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People need to know how some heroes are being treated by their own government My 20 year old son PFC Ryan Blau is with the 82 Air bourne somewhere in Baghdad. I have very mixed emotions about this election and the future of the Iraqi people. I do however support my son and the troops that are risking their lives for democracy. We may not agree, but we do need to support. I am praying for each and everyone of our troops— and the Iraqis— so that we may strive toward peace and freedom and bring our sons, husbands, daughters and wives home safely. —Sandra Mansfield, Davenport Florida My husband is a soldier in 1st Cav. He has been deployed to
Iraq since March of last year and due to return mid-March this year. My husband
deployed when I was 4 months pregnant with our now 6 month old daughter. He has
missed the first 6 months of her life and a year of our 3- year-old sons life.
Now we are being told that if things don't go smoothly in the upcoming elections
that he could be kept over there another 6 months to a year. Up untill three
days ago, we were able to talk almost daily. He had warned me that with the
elections coming up that we wouldn't be able to talk for a while. Seeing and
reading all that is happening in Iraq right now is very disturbing and making
things even harder than they already were. My heart goes out to everyone who has
family that is in harms way, no matter where it is! I am Iraqi and the media is so far from the reality on the ground. Only those who have interests with the U.S. or a personal gain are interested in this election. That is a likely less than 10 percent of the entire country's population. The media continues to stay that Saddam's gov't was Sunni only but 75 percent of the former Ba'ath party was Shia. — Ali, New York I watched a TV segment this morning about a soldier who was badly burned on his last active duty day overseas and what his community did for him. It was so wonderful for how his family and community pulled together to help. I know my husband and I could use a miracle like that. My husband SSG Robert Springer has been in Iraq since May 23, 2004, serving as a Nurse/Medic. I have been working so hard to try and pay off all our debt and take care of our two young kids, two-year-old Katey and six-month-old James 6 alone. Right now, my two babies and I are living in a one bedroom "mother-in-law-suite." My husband is due to come home Feb 16. But he lost 80% of his vision in his right eye do to a mysterious infection he got in Iraq. Specialists are still trying to figure out the source of the infection. I have no idea how we are going to be able to get out on our
own again. —Dena Springer, Ponte Vedra, Fla. My son is an army reservist and he returned from Iraq last March. He was ordered to attend one of the inauguration parties. I am prior service myself, so I felt very proud that he was chosen from all the people in his group. This particular gathering was to honor many of the soldiers and their families who have been to Iraq. A group of five drove down from Long Island to Washington last Monday morning, and they were to return Tuesday evening. Around midnight on Tuesday, my son returned home, looking tired from the drive. The next morning, he told me he didn’t have a good time because they basically stood around and watched the president say a few words. He said there was no food provided for them, so they ate after the event at some fast-food restaurant. They spend all this money for this celebration and can't feed my son? He stayed at a local military base with the rest of the group, but they made him pay for the room. Apparently, there was a mix-up, or they were short a room. I don't care what the problem was, he was told to go, this was not an option, orders were cut for this excursion! I am disgusted and horrified that he had to even show his wallet for this event. In addition to serving as a medic in the 310 MP Batallion, my son is a full-time student and works part-time to fill in the gaps the military doesn't. He takes his responsibility as a soldier very seriously. I am angered at the way he has been treated. People need to know how some heroes are being treated by their own government. —Rebecca Lawson, West Babylon, N.Y. |
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