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A note of thanks to those who serve [9-11 widow in Iraq - moving!]
Air Force Link - thru DefendAmerica.mil ^
| 6/30/2003
| Christy Ferer
Posted on 07/05/2003 1:05:42 PM PDT by Ragtime Cowgirl
A note of thanks to those who serve
by Christy Ferer
6/30/2003 - NEW YORK (AFPN) -- When I told friends about my pilgrimage to Iraq to thank the U.S. troops, reaction was underwhelming at best.
Some were blunt. "Why are you going there?" They could not understand why it was important for me, a 9/11 widow, to express my support for the men and women stationed today in the Gulf.
But the reason seemed clear to me: 200,000 troops have been sent halfway around the world to stabilize the kind of culture that breeds terrorists like those who I believe began World War III on Sept. 11, 2001. Reaction was so politely negative that I began to doubt my role on the first USO/Tribeca Institute tour into newly occupied Iraq where, on average, a soldier a day is killed.
Besides, with Robert De Niro, Kid Rock, Rebecca and John Stamos, Wayne Newton, Gary Sinise, and Lee Ann Womack, who needed me?
Did they really want to hear about my husband, Neil Levin, who went to work as director of the New York Port Authority on Sept.11 and never came home? How would they relate to the two others traveling with me: Ginny Bauer, a New Jersey homemaker and the mother of three who lost her husband, David; and former Marine Jon Vigiano, who lost his only sons, Jon, a firefighter and Joe, a policeman.
As we were choppered over deserts that looked like bleached bread crumbs, I wondered if I'd feel like a street hawker, passing out Port Authority pins and baseball caps as I said "thank you" to the troops. Would a hug from me mean anything at all in the presence of the Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders and a Victorias Secret model?
The first "meet and greet" made me weep. Why? Soldiers, armed with M16s and saddlebags of water in 120-degree heat, swarmed over the stars for photos and autographs. When it was announced that a trio of Sept. 11 family members was also in the tent it was as if a psychic cork on an emotional dam was popped.
Soldiers from all over our great country rushed toward us to express their condolences. Some wanted to touch us, as if they needed a physical connection to our sorrow and for some living proof for why they were there.
One mother of two from Montana told me she enlisted because of Sept. 11. Dozens of others told us the same thing. One young soldier showed me his metal bracelet engraved with the name of a victim he never knew and that awful date none of us will ever forget.
In fact at every encounter with the troops there would be a surge of Reservists -- firefighters and cops, including many who had worked the rubble of Ground Zero -- wanting to exchange a hometown hug.
Their glassy eyes still do not allow anyone to penetrate too far inside to the place where their trauma is lodged; the trauma of a devastation far greater than anyone who hadn't been there could even imagine. It's there in me, too. I had forced my way downtown on that awful morning, convinced that I could find Neil beneath the rubble.
What I was not prepared for was to have soldiers show us the World Trade Center memorabilia they'd carried with them into the streets of Baghdad. Others had clearly been holding in stories of personal 9/11 tragedies which had made them enlist.
USO handlers moved us from one corner to the next so everyone could meet us. One fire brigade plucked the three of us from the crowd, transporting us to their firehouse to call on those who had to stand guard during the Baghdad concert. It was all about touching us and feeling the reason they were in this hell. Back at Baghdad International Airport, Kid Rock turned a "meet and greet" into an impromptu concert in a steamy airport hangar before 5000 troops.
One particular soldier, Capt. Vargas from the Bronx, told me he enlisted in the Army after some of his wife's best friends were lost at the World Trade Center.
When he glimpsed the piece of recovered metal from the Towers that I had been showing to a group of soldiers he grasped for it as if it were the Holy Grail. Then he handed it to Kid Rock who passed the precious metal through the 5000 troops in the audience. They lunged at the opportunity to touch the steel that symbolized what so many of them felt was the purpose of their mission -- which puts them at risk every day in the 116 degree heat, not knowing all the while if a sniper was going to strike at anytime.
Looking into that sea of khaki gave me chills even in that blistering heat. To me, those troops were there to avenge the murder of my husband and 3,000 others. When I got to the microphone I told them we had not made this journey for condolences but to thank them and to tell them that the families of 9/11 think of them every day. They lift our hearts. The crowd interrupted me with chants of "USA, USA, USA." Many wept.
What happened next left no doubt that the troops drew inspiration from our tragedies. When I was first asked to speak to thousands of troops in Qatar, after Iraq, I wondered if it would feel like a "grief for sale" spectacle.
But this time I was shaking because I was to present the recovered WTC steel to Gen. Tommy Franks (U.S. Central Command commander). I quivered as I handed him the icy gray block of steel. His great craggy eyes welled up with tears. The sea of khaki fell silent. Then the proud four-star general was unable to hold back the tears which streamed down his face on center stage before 4,000 troops. As this mighty man turned from the spotlight to regain his composure I comforted him with a hug.
