Memorial Day in Iraq - a letter home
 

This is a copy of a post by Rainey in the 5th ESB forums. I'm including the whole post so that you get an idea of who Sgt. Miller is. This letter really got to me. A firsthand account of the sacrifice these great Americans make for the rest of us. So today while you are grilling your burgers or visiting relatives or otherwise relaxing and enjoying the simple joys of being an American, think of these men and women and give thanks.



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I don't know if you guys remember a friend of mine who used to play a bit with us... his game name was PFC Numbnuts. Anyway, he's my best friend of almost 15 years, and he's been in Iraq since November.

He posted his thoughts on Memorial Day in Iraq, and the sentiment he expressed was so beautiful, it brought me to tears. I really wanted tp share it with you guys.

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Memorial Day in Iraq by Sgt. Russell Miller


I spent today musing:
You once walked through green fields with your friends. You called the land of plenty home. You had everything you ever wanted. Then the call came that changed everything. You are going to war. You don't know what to do with yourself. After much trouble, you enter the desert with a plan. You know what is going to happen, and you know life will be better on the other side. You know where you are going and what you are doing. You have memories to keep you company. Letters and phone calls lift you spirits. But this place changes people. Slowly, small parts of you die. The first thing to go is your notice of weapons. Everyone has them. You carry one everyday. Your vision just blurs over them. Then you realize, you can see a weapon in an instant, from 200 meters away, if it's being carried by anyone of Arabic descent; even US soldiers. That's when you know your changing. Next is your startle reflex to loud noises. Most people have never heard anything louder than fireworks. One day you hear mortars landing, and you don't even flinch. When they stop, you look at the guy next to you and say, "Boy, those were close today." Another piece of you is dead inside. Along with that reflex, goes your fear of death. It's surprising how quickly you lose that. Death is just waiting. It's the next mortar, the RPG from the highway, the truck with a bomb in it. You can't see it coming. You can't do anything about it. You prepare yourself. You know you might not see tomorrow, but the only thing that worries you is forgetting to say "I love you" to the people who count. You wonder if that fight on the phone will be the last thing that person remembers about you. You want to say it again and again, to everyone you know, "I love you". Slowly people start to forget about you. Oh, they promised they could never forget you, but it happens. The emails stop, the letters slow, until one day most of the people you knew are just a faded memory. Even your loved ones forget. You call home one night and hear "It's over, I don't love you." If your one of the truly unlucky ones, you simply get the letter. Your world is over, but you still have a job to do. No days off for good behavior in this prison. The desert has finally taken everything from you. You have lost your way. You stop to think, and realize, you don't know where home is. How do you get back to where you were. You can't. You fight depression. The boredom doesn't help. Everyday is the same. Eventually, every meal is the same. Your routine is unbreakable. It's what helps you get through the day now that you've lost your inspiration. You wonder if the people back home think your on vacation. Do they think you left on purpose; that you wanted to be gone. You remember, they don't understand, but you'll never forget. Your thoughts start to get loose. Maintaining your grip on reality is a struggle some days. Then one day it happens. The last Monday in May. Memorial Day.
Even as a soldier, you never gave alot of thought to Memorial Day. It never really affected you before. But as you walk into midnight chow, you see that "Saving Private Ryan" is playing on the tvs. As you sit down, you enjoy the jokes being told by the soldiers in the movie. They are laughing and smiling between fire-fights. You notice the "Screaming Eagle" on their shoulders. Then you look to your right and see the same scene. The eagle is grey now on the new uniforms, but everything else is the same. You remember all the faces you've ever seen in old photographs and films. They are interchangable for those next to you. It hits you hard. You suddenly lose you appetite. As you look around, your heart stops. Preparing for the day to come, the chow hall personel are putting up a memorial. You've seen the pictures in you life, but this time it's real. The American Flag and the Battalion Guidon hang over two pictures. Under the pictures are two empty pairs of boots. The universal memorial for a fallen soldier. The pair of boots that will never march home. You sit and stare. You feel the lump in your throat. Two of the brave men who lived and ate with you. They gave everything here. You think of their families. Today, two mothers will spend the day crying. Today is the day that the world remembers their sons. You think of everything you've lost; everything you've given up. It doesn't even compare. These men truly lost it all in the desert. They gave their blood, and their lives. Unfortunately, they are the truly forgotten.
I not asking for prayers today. You don't have to send this to anyone. All I ask, is that at some point today, stop what your doing and remember. Remember those who have fallen. Remember those that aren't coming home. Remember that they are not just numbers on a television screen. They are real people that you may know. Remember them. They gave their lives for you. Give a few minutes for them.

Dedicated to the memory of SPC Upchurch and the others that will never come home. I will remember.
SGT. Miller, Russell R.

I got a little teary eyed reading that. Thanks for posting it.

[quote="Unknown_Sniper":4ebf1]I got a little teary eyed reading that. Thanks for posting it.[/quote:4ebf1]

yeah man, good post.

thats a great letter. Im printing that off and keeping a copy

too bad unlike other wars that the US has been involved in, this one isnt really helping anyone...

well and vietnam...

That's a matter of opinion.

It is a sacrifice...but in the end all it is, is a waste of life.

fighting in Iraq is like jumping off a bridge...it is suicide...worst of all...it is forced suicide in this instance.

too bad people ahve to miss family and a real life...to go and do a evil mans bidding.

It's not fighting for your country...when you're dying just to change another one to favour your governement.

[img]http://www.fotosearch.com/comp/phd/PHD302/OS40024.JPG[/img]

Isn't that what we did in WWII? Hitler didn't attack us. Just because he had an alliance with Japan didn't mean he was going to. He had an alliance with Russia too. So should we have only fought Japan?

Germany = threat to the entire east

Iraq = threat to only themselves

and germany could of eventually destroyed you...especially if they won a war you weren't in.

Comparing Germany and Iraq has no valid point.

World War II was for the world...Iraq is just for themselves.

Well, actually, had not Hitler declared war on the United States first, I'm sure public opinion would have felt that Japan should have been dealt with before we turned our attention to Europe. Remember, people were still disillusioned with World War I and weren't exactly gung ho about entering another European war.

pyro....stfu annoy:

[quote="Simo Häyhä":83fd2]pyro....stfu annoy:[/quote:83fd2]

Yeah ffs - WE KNOW YOU DISAGREE WITH THE WAR. Now stfu.

I mean, I disagree with the war, and plenty of others here do as well, but we don't go on and on and on and on and on about it....

[quote=Tripper]Yeah ffs - WE KNOW YOU DISAGREE WITH THE WAR. Now stfu.

I mean, I disagree with the war, and plenty of others here do as well, but we don't go on and on and on and on and on about it....[/quote:b57d1]

persistance is a virtue

[quote=Pyro]persistance is a virtue[/quote:62fac]i think you meant to thick-headedness eek: oOo: annoy: