Posted on 11/10/2004 3:53:09 PM PST by american_ranger
I posted this on November 1:
Tomorrow I and my wife will vote for George W. Bush. Tonight, I heard on the radio that an Army soldier was killed in an ambush in southeast Afghanistan. My son is stationed in southeast Afghanistan. I checked Fox news and they have an article about a US soldier killed and two wounded in a patrol near Orgun. My son is on a patrol near Orgun. I do not care if it is him, tomorrow we will still vote for Bush. God bless America and God bless President Bush.
I have not told my wife. She is worried enough that Kerry might win. She does not need this additional worry.
We received a phone call a few days ago from my son. It was not his unit that suffered the loss but it was a unit also stationed at his base. He made light of the loss in an attempt to reassure his mother. It worked on her but Dad can see through his talk. (And that is the way it is supposed to be).
I am just now getting back to FreeRepublic and am overwhelmed by the number and seriousness of the responses in the posting as well as freepmail.
My thanks to you all. Overwhelmed is not doing justice to how I feel.
Many people pointed out that the loss was somebody’s son even if was not mine. My prayers that night were a mixture of not wanting it to be my son and for the Lord to hold close whomever’s family had lost their loved one.
On Friday, November 5, (before we received his call) his mother and I helped all day at the War Memorial in Milwaukee. Radio station 620 WTMJ was conducting a Support Our Troops event. The company where I work has sponsored three units overseas since April. A contact at WTMJ knew this and asked us to help out with packaging. My wife and I worked from 7:00AM until 4:00PM and, with the help of a lot of others, packed about 180 boxes. We left due to exhaustion and did not know the final results until Monday. The drive received over 10,500 pounds of donations and, as of today, $34,000 in cash. We are returning this Sunday to continue packaging. I calculate that we have about 7,500 pounds left to box up. We are going to make some soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines very happy. The quality of the donations were excellent. My educated guess is that 99% was purchased that day for the event. Brand new clothing, food, personal hygiene items, games, DVDs, reading material, and a lot more were donated.
The most touching point that day occurred when a woman came up to one of the organizers and gave her a pocket Bible. This woman told her that she wanted to give this Bible to a soldier. The organizer said that one of the women packaging things up had a son in Afghanistan and that she would give it to her. The lady left without giving her name. The organizer gave the Bible to my wife for our son. When my wife opened it up, the page that traditionally holds the name of the owner had been pasted over with a hand written note. The note said, “This Bible kept my father safe through all of World War II. My prayer is that it will do the same for you.”
God bless America!
Thank God!
Thank you, and next time you talk to your son, thank him for the entire Frog (not French!) clan.
God Bless for being who you are and raising a son to be proud of. May God hold your son in the palm of his hand until he comes home.
So GLAD your son is ok!!! Thought about your first post a lot and had hopes & prayers that he was fine. The bible story is just beautiful. God Bless your son and the whole family.
Praying daily for those who serve to keep us free.
What a wonderful gift the unknown woman gave. I'm glad you heard from your son and will continue my prayers for the other family as well as for all who have loved one's in the military.
So glad to hear this good news.
Long may he run . . .
Oh Ranger, I am overjoyed to hear that your son is well.
My heart goes out to the family who did suffer such an horrific loss.
Thank you for all you and your wife are doing. It will bring such joy to so many who deserve it so much.
By the time I finished your report, I had tears in my eyes.
God Bless you, your son and everyone who sacrifices for our great country.
LakeLady
God bless you and your son, dear Ranger! I am so glad all turned out well for you...
This prayer warrior is happy to lean your son is safe and well. Thanks for passing along the story regarding the Bible gift. Truly awesome!
I am so glad to hear from you and that your son is well. We all mourn each loss because it is a loss to all of us, but the loss of one's own child is at a different level. Thank you for your work for our troops and heartfelt thanks to your son for his service to our country. They truly are the finest we have.
Thanks for posting back, and I am very glad your son is ok, Thank God.
Praise God. Will say an extra prayer tonight for continued safety.
I've thought of your son several times the last week and prayed that he was safe. Hopefully by now, your son has gotten the word that his Commander-in-Chief is Bush and that he has the full support of the US. What a win for the US troops last week! God bless.
Thank you for the great news. I'm sitting here with tears and chills after reading the last sentence with the inscription in the Bible. He does work in strange ways!
Your son is in our prayers.
Tell him to Praise God And Pass The Ammunition!
Brookfield Central High School '66
God bless your son! Many prayers were sent Heavenward on November 1st. Thanks so much for updating, and may your son come home safely.
Thank you for your wonderful update and for all of your volunteering. The story about the pocket Bible... left me in tears. God Bless you, your wife and your son.
Thank God! I am so glad to hear that your son is safe.I will keep him in my prayers.
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