Posted on 10/10/2005 1:55:13 PM PDT by smokinleroy
Soldier praises support
I am a soldier and it is my turn to say thank-you. Since the war against terror began in 2001, I have been thanked for serving our nation by strangers when I attended weddings and funerals. I have been thanked on the street, in restaurants and at the airport.
I have received e-mails from family, friends and friends of friends, and even their friends. I was even thanked by a half-frozen Salvation Army volunteer outside a Michigan Wal-Mart in December.
In some cases, I have been in uniform. Other times, it is simply the short haircut that is enough to spark a "thank you."
I have always very hesitantly accepted the thanks. In my heart I accepted them not for myself, but for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who already have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or any of the deployed areas of the world. I was hesitant because I had not yet been sent to war myself; I had not yet earned that "thank you," but now my time has come.
I will deploy with the 10th Mountain Division very shortly and gratefully. Before I go, however, I want to make sure America understands just how important these gestures of "thank you" are.
American soldiers are professionals, but we are not mercenaries. We are, for the most part, a healthy mix of idealist and realist.
We believe in what America stands for and what the American people represent. We also understand, often firsthand, the hard and painful work that must be undertaken to protect these ideals.
In carrying out this work, the support of the American citizen is extremely important to soldier morale. Recently I accompanied a small group from our unit on a brief trip to Iraq. The purpose of the trip was to learn about our assigned area and mission in that country so we could bring lessons back and better prepare our unit and soldiers.
During this trip, the signs of overwhelming American citizen support were everywhere. Airline workers thanked us on our way over; at a stopover in Italy, we were greeted by United States citizens with coffee and pastries for us; postcards and letters from schoolchildren decorated the military air terminals in Kuwait; and in Iraq, care packages were everywhere, even some with coveted Girl Scout cookies.
At one battalion I visited, a meeting began with the reading of a touching letter of support from an American schoolgirl. This active support is key to our soldiers' morale in a difficult war, and I thank people for this from the bottom of my heart.
America has been generous in sending cards and packages and giving thanks to our soldiers, but even more importantly Americans continue to exemplify just what we are fighting for.
It occurred to me when the Salvation Army volunteer, who was willing to stand outside in a freezing blizzard to collect change for those less fortunate, thanked me for my service that it was backwards - that I should have been thanking him. To me, he represented the ideals that make America worth fighting for - ideals that I am willing to risk my life to preserve, ideals that offer the best hope of defeating the ideology of terrorism. The vast majority of Americans exemplify these ideals. As my unit prepares to deploy, I see that our soldiers are not only well-equipped and well-trained, but determined, confident and optimistic. This would not be possible without the support of the American citizen. So, thanks once more for all of the active support in cards, letters, cookies and gestures of "thank you." They are appreciated by all of us.
And "thank you" for keeping America a country worthy of our sacrifices.
Maj. Timothy Parker
Gibsonia
Indeed.
Thank you, Maj. Parker.
The Cindy Sheehans of this country sometimes know that better than anyone.
We all need to do our part to make sure the MSM doesn't drive the political flavoring of what is going on.
I, personally try my damndest to say thanks to every veteran and active duty military person that I see. It sounds like a lot of people feel the same way I do, and don't want to see our troops think that the MSM is reflecting the sentiments of our country.
Thank you for posting this letter. It was so well put...I really liked the "...Professionals but not Mercenaries..." segment!
The debt of gratitude is very much in the other direction, good sir. Thanks cannot be said enough for what those brave people are doing, and we must never lose sight of that.
Great letter. While the MSM wants to portray a nation divided and under the spell of Cindy Sheehan and her military hate, we can see that NORMAL Americans still appreciated the sacrifices of these angels of light who keep us free.
What a great letter and message. This warrior exemplifies the good and the right that yet remains for most in this country. The trouble with the liberals is they don't have a clue as to how good they have it and to whom they owe their greatest debt of gratitude. Sadly, they are "stuck on stupid."
I am personally about to move my in-laws back from CA to live in our old house in MO. My wife was reluctant to ask them to come and I told her I could never turn away from my door, a man who was a B17 pilot, flying 16 missions over Germany in WWII. This man is near the end of his rope and needs our assistance now. It it is an honor for me to help with what I can.
We know where the thanks belong and will keep suppling them.
My wife and I add our thanks!
God bless Major Parker and all of our brave fighting men.
Thank you to anyone reading this who serves or who has ever served in our armed forces. We owe you so much.
Major Parker-
It is America that Thanks you and all the men and women in our Armed Forces.
May God Bless & Protect you all.
Bookmarked. The pride I feel because of this letter is overwhelming. Thank you, Major Parker. Godspeed. You and your unit and all of our armed forces will be in my prayers. Fight smart and be safe. Come home soon.
Know this Maj. Parker, in this household, as well as millions of other households across America, you are honored, revered and loved, as are all our military. As for the MSM, their time has come and gone. FreeRepublic rules!
IF you can get word back to Maj. Timothy Parker of the 10th Mountain; let him know how much we are cheering all the troops on. Let him know we'll keep the home fires burning as that's our duty so he and the others serving can do their duty.
Dear Maj. Timothy Parker -
God bless you and watch over you and all the brave troops who are sacrificing for our country to keep us safe!
May you all return safe and sound - quickly and with much success and favor back to our country!
We do appreciate all you do! And we'll continue to lift you all up in prayer!
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