, and so many others.
Thank you for sharing your letter, and your Brian with us.
I pray that God will bless and comfort you and your family, BriansDad.
Thank you so much for that. I want you to know that in the 2 1/2 months since we heard the news about Brian, that couple minutes has given me more peace than any one thing I can remember. Thank you.
Sir, I am sorry for your loss. Your son gave all. He was a true-blooded patriot.
I can't possibly tell you how much those words mean to me.
It is an Honor to meet you.
and Thank you.
This time I'll defer to a finer writer than any of us. I think you'll recognize the pen, and know that these words are as much yours as they were Mrs. Bixby's.
------
Dear Madame, I have been shown in the files of the War Department a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine that should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming.
But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray our heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of freedom.
Sincerely yours,
Abraham Lincoln
God bless and keep you
May his face shine upon you
May he look upon you with His Countenance
and give you peace.
Thank you, BriansDad, and bless the eternal soul of your son.
RBJ
God bless you.
You had to have read my mind.
When I got home, which is right now, I was going to look that up.
Thankyou for posting it.
I can not find the words to express my deep sorrow, that families like yours must suffer so.
May God bless you and your son,Brian.
My family will never forget your sacrifices or your son Brian.
Nam Vet
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