Why the Troops Support YOU
Following is a letter I received from a soldier, a man I have never met but to whom I sent some care packages... It had quite an impact on me. As we remember our fallen Veterans this Memorial Day, I thought this would be appropriate to share. It gives an insight into WHY a serviceman is ready to risk his life, why they do what they do in spite of knowing it may require them to give the Ultimate Sacrifice.
I may go to a BBQ on Memorial Day, but not before I have attended the Memorial Service at the Veterans National Memorial Cemetery. If you have a National Memorial Cemetery in your town, I urge you to do likewise. If you do not, then please seek out people from the WWII generation, ask them if they Served, and if they did, be sure to shake their hand and say Thank You. Then and only then go out and enjoy those Freedoms which their sacrifices made possible. ~~ Susan
Susan,
I wanted to thank you for the continued support you send to my unit.
I am often asked by people back in the states why we do what we do. They ask me about being away from home, or the lack of comforts, or the mission usually couched with “I don’t know how (or why) you all do it.” I usually write back and tell them about the conditions here in Iraq, or tell them of the oppression I have seen or of the children’s faces filled with happiness and hope, or the trash and sewer in the streets. I tell them that we are winning this fight (because I truly believe we are!) and regardless of why people think we were sent here… we are here now and we are here to find terrorist and defeat them and we are here to leave Iraq better than when we found it. Nothing else matters to us now.
I want to share a story with you. This weekend I was sitting talking to one of my troopers about re-enlisting. He is a positive kid, 4 years in the Army, motivated to his task, dedicated to those around him. I expected he would re-enlist and would require little convincing. As we were talking about his options and his motivation to soldier he said “Sir, I am staying in the Army and I will be happy continuing to do what I do. But I am not motivated by the words you say, or the money in the bonus, of for my buddies, or by the feeling I have being a Paratrooper. I do it for my kids and my wife and what my job means to them and their future.”
He then handed me a tattered copy of the poem below. He said when he was here for the invasion he was a brand new private and it was sent to him in a forwarded e-mail. He has had it ever since and has not shown it to anybody but his wife. As I read it, it hit me like a bag of bricks. I thought I would share it with you. I have typed it exactly as it was on the copy he gave me and I have given credit to the author so I believe you would be free to share this story and poem with anyone you like.
I thank God everyday for giving me the opportunity to lead America’s Sons and Daughters and I pray I am doing it right. May God continue to bless the American Soldier!
All the Way... and then some!
CPT Jonathan L. Harvey
CDR, HHC/2BCT, 82d ABN DIV
-------------------
The things that make a Soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon’s mouth, nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by the little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
Tis these that make a Soldier great. He’s fighting for them all.
Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a Soldier brave;
Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For Soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run –
You make a Soldier of the main who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke that valiant Soldiers sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees.
The little patch of ground back there, the children at the play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn’t linked to castle dome,
But to the spot, where’er it be – the humble spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there,
And homesick Soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now – he’s fighting for them all.
Edgar A. Guest, ca. 1940
I wanted to thank you for the continued support you send to my unit.
I am often asked by people back in the states why we do what we do. They ask me about being away from home, or the lack of comforts, or the mission usually couched with “I don’t know how (or why) you all do it.” I usually write back and tell them about the conditions here in Iraq, or tell them of the oppression I have seen or of the children’s faces filled with happiness and hope, or the trash and sewer in the streets. I tell them that we are winning this fight (because I truly believe we are!) and regardless of why people think we were sent here… we are here now and we are here to find terrorist and defeat them and we are here to leave Iraq better than when we found it. Nothing else matters to us now.
I want to share a story with you. This weekend I was sitting talking to one of my troopers about re-enlisting. He is a positive kid, 4 years in the Army, motivated to his task, dedicated to those around him. I expected he would re-enlist and would require little convincing. As we were talking about his options and his motivation to soldier he said “Sir, I am staying in the Army and I will be happy continuing to do what I do. But I am not motivated by the words you say, or the money in the bonus, of for my buddies, or by the feeling I have being a Paratrooper. I do it for my kids and my wife and what my job means to them and their future.”
He then handed me a tattered copy of the poem below. He said when he was here for the invasion he was a brand new private and it was sent to him in a forwarded e-mail. He has had it ever since and has not shown it to anybody but his wife. As I read it, it hit me like a bag of bricks. I thought I would share it with you. I have typed it exactly as it was on the copy he gave me and I have given credit to the author so I believe you would be free to share this story and poem with anyone you like.
I thank God everyday for giving me the opportunity to lead America’s Sons and Daughters and I pray I am doing it right. May God continue to bless the American Soldier!
All the Way... and then some!
CPT Jonathan L. Harvey
CDR, HHC/2BCT, 82d ABN DIV
-------------------
The things that make a Soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon’s mouth, nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by the little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
Tis these that make a Soldier great. He’s fighting for them all.
Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a Soldier brave;
Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For Soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run –
You make a Soldier of the main who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke that valiant Soldiers sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees.
The little patch of ground back there, the children at the play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn’t linked to castle dome,
But to the spot, where’er it be – the humble spot called home.
And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there,
And homesick Soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now – he’s fighting for them all.
Edgar A. Guest, ca. 1940
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