A Cry For Help From A Distraught Parent

Written to Veterans for Peace
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I was thrilled yesterday to wake to an email from Micah. The last correspondence I had from him was the email on Dec. 26. Then 2 guys in his battalion were killed and one wounded on the 27th (the wounded soldier has since passed away from his injuries). All communications were shut down until notification of their deaths by the Army to their families....but still no word from Micah. I knew that he would contact us as soon as he could...but that didn't make the waiting any easier.

He emailed yesterday to reassure me that he was "fine"....which of course I was glad to hear. Then he called me later in the day..... It was wonderful to hear his voice....be able to talk to him. I asked him about the incident that ended those 3 guys lives.....ages 26, 23, and 20. He said he hadn't planned on telling me about it, but then knew that I already knew about it...aware that I had received the email from the military explaining why we may not be hearing from our soldiers. I asked him if he knew what happened....he hesitantly told me....."Yes".....he was there when it happened! That....I wasn't prepared for. He wanted to spare me the details....but Micah and I can and do talk very frankly about everything.....I knew he needed to talk to someone about it....so I told him not to hold anything back. I told him I already know he is in harms way, I know there are horrible things going on there....things I can't even imagine.....but I wanted to know....and I wanted him to be able to talk about it with me.

He said it was their first mission since arriving in Baghdad. A group of them had to walk through a field to a "destination". He said just in front of him....about 100 yards was an explosion. Someone had stepped on a buried mine that exploded.....they were walking in a mine field! He said nothing was left....except an arm....a leg.....fingers..... They continued walking....then a second explosion.....the next two victims. They radioed for a helicopter that was not to come. So they were instructed to turn back and walk BACK thru the field......9 hours they walked......4 1/2 one way....4 1/2 back....nothing accomplished.....3 lives lost.

The tension and fear that your next step, placement of your foot would be you.....your friend at any moment..... This is our war.......... Why not take a high school class out on the edge of the expressway and have them run back and forth....who gets hit does...who's lucky enough not to....well is just lucky. It was horrifying knowing he witnessed it, knowing he was filled with fear and images that will stay with him forever.

I asked him about the Iraqis.....the Iraqi soldiers he was with. "Their crazy" was his reply. He said that morning a dog was running down the street and an Iraqi man beat it to death with a shovel then threw it on the side of the road. He said, "That's normal here."

I immediately knew when I started talking to him that he had a cold.....he said, "Yeah, I do, but I'm ok." I asked if he was eating good....what did they have for them to eat?....American food....Iraqi food? He said they get ONE meal a day. A "meal" that is either a 6 inch cold pizza, or well, he had 5 cold chicken wings one day, oh and a hotdog one day....well a lone hotdog....no bun. One meal a day!!! Prisoners in this country are required to receive 3 full meals a day in prison or it's infringing on their rights??!!!

He said they have 2 microwave ovens that are broken and a toaster oven that doesn't work well....the government is apparently spoiling them! Our sons and daughters are in the U.S. military.....fighting for our country.....have committed no crimes and this is what they feed them??? It's like the Twilight Zone or some parallel universe.....a bad dream that upon waking makes no real sense....He took his first shower yesterday.....his first since Dec. 20. That was good he said.

The Army is wondering why no one wants to join??? Why no one wants to go back???

Are the American people really that dense to think that we are doing the right thing.....doing good? The government wants to spin this into that they're protecting us from terrorists.....payback for 9/11. Osama Bin Ladin is no where near Iraq! So is anyone on his trail?

I know they're in harms way.....thousands of miles away from home and family but can they for God's sake treat them better than a prisoner....than an animal? You mistreat an animal in this country and all kinds of organizations are on your back.....you go to jail. Our government is mistreating our soldiers and we stand back and watch......well not really because we don't see THIS on the news. We only see what they want us to see.

Most of the guys that joined were promised to be able to go to college....on the government...and could start even while in the military. Micah was included in this group. He was met with....you don't have time for college you can go when you get out. But....our prisoners are receiving college degrees while serving their sentences!

