Even the smallest effort makes a difference overseas
Sometime before 1 a.m. EDT, I got an e-mail from a friend of mine who's serving with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan.
It was much the same as the others he's sent in the months since he first arrived in the Middle East. He asks a few questions and makes some comments about things I've mentioned in previous correspondence. He talks about weightlifting, as it's one of the only ways to fend off boredom during his limited free time. But as for what he's doing and what's happening to them, he doesn't talk much about it because he can't.
In this note, however, he said he had been on his first convoy and noted, "We didn't get shot at." He also mentioned that he and his group are relocating to a more remote site that has no amenities. Reading between the lines, I got the impression he will be performing more dangerous tasks in a more volatile area.
But one of his last comments stuck with me the most. "I got your letter the other day," he said. "Thank you. That is the most important part of the day, when you walk by the HQ office door and look to see if your name is on it for mail."
"E-mails are great, but hard mail is the best. People back home don't realize what it's like being over here and not getting mail."
It reminded me of a story I heard on NPR early in the month about the war and whether Americans feel any sort of sacrifice in their daily lives. The final interview of the piece, a worried mother whose voice trembles as she talks about her son, Terry Hollowell, is almost more than I can bear to hear. "They have organizations in the community that organize letter-writing," she said. "When my son was in the first Gulf War, he said the soldiers would line up at mail call. Some that didn't get mail, their face was so disappointed. And the ones that got mail, their face just lit up really good." When asked whether there's anything else Americans can do to help military personnel, her answer was simple: "Pray. Pray like I do. I ask God to put angels in front of him every night. And of course to watch over every other mother's son who's over there. That's about it. Pray."
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