It is an email sent to him by the mother of two US marines and i found it a truely inspirig read, its long but you really should take 10 minutes to read it through.
I am the mother of two United States Marines. While I know of the longstanding and (sometimes) friendly rivalry that goes on between branches, and that you are Army, I'm willing to let ya slide and make no jokes. We all are in this war together, standing in unity. Even we Marine moms are tough and salty. Seriously, we families of those who serve see this war more clearly than most. Especially mothers.
Look, I know the Rooney hairball is in last week's trashcan. You might be sick of
the topic by now. But if you'd spare me just a few moments to listen to one more opinion, I'd appreciate it. Our troops and their loved ones sacrifice so much for so many. It's bad enough that you all are underpaid, overworked, often lonely for us at home. Now pampered pooches like Rooney with his pathetic combover, chime in -telling our best that they are neither brave nor special. I beg to differ.
This is from a mother's perspective. One often downplayed or overlooked. Reporters rarely want to listen to us say we're proud of our children who serve. They jump at the chance to hear the few who complain, or want their children pulled away from the risky business of war. I don't know any sane parent who wants their son to get shot at, but I damn sure won't belittle my boys' choice to do so. I raised them to make our world better. They're doing that. I am behind them with all my heart and strength, and with my prayers as well.
Thank you, Sir, for your service to our country. You too are a hero. It's time the
American public learns just who deserves that praise. I'm taking my shot at telling them. Please let me know what you think of my rant (below).
And Sgt. Hook - Hoo-ah! It's not as easy for me to say as OOO-RAH!, but I offer it back with sincere pride and gratitude for all you do. God bless you and your family.
Sincerely,
Lori
REEL HEROES, REAL HEROES
Over my lifetime, I've enjoyed the entertainment coming out of Hollywood just like anyone else. Movies are a huge part of our culture, as are the music industry, media and the sports world. These stars get much attention, are followed avidly, and seem to take on a mythical "rightness" in our society. We as a nation seem to believe they are somehow better, more important than the average citizen. The glamour, money, the beauty and fame often make us think these people are something they are not: heroes.
I am the very proud mother of two United States Marines. Both my sons are
intelligent, caring, strong men who do a difficult job with low pay and no
recognition for their efforts to strengthen and better our nation. One enlisted
before 9/11/01, the younger after. They both put off going to college because they believe more strongly in protecting the freedoms we have than in hiding behind them. Rights we have only because a small group of Americans put their lives on the line to give those freedoms to us. Should they be considered any "less successful" than their friends who chose a different path? Most certainly not. I can think of no success greater than living one's live to protect others. That's what Marines do, 24/7/365.
I dare you to not read the rest, you'll wish you had.
The Rest of It... »
My boys bring home on average less than $13,500 a year - much less than what Madonna spends on a single shopping trip to Rodeo Drive. My 23-year-old son's unit is back in Iraq. They sleep in their Humvees or in fighting holes. If they're really lucky, they'll get an occasional tent. Barbra Streisand sleeps without a care on silk sheets. Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins ape for the cameras in $10,000 outfits, spouting empty 60's rhetoric - while my 20-year-old is pulling pilots out of burning planes. As the Dixie Chicks pouted and used their fame to publicly denounce President Bush, my Crash Crew son was in the Philippines trying to bring rare smiles to the local childrens' faces. He and his fellow Firedawgs used much of their paychecks to feed children who live in squalor; in cardboard boxes and tin shacks, with little hope. While reruns show Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott throwing a foul-mouthed temper tantrum, threatening to tear apart a jewelry store on "Punked", my Motor T son will be
underneath a seven-ton truck, scrambling to fix another oil leak so his grunts can hunt down Iraqi insurgents. While Rosie O'Donnell whines about persecution, our Marines, sailors, Soldiers and airmen are away from their families bringing justice to those who know firsthand what real persecution does to the human spirit. Sean Penn and his kind sit in judgment of my children who are out protecting their right to be stupid. While America watches Paris Hilton caper around in designer skirts that barely cover what God gave her, my sons' $30 cammies are covered in sand, oil, smoke, sweat and blood. Talent, passion and resources on both sides, put to very different uses.
Then we have the politicians, bursting in with their three-ring circus acts. I am
forced to listen to John Kerry preach as if he is the sole veteran of war, tearing
down our efforts to bring freedom to those who have never known it. He has his
medals on display in his office in D.C. He threw someone else's medals on the White House lawn in protest of an "unjust war". Doesn't take much courage to grandstand in such a dramatic fashion. I find it repellent that he shows so little respect for his fellow vets who support Bush. They show respect for their military brethren. Kerry does not. Every outburst serves his political agenda, not the betterment of our nation. Here's a quote from Kerry in an interview with the Harvard Crimson 18 Feb., 1970, unearthed and published in The Drudge Report recently: "I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations." He's still planning to operate under that same delusion. Sure is patriotic, isn't he? His attitude is a slap in my sons' faces. For someone who is supposed to know better, he downgrades his former comrades at every photo op. He seems to have forgotten that his votes went to support what Bush is trying to do in the war against terrorists. Kerry is basking in the light of his own overblown glory - bringing shame on the very men who fought by his side. And I'm supposed to
be impressed by this man? Would I trust him to lead our troops as Commander-in-Chief? Can I believe that he would take care of them as well as they take care of our country? It makes me cringe to see people who want to be leaders
refusing to "lead by example".
If I sound angry, you're damn right. We military families deal with reality every
hour. We give our own in support of this fight against terrorism. We've raised them with a strong sense of responsibility, patriotism and a heartfelt desire to make the world better. We watch our kids go off to war, and we suck it up and back them 100 percent. They go voluntarily, showing a commitment to their nation that most other young Americans refuse to consider. When terrorists destroyed the WTC, my firstborn son was at MCRD San Diego, training to be One of The Few, The Proud. He was four days shy of his 21st birthday. Two days later, a "friend" I'd known for almost twenty years asked me if I thought I'd made a mistake "letting" my son join the military. She said, "He's so smart! He could do so many things. Why is he doing this?" As I stood there stunned into silence she continued, "If they reinstate the draft, I'm sending Bradley to Canada with his inheritance!" My reply? "Good. Go with him, and don't let the border gates hit you in the butt on your way out. I really don't want you or your son here. Thanks for your support in our country's time of need." Not one year later a young girl of about 22 saw my lapel pins with photos of my two Marines and said, "Are those your sons? Are you really proud of them? You think you're a good mother, letting your sons be trained as baby killers?!" I told her, "The only reason you have the right to stand there saying something stupid, is because men like my sons fought and died for that right." During the first wave of Iraqi Freedom, one of my friends (a Navy nurse for amputees during Vietnam) was physically attacked in a Seattle grocery store by a "peace-loving" protester. My friend's crime? She was wearing a "Support Our Troops" button, peacefully shopping the produce section. She was knocked to the ground with the protester's shopping cart. The peacenik proceeded to pummel this veteran, Marine mom and cancer survivor, stopping only when pulled off by onlookers. The whole time my friend did not hit back, only defended herself. In my own hometown in Oklahoma, we can have three thousand people attend a fund raiser for homeless animals, and fill our college stadium with over 58,000 football fans for a game we know will end in our team blowing the other school off the field. Don't get me wrong, I'm right in the middle of the crowd. So are my sons if they aren't away from home serving their country. So why did the
well-planned "Support Our Troops" rally in the park have only thirty-two in
attendance? In the middle of the war?
I have one son left at home, fifteen years old. He practically worships his older
brothers. He looks up to them as mentors and friends; he draws strength and wisdom from their examples. They are his heroes and he misses them terribly. Yet there are times when he wears his Young Marine uniform or goes to school sporting a Marine Corps tee shirt, some of his fellow students say he "loves war" or tell him "Marines just like to kill people!" Even worse, a few teachers at his school (whose salaries are paid for by my taxes) are concerned that he is being "politically incorrect". They think the very show of the Eagle, Globe and Anchor is "not being sensitive to other peoples' feelings." Let me get this straight: his brothers are fighting for you, and he's the one being insensitive? You consider our display of pride incorrect and hurtful? How dare you! My whole family treats that Emblem with the reverence it is due. It is a symbol of a 228-year-old Brotherhood. I don't expect you to understand A Marine Thing, but you damn well better not show any disrespect to our Corps, my Marines or anything that represents the giants on whose shoulders my sons stand. Why are people so worried about offending a few, when they are the minority offending so many? I worry for my sons' safety, their health and their peace of mind. Peace of mind. What is that anyhow? It's been so long since I've had a good night's sleep. We are smack-dab in the middle of war, those we love are in the thick of it, and does my country care? Do the people who benefit from their efforts show any gratitude? The people of Afghanistan and Iraq do. My neighbors right here in the U.S. do not.
Can someone explain this logically to my heart?
