Posted on 12/24/2004 8:52:13 PM PST by fire_eye
This came with the following email:
Photo Taken at 1st Marine Division Headquarters, Ar Ramadi, Iraq
Please remember all of those young Marines that have given the ultimate sacrifice for their Country this holiday season.
God bless and thank you. Merry Christmas.
From the Wheeling (WV) Intelligencer, Dec. 25, 2004.
Editor's note: The following letter is from Staff Sgt. Brett Ledfors, a U.S. Marine currently stationed in Ramadi, Iraq. Ledfors was born in Wheeling and is serving in Iraq with Moundsville resident Sgt. Daniel Ealy.
As a Marine serving in Iraq and someone born at Wheeling Hospital, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish the citizens of West Virginia a Merry Christmas while sharing a true story. News we get from home sometimes seems quite grim as far as the war. When I initially considered writing to a newspaper about the war, I wanted to show the progress being made here. I looked at the various positive signs from Iraq's growing economy, to the training of their security forces that's humming right along, to our growing success at combating the insurgent threat. Until a few days ago, nothing jumped out at me until Bravo Company Marines patrolled to an anonymous grid coordinate in a city called Ramadi.
The second platoon of B Company, a reserve unit based in Pittsburgh, regularly patrols a suburban area with one to two story buildings, few paved, and many dirt roads. Herds of sheep, palm trees and canals fed by the Euphrates River crisscross the landscape. Throughout this area are two things that aren't native; U.S. troops and the bad guys (mostly non-Iraqi) they hunt. We refer to the bad guys as AIF (Anti Iraqi Forces), the Muj (short for Mujahadeen), or simply insurgents. The insurgents are rarely seen, but assert themselves by mortaring us regularly, with the occasional improvised explosive device and small arms fire to keep us on our toes. With that kind of negative attention, the average Iraqi citizen often avoids contact with Marines so as not to be victimized by insurgents. This setting led to my revelation as to what positive thing I could share with the readers of The Intelligencer.
During our patrol led by Sgt. Dan Ealy, who lives near Wheeling, we had a beautiful experience. As Ealy guided our heavily armed column through narrow back alleys, we stopped for a short security halt to look and listen for anything unusual. Our column consisted of heavily armored HMMWVs (replacement for the jeep), with Marines walking amongst them for mutual support. As I looked around the area, I saw several children tentatively watching us from behind a fence. A quick scan of the area showed nothing suspicious, so I approached the kids who eyed me warily. The kids' demeanor changed to tentative smiles as one of my hands left my rifle and pulled candy out of a pocket. The first few children excitedly took the candy and ran around a corner, then the dam broke. A rush of children swirled into our patrol painting a picture of some stern Marines standing guard while others gave candy to kids. Shortly after this, the kids' fathers came out to meet us. They thanked us for the kindness to their children. Even more rare, we could see some of the women smiling at us from a respectable distance. That was something positive indeed. The women being out and interacting with us showed a great deal of progress in this part of the world. What followed could have been a visit among friends. Before I knew it, instead of a rifle in my hand, I had a cup of sweet tea that my new friend Mohammed brought for me and several other Marines.
As it turned out, Mohammed appreciated the simple kindness we showed his children and then the respect we showed him when he arrived. We stood there almost as neighbors sharing hot tea on a cold day making small talk as best we could with the language barrier. All good things must come to an end, so we eventually parted. As we continued on with our patrol though several very poor children had candy that they'd rarely had in their lives, while some very cold Marines had hot tea in their bellies. We shared those things not as Muslims and Christians or civilians and Marines, but as people, pure and simple.
After our patrol returned to base, I shed my ammunition and body armor to sit down to the more mundane side of operations that it seems no profession can escape: the paperwork. As I dated the after action report, it hit me; it's only a few days before Christmas. The symbolism of our encounter with those Iraqis a few days before a holiday symbolic of togetherness didn't escape me as I realized what a sign of hope that simple encounter brought. A cup of coffee tried to warm me from the cold local winter as I replayed that positive experience in my mind. That coffee, however, didn't warm me nearly as much as Mohammed's tea still did hours later.