Now, when do I return?
(Editors note: This commentary is printed with permission from Christy Ferer, a New York native whose husband, Neil Levin, was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Ferer was part of a recent United Services Organizations tour to Iraq.) |
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TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: New York; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911families; army; marines; navy; usaf; usmc
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To: etabeta
41
posted on
08/20/2003 7:40:15 AM PDT
by
Ragtime Cowgirl
("We're ready and willing to get the job done." - Staff Sgt Paul Johnson, nr. UN bldg, Baghdad, 8/19)
To: SAMWolf; AntiJen; snippy_about_it; Victoria Delsoul; bentfeather; radu; SpookBrat; bluesagewoman; ..
Flag
42
posted on
08/20/2003 7:40:33 AM PDT
by
Valin
(America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy.)
To: Valin
Bump
43
posted on
08/20/2003 7:45:53 AM PDT
by
SAMWolf
(Jealousy is all the fun you think they have.)
To: MEG33
Ditto. The story's so moving because it is real - not casual "I feel your pain" emotionalism, but a shared grief and sense of purpose between those who lost so much on 9-11 and those who are honorable enough to want to risk their lives to ease their suffering - and it is the best gift for our weary troops.
Why does AMERICA's press think it's their job to lecture our troops and tell the Generals how to do their jobs? That's insane. What are they teaching at 'journalism' schools? TO INFORM, that's their job. They aren't.
44
posted on
08/20/2003 7:49:16 AM PDT
by
Ragtime Cowgirl
("We're ready and willing to get the job done." - Staff Sgt Paul Johnson, nr. UN bldg, Baghdad, 8/19)
To: Valin
You have a heart.
45
posted on
08/20/2003 7:51:05 AM PDT
by
Ragtime Cowgirl
("We're ready and willing to get the job done." - Staff Sgt Paul Johnson, nr. UN bldg, Baghdad, 8/19)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Beautiful. Thanks for posting this.
46
posted on
08/20/2003 7:57:54 AM PDT
by
Mr. Silverback
(squarepegroundholesquarepegroundholesquarepegroundholesquarepegroundholesquarepegroundholesquarepegr)
To: Mr. Silverback
A hearty bump!
47
posted on
08/20/2003 8:03:39 AM PDT
by
Coop
(God bless our troops!)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
It is so important to NEVER FORGET. This is almost a 3 hanky read. Thank you for posting it.
48
posted on
08/20/2003 8:04:06 AM PDT
by
mathluv
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Bump!
49
posted on
08/20/2003 8:08:22 AM PDT
by
blackie
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
bump
50
posted on
08/20/2003 8:33:02 AM PDT
by
lowbridge
(Texas Democrats. Saddam. On the lam together.)
To: Valin; Ragtime Cowgirl
Thank you for the ping!! The monitor is watery! Bad Monitor!
51
posted on
08/20/2003 9:49:54 AM PDT
by
MoJo2001
(God Bless Our Troops and Allies! Thank you for all you do!!)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
What a beautiful post. Bump to the top.
52
posted on
08/20/2003 10:01:54 AM PDT
by
BOBTHENAILER
(One by one, in groups or whole armies.....we don't care how we getcha, but we will)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl; Kathy in Alaska; MoJo2001; LindaSOG; LaDivaLoca; bentfeather; Bethbg79; ...
A Never Forget 9/11 must read PING
Ragtime Cowgirl : Thank You
To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
54
posted on
08/20/2003 10:17:55 AM PDT
by
stand watie
(Resistence to tyrants is obedience to God. -Thomas Jefferson)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
I M P R E S S I V E ! ! !
Thanks Ragtime!
55
posted on
08/20/2003 10:19:32 AM PDT
by
SouthernHawk
(You don't get to choose how you're going to die...only how you're going to live.)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Err...this post caused even this normally cynical and sarcastic poster to get ...ummm... a might bit misty and glassy eyed. Nothing more to say. :_(
To: Ragtime Cowgirl; 68-69TonkinGulfYatchClub
Bumps!
To: 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
Never, never forget! Thanks for the ping.
58
posted on
08/20/2003 11:04:41 AM PDT
by
never4get
(T Minus 18 and counting....GRILL? CK,.....WINGS? CK,...COLD BREW? CK,...PREPARE FOR KICK-OFF)
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Very moving. Thank you so very much for the post and the ping.
59
posted on
08/20/2003 11:12:22 AM PDT
by
TEXOKIE
To: Ragtime Cowgirl
Very moving article. Glad you posted it.
A wicked awesome homepage, Ragtime Cowgirl! Bookmarked for future research.
60
posted on
08/20/2003 11:18:42 AM PDT
by
Taxman
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