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Just incase I was misunderstood I will share a letter I sent to a very special soldier.

This is a Welcome Home letter I wrote to a mother's son. He just came home from Afghanistan this past May. He's was with ______________.

"Welcome Home Sgt. M.!

It must have been a long four years. You must be so tired, excited, grateful and simply relieved to be home basking in the love of family and friends. You are probably missing your buds just a bit. After all in the past four years you have become a band of brothers, depending on each other for everything. I'm just a civilian grateful for soldiers like you. You see soldiers like you are important to the world.

About 15 years ago I treated myself to a wonderful three week-Southeast Asian Cruise and met some wonderful people. I lucked out with a most entertaining dinner table. One couple was pretty old and British and so very charming. Charming like only the Brits can be. They took a liking to me and invited me to a State Room (you don't say cabin BTW) cocktail party. And there I witnessed something interesting.

While chatting it up with the British couple, a gentleman wandered up and introduced himself. He had an Eastern European accent and had immigrated to the US and started his own company in California. He was originally from Hungary. Some how we got on to the topic of WW2. The Hungarian gentleman asked the British Gentleman if he had fought in the war. The Brit nodded yes and informed us that he was a retired RAF pilot and his last mission had been flying out of Budapest. His last responsibility was to deliver orphans to England. The Hungarian asked the Brit if the date was such and such. The Brit looked amazed and puzzled, he nodded yes. The Hungarian's eyes got real big. The Hungarian then asked if it was a morning flight? Again the Brit nodded yes. The Hungarian gentleman had tears running down his face and hugged the Brit, "I was 10 years old and an orphan and on that flight. You brought me to Britain and freedom." By that time we were all teary eyed and pretty awestruck.

What is the probability of meeting the military man who delivered you to freedom on the other side of the world on a cruise ship at a private cocktail party 46 years later? My father, who is originally from Holland, still remembers the first care package the US Military dropped. He cherishes the memory of that chocolate bar that was buried somewhere in that lifesaving box. He cherishes the freedom the Airborne brought to his homeland so many decades ago.

What would the world do without you soldiers? You are the most humble of men and yet the world would be such a very dark place without you. Joseph, you have experienced more in four years than most people experience in a lifetime. You have witnessed and felt things that we here back home safe and sound can only imagine. I want you to know that your service has been invaluable. We have worried about you fighting in foreign lands so far way facing dangers for our benefit. It is very humbling and we owe you a great deal. And maybe one day you will meet an Iraqi or Afghan who will hug you and thank you for all you have done for them. Then you may realize the miracles you and your buds performed for us and the rest of the world and how much you are appreciated. My family and I are grateful to you and each and every one of your buds. Welcome Home and Thank You for your service. You did it with élan, courage and class. You have our respect and undying loyalty.

Sincerely,
Chgogal

Great letter, and it conveys the same sentiments that lead me to post this article in the first place. I am constantly awestruck at what our military men and women do for this country - and for many citizens of other countries. Sometimes we need to be reminded of the real-time difficulties that the family's as well as the soldier's endure, all of it for us. I know I do!! And this article describes just some of the details that we can't even imagine in our couch-potato lives.

And I have no doubt that in future years many of our brave military personnel will have similar experiences, as your Hungarian and British/former-RAF co-passengers did, in re-connecting and realizing how in some way they were responsible for episodes of happiness or help in each other's lives in previous years.

Like one of the other's quoted in the above article, my nephew (West Point class of 2000, grew up in the Chicago suburb of Bensenville) was hoping to be home for the birth of his first child. Now his wife is going from Fairbanks to Washington, D.C., where her mother lives, to deliver.

The least we could all do is to repeat, many times a day, a prayer similar to the one SandRat posted (#3). My whole family (my nephew has 3 siblings and 21 first cousins) is very apprehensive about this new assignment to Baghdad. After surviving an hellacious year, the unspoken fear in every one's mind is "what if during these next four months, when he was supposed to be home and safe ..."

And I agree with leadpenny's belief that a Universal Service bill, requiring some service of us all, should have been enacted.