Staff Sgt. Brett Ledfors
2nd Platoon, "Iron City"
1st Marine Division
Ramadi, Iraq
Thanks Devolve. Very nice. It was nice of you to think of doing this today.
D1
Hey, congrats to you, and thanks. I appreciate your service.
For a guy that doesn't keep track of medals, what is that one for?
A Soldier's Christmas
written by a Marine
Twas the night before Christmas,
He lived all alone ,
In a one-bedroom house made of
Plaster and stone.
I had come down the chimney
With presents to give,
And to see just who
In this home did live.
I looked all about,
A strange sight did I see,
No tinsel, no presents,
Not even a tree.
No stocking by mantle,
Just boots filled with sand,
On the wall hung pictures
Of far distant lands.
With medals and badges,
Awards of all kinds,
A sober thought
Came through my mind.
For this house was different,
It was dark and dreary,
I found the home of a soldier,
Once I could see clearly.
The soldier lay sleeping,
Silent, alone ,
Curled up on the floor
In this one-bedroom home.
The face was so gentle,
The room in such disorder,
Not how I pictured
A United States Soldier.
Was this the hero
Of whom I'd just read?
Curled up on a poncho,
The floor for a bed?
I realized the families
That I saw this night,
Owed their lives to these soldiers
Who were willing to fight.
Soon round the world,
The children would play,
And grownups would celebrate
A bright Christmas day.
They all enjoyed freedom,
Each month of the year,
Because of the soldiers,
Like the one lying here.
I couldn't help wonder,
How many lay alone ,
On a cold Christmas eve,
In a land far from home.
The very thought,
Brought a tear to my eye,
I dropped to my knees,
And started to cry.
The soldier awakened,
And I heard a rough voice,
"Santa don't cry,
This life is my choice;
I fight for freedom,
I don't ask for more,
My life is my God,
My Country, my Corps."
The soldier rolled over,
And drifted to sleep,
I couldn't control it,
I continued to weep.
I kept watch for hours,
So silent and still,
And we both shivered,
From the cold night's chill.
I didn't want to leave,
On that cold, dark night,
This guardian of honor,
So willing to fight.
Then the soldier rolled over,
With a voice soft and pure,
Whispered, "carry on Santa ,
It's Christmas day, all is secure ."
One look at my watch,
And I knew he was right.
"Merry Christmas my friend,
And to all a good night."
I thought it was Sea Service Deployment, you get one for each 90 days afloat or deployed, but it wasn't.
That's okay. Thanks for your sea service deployment. Merry Christmas!
4 boats, 3 floats.
6 days on the Pensacola for Solid shield
3 months on the USS Lamoure County for Northern Wedding/Bold Guard
6 months on the USS Okinawa for WESPAC 1980/Iran Hostage Crisis
6 months on USS Belleau Wood for WESPAC 81/short timers party cruise...
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Expeditonary Medal
Jimmy; May our Savior bless you in this New Year, Christ is Born, Christ is King.
My wish is that you prosper in the New Year, we in Boston need you.
In the Light of Christs love,
Bill
" Staff Sgt. Brett Ledfors"
A Semper Fi to this Marine and all his buddies. May they return in a few months to their loved ones stateside as their replacements deploy in to continue bringing hope to more and more Iraqi's as the elections approach and past.
If only more newspapers staffs where willing to try to balance the bad things with the good things that have been happening in that land. For those of us at this site that tend to want to remove every Muslim from the face of the earth, perhaps they should asked themselves, would they shoot this Iraqi family mentioned in this article?
I truly believe so much has been said about the evils that prevail in this land that many of us fail to grasp the realization that there may be well over 90% of Iraqis that really just want peace, a government,Army, and Police force to protect their soon to be declared civil rights, and a better future for their children.
Guess we shall know within the next year or so it this end goal is possible in this land.
As a Marine Mother, I not only appreciate all our young men and women do for us in time of war, but I appreciate their families and the sacrifices they make. May all who find themselves in harm's way remain safe and come home soon!
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