Posted on 12/21/2004 3:34:09 PM PST by NormsRevenge
LEBANON, Pa. (AP) - This is what Frank Ryan is bringing with him to Iraq: Fourteen pairs of socks, 10 pairs of underwear, eight uniforms, and an alarm clock with his son Matthew's picture in it. Four razors, the lubricated kind for dry shaving, a knife, one sweater, two hats, long thermal underwear for sleeping and more family photos on a CD.
And that's not to mention the venison jerky for instant protein from Jan and Chuck Soulliard, friends from the post office.
Ryan is a 53-year-old retired Marine colonel with 32 years of active and reserve duty under his belt.
An accountant from Lebanon, he got a phone call from the Marine Corps' manpower office in August. Officials wanted to see if he would come out of retirement to serve in Iraq.
Could he pass the physical? Was he interested?
Yes, he said, he would be ready to go. "Being able to be part of this is very important to me," he explained.
On Nov. 3, his orders came in the mail, marked "Involuntary Presidential Select Recall." This was no longer a courtesy call. He would deploy on Dec. 5 to serve as deputy chief of the multinational force in Iraq. Ryan's assignment: to be responsible to the chief of staff and commanding general to coordinate the planning and operations of ground forces.
For Frank Ryan, 2004 is ending in ways he could hardly have imagined when the hectic year began.
In preparation for deployment, Ryan started jogging four times a week to lose the 20 pounds he had gained while running for the 17th congressional district seat in central Pennsylvania. He lost the Republican nomination to Scott Paterno.
He had to close his accounting business temporarily and refer his current clients. He had to finish landscaping the front yard. He had to prepare his four grown children and his wife, Sherrie. He was going into harm's way.
One of the hardest parts of the deployment for Ryan was stopping the adoption of a baby girl from China.
When he retired two years ago, he and Sherrie thought it would be wonderful to have another child, and so they started the adoption process. Just before Ryan got his orders they were told they would be paired up with a child and travel to China to get her as early as January. They chose the name Julia Rose.
The deployment made the adoption impossible, since the Chinese adoption agency required them to pick up the baby together. The adoption will have to wait. It's for the best, Ryan said.
"This is not going to happen, but if I became a casualty, what would it mean for the baby?" he said.
He had already set up an education fund for Julia Rose.
In the period before deployment, Ryan prepared himself mentally for combat.
"I tell this to any of my young Marines: You are going into a different world and have to be prepared for just about anything," he said. "They can't afford to take anything for granted."
For Ryan, that means breaking up normal everyday patterns, such as getting up and having a cup of coffee. "Don't have a pattern to your daily life," he said. "Patterns will get you killed."
Another aspect of mental preparation is what he calls "personnel accountability."
"It is real easy to wake up in the morning and say, four kids, my wife, three dogs, I'm covered," he said. "Now I need to know where everybody is every second of the day, and: Are they OK? And so you mentally have to be prepared. You can't take your eye off of one person once. Real leadership is defined by your ability to care for others."
Ryan joined the Marines as soon as he turned 18, at the height of the Vietnam War.
His son, Matthew Ryan, 22, enlisted with the Pennsylvania National Guard right out of high school. He will be commissioned in May when he graduates from Penn State. He has chosen the infantry and expects to be sent to Iraq.
On Sunday, Dec. 5, Frank Ryan had a cup of coffee out of his favorite mug. He put on his new uniform and loaded his bags in the family Volvo station wagon. He gave the dogs a goodbye cookie.
Then he and Sherrie and three fiends headed for Harrisburg International Airport. First, he'd fly to Camp Lejeune, N.C., then later to Iraq.
As Ryan checked in at the airport counter using his one-way ticket, he struck up a conversation with another traveler, John Hatton, a retired New York police officer and former Marine. When they parted, Ryan gave a quick salute and smile, and Hatton said, "I will say a rosary for you, Colonel."
Here's the Cliff Notes, you do the rest!
THE CHRISTMAS GIFT -- THE ADOPTION OF AN UNWANTED CHILD
Since my response was to the adoption of the child, I just naturally assumed you would key in on the words "adopt" or holly molly, maybe even the word "adoption"........
Please forgive me for being so assumptive......believe me, in your case, it won't happen again.......
You have no points, only your perception of what you think I said. Your opinion is colored but your own [ersponal bias that has -0- to do with me or my opinion. BTW, I do not care what you think. Hope this helps.
BTW you missed my amendment post 45 for your 43. Hope you have the clarification. What are you saying anyway?
I'm 57....a part of me wants so much to go...but I don't think I could pass the physical.
God Bless This Man and his peers.
SEMPER FI
Cool it.
I have nothing against American babies being adopted. I have a problem with challenging someone who decides to adopt a Chinese baby for his/her family. This has happened a couple of times lately on threads that I've noticed, and I think its wrong. American babies are no better or worse than Chinese babies, and I have no problem with Chinese babies growing up here as Americans.
As an AMERICAN, I object.
GOD Bless you Col. I wish that I could join you there! I hate this darned med retirement!
Shoot fast,straight,& offen. aim center mast and squeeze the trigger!
SEMPER FI!!
NEWBIE, A CHILD IS A CHILD and any individual who has a problem with the adoption of a child based solely on that child’s country of birth is nothing more than a racist!
The following statements made by you NEWBIE, have absolutely no business being issued on this conservative/christian site and are not only an embarrassment to the entire Freeper community but are also a disgrace to each and every individual who has shown the compassion in adopting a foreign child! You sir owe them an apology!
Here are your statements:
“we have enough "immigrants" in this country.”
“What do you have against AMERICAN babies for adoption?”
“I am pro AMERICAN born adoption,”
And your final statement to J.N. who stated that he has no problem with Chinese babies growing up here as Americans:
"As an AMERICAN, I object."
My suggestion to you NEWBIE is to lurk around for a while longer till you get the gist of what this site is all about. And what this site ISN'T about is discrimination against the innocent simply due to their country of origin.........
No he can't. There are rules.
Well how about this: Only China and India have more people than the United States.
We have enough people in this country--it's time to sharply curtail immigration--and I don't care if it's immigration from Sweeden--the country's too crowded; enough already!
Adoption isnt a matter of immigration but rather a business of politics. As I was trying to point out to Wind guy earlier that there is a freeper who started a thread detailing how hard it was for them to adopt an American child and they were nearing the end of their trying when God blessed them with a series of events that ultimately led to their adopting a baby directly from the birth mother.
Due to the legalese in this country, it is becomming harder and harder to adopt what with the original parents now being allowed to recover the children they have given up for adoption.
The difficulty, the legality and cost involved in adopting American children is now forcing many parents-in-waiting to seek alternative routes in finding children and unforunately for American children, the route most accessable is via foreign adoption agencies.
Isn't that the truth!
I don't think anyone has anything against adopting American kids...just against the American adoption process. My husband and I have talked about adopting a Chinese girl one day...that doesn't mean we dislike American kids. (Shoot, we've got 5 between us and one more on the way).
As another poster once said, "To the contrary, they like American kids so much they thought they'd add one more."
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