Is it me or is it just backwards?? Micah is already skinny as a rail.....how do they expect a 20 yr old boy to live on what they are feeding them? Guess it doesn't matter much....why waste food on people you make walk thru mine fields? Doesn't this sound a little like the Holocaust? So.....Micah says....he's "ok". I'm sorry to vent but THIS HAS TO STOP!!!! PLEASE!!!!!!

Email, write, call your congressmen, state representatives....etc. Go to some of the websites I have listed below....read the stories of the people....one after another..... I will email the links again to find your state officials. EDUCATE YOURSELF!! I don't want to wait over the next year for a knock at my door....and I don't want one more mother, wife, family member to either. These Iraqi people apparently have no regard for life.....theirs, their women and children, ours, even animals. WHY ARE WE THERE??

And I voted for Bush.....TWICE! You don't see the Bush twins in Iraq.....no manicures or shopping sprees. Don't want to ruin your day.....just want to get you thinking.....and MAD!!!

Send what you can to our troops....they definitely need it...apparently especially FOOD!!! Please feel free to forward this email to anyone and everyone you can! I feel helpless.....I want to jump on a plane like that 16 yr old from Florida and grab my son and bring him home.....

PLEASE VISIT THESE WEBSITES:
http://www.bringthemhomenow.org
http://www.stopthelie.com
http://www.unitedforpeace.org

Gold Star Families for Peace:
http://www.gsfp.org

Military Families Speak Out:
http://www.mfso.org
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/casualties/facesofthefal
len.htm

WHERE TO SEND PACKAGES TO OTHER SOLDIERS:
http://www.anysoldier.com
http://www.give2thetroops.org
http://www.treatanysoldier.com

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She believed a lie and discovered it was a lie and her son was the sacrifice of that lie, anyway, any parent would understand, me, I don't know, I'd be tearing the wall paper off my wall. In America we are responsible for our government - kind of, until they gave it to corporate America - but we have to try and do what we can

Thank you for your post.

I was recently at a (Pow Wow) Pau Wau, we (veterans) were called out to enter the (sacred) circle to Honor Our Sacrifice & those who did not return. As we left the circle, we embraced each other & in my heart for the first time I felt joy for those of us who had survived to return home.
Blessing & Peace be in your heart & theirs for they are not without Honor, dishonor is upon those who have promoted their sacrifice to cover over lies & deceitful ways.

I believe this was originaly sent to Cindy Sheehan who posted it on the Veterans For Peace Yahoo Group and asked to spread it around. I know I have more than 4 blogs, but I loose track, so I posted it to the 4 I could find, military.com, e-thepeople, here and a few other places.

I feel it is important that people get the real news.

I clicked on the links and saw pictures of soldiers holding up signs asking for gift packets and it almost made me cry. I know the soldiers in the pictures were just having fun posing for the pictures, but I just knew there were soldiers that weren't having such a good time.

You know how how old people will act like children. I think I crossed that line and now I'm getting younger everyday. Things bother me that I have never thought about before. An odd thing I discovered is at work I might become real angry at someone, just give me five minutes and I'll forget all about it, just like a kid.

One of my blogs recieved a nice comment from someone who read the piece and cried.

I want to believe we are winning but the truth is we just keep loosing and the fat cats just keep getting fatter.

I know we're crying over spilled milk, but it keeps on spilling so we have to keep on crying.

I know them terrorist are bad people - but what logic makes us believe that we're going to beat them by being just like them.

Hmm . . . http://www.captaincynic.com/thread.php3/frmid=22-u-thrdid=49225

No - I think I'm just getting older.

I'm very lucky - I got the easiest no stress job in the world, I'll never give it up, I'll keep it until I am either fired or layed off. I could work other places and make more money - but we both know money is not that important.

Maybe I just have more time to think about things, to carefully study things.

Thanks for the link though