I am posting this to pose a question to you. I know people will have a wide variety of reactions to this and I'd like to hear your take on it. This link leads to a letter written by the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. For some it will raise feelings of pride for the sacrifices U.S. soldiers and their families are making. For others, it will cause feelings of disgust over another life wasted in a pointless war. For me it stirs feelings from both sides. Most of all, I feel that the mother just wanted to make things right with the people charged with a task none of us would want. She never states her opinion on the reasons her son was where he was when he died, just her sadness over his death and her guilt for her reaction to the news of his passing. I couldn't imagine having to write this letter.
A mothers letter.
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Her letter struck a particularly deep chord with me.
Do I believe that our troops should be in Iraq or Afghanistan? Not really...but they are and I will support them with every fiber of my being.
I could not imagine how it would feel to be in her shoes. I don't WANT to. If it were me writing that letter, it would mean that I had lost my husband and my best friend and that my children would grow up without their father.
Thanks. I needed a good cry. This woman's letter is beautifully written. As you say, she does not state her opinions on the war in Iraq or our reasons for being there. She is apologizing to someone she felt she treated badly (even though she had reason to do so-how would I react to someone delivering news like that? Isn't that why we have a saying: "Don't shoot the messenger?"). She is acknowledging that the service this particular soldier performed when he came to her door is just as valuable as the service her son performed in his country's name.
I doubt, unfortunately, that these notification officers get too many apologies, and I'm sure they are met with a lot of anger and sadness. What a job.
The soldiers charged with this duty are very well trained. They go through a lot of sensitivity training. It is a short term duty for all assigned. It's not a skill they will have long to practice, because they are reassigned after a short time to less stressful duties.
I agree with you, Dawn. All of you, really. We can debate all we want about this war being whatever we feel it is, but the fact of the matter is, we ARE there. My brother-in-law is also there. My ex husband is still on Andrews, and I doubt he'll go anywhere else. Pussy.
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