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Sunday, April 12, 2009

Brothers In Arms


There is nothing funny or glamorous about war. The Iraq and Afghanistan wars have taken a terrible toll on countries and families around the world. Rooting out terrorists and freeing a nation in the bondage of corrupt leaders, has become a test of our United States military over the past several years. In an attempt to help, we have been ridiculed and ambushed beyond belief. Your opinion as to whether we should be engaged in such action is your own; please hear me out--this is not a debate about right or wrong. This is a personal plea to support those who proudly serve, and their families often left behind.


My family has a long list of Veterans, including all three of my brothers. J., the oldest, retired from the US Air Force, after over 20 years of service to our nation. M., the next oldest, was in the US Army, stationed as far away as Germany. G., the youngest of the three became a US Marine in 2002. Soon after boot camp and all of his training, he was sent to Iraq just as the war was beginning there. We did not know where he was, or if he was safe. We knew he had a job that did not exactly put him on the front line, but we learned later that everyone was on the front line during those years! On his first trip home after being sent there, we noticed a huge change in his personality. He had seen things that no human should see; been in attacks that killed one of his buddies right next to him, and was in a convoy of vehicles that had to run over Iraqi children thrown into the street by their parents as "human shields." It changed him.


Most of G.'s five years in the Marines were spent in Iraq. After his time served, he left active duty for a new career and a new life. Last year, he was married to a lovely lady that supported and encouraged him through his last deployment. I believe that she brought "our G." back to us, and I thank God for her!





G. took some needed time off, and then began a job search. It was difficult to find employment , even though he had job skills learned from his experience in the military. Time has gone on, and his attempt at a new career proved to be futile. He has now decided to do what he knows best...to be an active duty Marine once again. This time, he will train for a new job because his old job is over flowing with candidates. This time, he may or may not go to Iraq. This time, he may or may not be in a daily fight for his life. This time, he will stay to finish a career in the US Marines.



We hope and pray that we will never have to attend the funeral of my brother because of some act of war. It is a daily reality to the families of military men and women, that at any time, uniformed officers from their loved one's particular branch of service could knock on their door with the devastating news no one wants to hear: "Your soldier has been killed in action." This did however happen in my extended family in early December 2006. They had three sons serving at the same time. Two were in the Army and one was a Marine. The following is a brief newspaper article about the young Marine, and G.'s cousin.

(This will continue in my next post.)


5 comments:

  1. Oh, Michelle. I pray that G stays safe and God continues to provide him with the physical and emotional shield he needs to complete his career as the G you know him as.

    Love Annemarie

    ReplyDelete
  2. Praying right now that the Lord will be with your brother wherever he goes!
    Isaiah 40:28-31 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
    Prayer BearsMy email address

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  3. Know that you're in my thoughts and prayers!
    Psalms 91:9-12 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
    Prayer BearsMy email address

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  4. He died that we might live! Praying hard right now!
    Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
    Prayer BearsMy email address

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  5. Continuing to pray in Seattle!
    Lamentations 3:22-26 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD.
    Prayer BearsMy email address

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