Is this the same society that professes love of freedom? What, you think our rights come from the Freedom Fairy waving her star-spangled, red white and blue Freedom Wand? Freedom has a price, people. Those we love are paying for your ticket. So are we - those who wait, also serve. And what is our thanks? Prank "death notice" calls in the middle of the night, Columbia professor Nicholas DeGenova calling for "a million Mogadishus", while his students and others call our sweet, brave kids "murderers", and newscasters whining that Operation Iraqi Freedom is "another Vietnam!". Hell, I couldn't get get a business in town to put up a yellow ribbon right now if I threatened them with two M16s and a mean dog. These days, we find support only in our God and in our Corps Family.
We are a different breed, like our Marines. I talk with other Marine Moms every day, and they feel the same way. We speak in Marine Corps lingo, use military time, have links on our computer that give the location of our Marines' nearest PX (Post Exchange), or the current temp in Baghdad. Our homes are shrines to our sons and daughters who serve. We always have boot wax, liquid starch, lint brushes out the wazzoo, an extra war bag, even anodized brass buttons and spare chevrons on hand. We have maps of the world with every place our Marines have ever been, highlighted. We know world geography and politics better than the average tenured professor. We know world time zones by heart. Our POVs (Privately Owned Vehicles) are plastered with Marine Corps stickers. As mothers, we love our children and have hopes and dreams for them just as civilian moms do. But we ride a roller coaster unlike anything they will ever know. We don't leave the house without calls forwarded to our cell phones. We hold our breath when we see a Gov car driving slowly down the street. We watch our kids struggle to feed our grandchildren on what often works out to less than minimum wage. We know they do their jobs with helos and jeeps that saw time in 'Nam. We know they fight fueled by MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) that a picky civilian wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. We hope their Kevlar vests have all the plates, and their Humvee doors are armored. We have Life Insurance Beneficiary forms made out to us and POAs (Power Of Attorney) on file to deal with our Marines' affairs "just in case he...". We never, ever finish that thought. We can't tear ourselves away from Fox News. We hear about another chopper going down, of another mindless idiot blowing himself up and taking ten people with him, see breaking news from the Sunni Triangle...and we know it could be our son. Or the son of someone we know. Either way, the loss belongs to all of us, and someone's baby won't ever be coming home alive
again. We prioritize differently. It's very difficult for us to understand an outsider's worries. We don't want to hear another mother whining about her son
flunking out of college, going to too many parties or wrecking another new car. We don't care if her daughter makes the sorority rush cut. We want to draw blood when we hear that her baby is "one whole hour away, and only calls when he needs money." Well my gawd, how can she stand it?
For those of you who cannot understand why we are at war, let me explain it in terms I hope you can grasp. It has nothing to do with land; the U.S. doesn't set sights on more than its own. It's not about oil; we have more than enough to meet our needs if we aren't lazy and greedy. If you think it's a need for power, you're wrong there too. It stems from the need to protect our own citizens and all that we have as a free society. It's our job to protect the world's people who can't protect themselves. If you think we should just lay down and take our very own soil being attacked, or that we have done something to "deserve" being murdered, then I'm talking to someone who has no brain. Here's a thought for you: we military families don't want war, but sometimes it's necessary. Look to your history books to confirm the establishment of America and all the rights you so casually demand. Look at the abolishment of slavery as the result of the Civil War. Read about the crimes committed by the Japanese on the Chinese, the "Final Solution" of Hitler's Germany in World War
Two, the slaughters at Hue City and Khmere Rouge, of the genocide of his own people by Saddam Hussein...and if you have a conscience, use it. Don't tell me you think the 9/11 murderers and the terrorists shooting at my son are not the same people. I bet you'd feel differently if you'd been there to pick up body parts. Terrorism is not a Republican catchphrase. It's a living, breathing evil whose only aims are to cause chaos, murder and destruction. On that day every person who was torn apart or burned to death showed us what we are dealing with. Every injury and death at the hands of these animals, before that day and since, is a call to arms for every human being who believes in freedom and justice. We cannot stand by and allow mass murder, regardless of the price to ourselves - no matter where it occurs. We'd be as guilty of the bloodshed as the monsters who caused it.
But if you're determined to play the fool, by all means throw yourself into the role and visit the theaters of war where our bravest and best stand firm. Go see the people who cry tears of joy as our men roll by. Take a close look at the Navy doc tenderly cradling the screaming, bloody baby whose parents just got blown to bits by a "fellow" Iraqi. Watch the boxes we mothers send to our sons be distributed among the citizens, by our big Marine boys with tears in their eyes at the poverty that surrounds them. Now get more up-close and personal. Get involved, be righteous. Tell the little boy that the Marines who lifted him from his dark, filthy cell are warmongers, not angels. Tell the grandmother whose face is melted by mustard gas she doesn't need our intervention. Explain to the Afghani woman why it was a mistake to free her from her chadari; that she really hasn't a right to dress like you, practice law, operate on a dying child, teach school or be unafraid she'll be beaten to death for no reason. Debate with a mother why we should leave before we rebuild the schools, homes, hospitals and businesses Saddam gutted. Share your poor, little
picked-upon life story with one of the twelve-year-old girls raped by Uday. Compare notes with one of the soccer players tortured and scarred by Qusay for losing a game. I'm sure they'll think you got the short end of the stick.
Prepare your enlightening peace speech. Do you really believe you can reason with people whose sole purpose is to wipe us from the face of the earth, to gain
admittance to Heaven? Ask the Bedouin or *****es how logical their killers are. You can't sit down with terrorists and impress them with talks of peace. They don't care about being reasonable. What do you expect to gain by telling them you're sorry that your big bad country is just a bunch of bullies? It won't get you anywhere but a trip to the morgue in a body bag. We are their Antichrist. We all are their targets. Not just my sons, not just me, not the corporations or Bush or our capitalistic economy. YOU. Yes, you - and your friends, your teacher, your manicurist, editor, agent, mother, baby and wife. Everyone you know and hold dear. Get your finger on that pulse. Roll that joint and smoke it. Take that check to the bank and cash it, buddy.
I almost forgot. You have one more visit left. Come tell me to my face that you see no reason to be grateful to my sons. A word of warning: you won't leave in one piece. By the way, the average payout to civilian families of victims of the WTC and airline murders was $1.65 million dollars. If my son comes home in a flag-draped coffin, his wife will receive about 10,000 bucks and the flag, folded.
Reality versus fantasy is what this boils down to. Need instead of greed.
Responsibility versus privilege. Giving back rather than taking. Others before self. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Guarding freedom, bleeding for freedom - instead of using it as an excuse and a crutch.
Reality shows, movies, MTV videos and basketball games are not real life. "Survival"is what Marines do on a battlefield, not people bickering on an island while cameras roll, all for the chance to win a million dollars. Courage is not defined by dealing with The Trump, using stardom as a platform to tear apart our unity in time of crisis, whining for another 30 million bucks to play a game. Nor is it shown by rapping about hunger and pain while wearing enough diamonds to feed a neighborhood for a year, or saving endangered turtles and birds from stress. Courage is not shown by spoiled celebs who have no grasp of what reality is for the real Average Joes. Do you want to see real courage? I see real courage every day. From our sons and daughters who offer their lives for every citizen; regardless of belief, income, spirituality, sexual preference, career choice or political stance. Would any of those star "heroes" risk scuffing their pricey Italian shoes for our country? Would they give up a multimillion-dollar endorsement to ensure our freedom? Would they take a bullet for my sons? Trek through a steamy jungle to take out a sniper whose rifle is trained on me? Fight our enemies, while outnumbered and hungry in subzero temps,
and win? I think not. They are part and parcel of a group of self-absorbed
Americans who hide behind the flag rather than wrap themselves around it. There is no honor, sacrifice or bravery in what they say or do. Heroes? My heroes are my sons, their brothers and sisters in the military. I owe everything to them, nothing to celebrities, politicians, journalists, divas or playahs. Open your eyes, America. See who the real heroes are. For your sake and theirs, be grateful to them. Give them your respect, they've earned it. Don't begrudge them their tiny pay raises. Don't ***** about your tax dollars being used to give them the training, equipment and supplies they need to do their job. Give their leaders the support they deserve. Live your lives being worthy of their sacrifices. Our continued freedom and our very lives depend on them.
I skipped the Oscar coverage last night. I re-watched the DVDs of my boys' boot camp graduations instead. Hollywood, MTV, ESPN and the bleeding-heart ultraliberals can kiss this proud Marine Mama's six. I know what a hero is. I gave birth to two of them. You're welcome. (emphasis mine as we all owe her a gratitude of thanks)
Also her 15 year old son e-mailed sgt Hook too say
"Sgt Hook...I'm Lori's son. I'm 15 and I'm proud of my mom and my brothers. Thank you for being nice to my mom. She doesn't smile as much with my brother gone but we know they are doing the right thing. She is an awesome mom. Thanks for making her smile more".
When im down the pub tomorrow il definetly be raising my glass to all the soldiers out in Iraq, in fact il raise it to every one who has served to protect our nation
