I’m imagining being in his shoes; feeling what he felt; the fear of knowing I may be the next victim of war.
But I am a soldier, loyal to my country, my family and to those I love.
I am here to obey and follow orders because that is what is required
to keep my country free and my family safe.
It doesn’t matter that I like it or not; I’ve had many jobs I haven’t liked !
But here I can’t just quit – lives are at stake.
The future of freedom is what I risk by quitting;
and in the end the very lives of my family and all I love.
My life is worth that…

I wrote my brother occasionally, and I didn’t find out how much
he appreciatedmy letters until years after he was out of the military.
Had I known, I would have written more.
Looking back, I wonder if my brother eagerly looked forward
to the mail call of the day. (Do they have that ?)
I can just see him smiling as he was handed my letter.
I just know he’d be so proud – showing it off to his Navy buds.
More than likely he’d read it to a few;
out there even other people’s letters were a
connection to home for everyone.
Of course, I’m a goofball – so they all probably just shook their heads
and felt really really grateful that I wasn’t their brother !
heh heh heh…
He’d fold the letter back up, put it somewhere safe and know that
he was loved and cared for – and that would be enough.

So I’m thinking, what if there are those serving
this great country who go to sleep every night
never knowing that they are appreciated and cared for ?
I think that is truly sad – after all they sacrifice for US…
The least we could say is thank you.
And we should.
Why not take a few minutes to write a letter to someone
who is putting their life on the line for you and I.
I’m sure there are websites you can find easily
that tell you where you can send it.
That’s what I intend to do after I post this.
Sometimes I do actually listen to what I write ;p

So I’ll leave you with this,
and it’s something I heard nearly 20 years ago.

“All it takes for the forces of evil to rule this land
is for enough good people to do nothing.”

It’s going to be easier to do nothing.
Though I want to believe every one of you would want to make a difference
to someone who has pledged their lives to protect our country,
I know it’s so much easier to just let it slip away.

Just understand that our country became a country
– AND remains a free country because of people who
did the right thing instead of taking the easy way out.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a letter to write…