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 the Lord for hearing all our prayers!
I am so glad your son is fine. You will be in my thoughts.
Bless you and your family. Please thank your son from all of us!
Bless you and your family, Sir!
Glad to hear it all worked out for you. I will continue to pray for your son as well as the rest of our blessed troops and pray double time for those sacred soldiers we've lost and their families..
Glad to hear your son is safe.
Praise Jesus!! I was lifting your son and his buddies up in prayer all last week.
Thank God!!! This is wonderful news. Please thank your son from my daughters and myself.
Great news! I can't yet imagine what you were going through. Our son is safe and snug down at Keesler AFB, just beginning his tech training. I know some day I will also face your uncertainty, and I pray that I will have the same strength you showed.
Our son also carries his grandfather's prayer missalette from WWII. It just shows the great constant that prayer really is!
FYI!
God Bless.
Thank you for letting us know your good news.
And, may the hero who gave the ultimate sacrifice rest in God's peace and know we will never forget.
Thank you for the update. Praise God your son is safe. I got a case of blurry screen syndrome reading about the gift of the Bible. May God bless that woman all the rest of her days. Praying for continued safety of your son, and I'm thankful for his service.
I am so happy for you and your wife that your son is safe and like you I pray for the family whose son was lost. The last paragraph of your post made me cry. The lady who gave you that Bible gave a cherished possession in the hope it would save someone's life without wanting any recognition. A true gife. God bless her.
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.
Please let us know where and when. Maybe I can come help out. Milwaukee isn't that far of a drive from where I live here in the far northern suburbs of Chicago.
Semper Fi
Screaming Eagle
THANK GOD! I remember your post and have been worried ever since. Thanks for sharing the good news with us! :-)
God bless your son and your family! Such joyful news!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ‘miscellaneous’ ping list.
God bless them , each and every one.....
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