In today's St. Pete Times newspaper there is an article under 'Opinions' and written by Frank Schaeffer....
Mr. Schaeffer, (and I quote) says: "I never served in the military, and before my son unexpectedly volunteered, I was too busy writing novels to give much thought to the men and women who guard us. After my son joined the Marines, however, casualty reports from Afghanistan and Iraq were no longer mere news items but gut-churning family bulletins. And reports about prison abuse cut me to the quick. They also made me angry at the media.
But I think we might also read more stories like this forwarded to me by another Marine's father:
February 19, 2004 Iraq.....
"Dear Mom & Dad.....
We were stopped in the desert outside of Fallujah. We had 3 detainees under our control that were captured in the act of attacking our Marines. Because we were in the open without any facilities around, the detainees were temporarily being held under the stars.
Around 3:00 a.m., the wind started blowing hard and a sandstorm hit...the sky opened and the flying sand was joined by a downpour of rain....In the back of a truck, 4 Marines were trying to stay dry and get some sleep. The lieutenant who was in charge of providing security for the detainees approached this truck and opened up the back hatch. He ordered the Marines out....The Marines asked why and he explained to them that he had to put the detainees in the back of the truck to protect them from the rain and sandstorm.
Word of this spread quickly and everyone was livid.
We couldn't believe that our Marines were being kicked into the sandstorm/rainstorm so these detainees could stay dry. The next day I was still angry and everyone was still talking about what had happened that night. Later in the day, after having time to cool down and think about the situation, I switched from being angry to being proud....
I love you and miss you lots."
Your son, Josh (Cpl. Joshua A Mandel)
Pictures below show such reminders of.....THE MILITARY WE DON'T SEE!
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