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!
DoD Identifies Army CasualtyThe Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Spc. James C. Kearney, III, 22, of Emerson, Iowa, died Nov. 1 in Salerno, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained in Sharan, Afghanistan, when his convoy was attacked by enemy forces using rocket propelled grenades. Kearney was assigned to the Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 168th Infantry, Glenwood, Iowa.
Our prayers were answered. You must be a good father!
You may have noticed by now that you shed tears for every one of our men and women that fall in this war. It has become personal as if all of these fine soldiers are you very own flesh and blood.
We have been through these same circumstances many times in the first assault on Iraq in '03. We are about to go through it again.
Thank the Lord he is well.
Pray for the families of the fallen.
Your post brought tears to my eyes. May God bless you and your son and all our troops that go in harm's way to protect our country.
oh Im so happy to read this american ranger....and the story of the bible made me burst out in tears....what a wonderful story ....
god bless and keep your child safe
I am so glad your son is fine. You will be in my thoughts.
Thank you for updating us. Thank God he wasn't harmed. Continuing to pray for ALL our servicemen/women's safety and success and for their families as well. God bless our troops!
I missed your original post. Thank you for re-posting and updating. God bless your son and your family.
I'm SO HAPPY your son is ok. And what a wonderful story about the Bible!
Hang in there dad, you sound like a very good dad and husband.
Also I had told you to tell your wife President Bush would be re-elected...and see he was. ;o) So we can all rejoice with a smile on all our faces.
Thank God isn't wasn't your son, and may God comfort the families of those who have lost love ones.
Great news from you though!
Happiness for your joyful news and prayers for the family who had that tiny part in their hearts broken... that can never be repaired. Losing a child is a wound which never heals.
This is great news! May your son return soon to his wonderful family.
Wonderful news! Thank you very much for the update. I will continue praying for his safety.
God Bless America, and God Bless you.
HOORAY!!!! A wonderful answer to prayer!
Great news.
May the Good Lord protect your son always.
Update ping! :)
That was quite a story about the Bible. It brought tears to my eyes. God Bless you and your family.
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