Ace of Spades HQ

September 23, 2008

A Soldier Writes Home From Afghanistan
— DrewM

I just came across this at The Corner. It's a letter written by a soldier to his home town newspaper about his service in Iraq and Afghanistan shortly before he was killed in an IED attack.

The bad days are when you put your buddy in a body bag and you don't even recognize him because his limbs are missing and there holes in him everywhere. The miracles are when his last words are, "tell my wife and kids I love them," before he dies in his best friend's arms after struggling for several agonizing minutes to get the words out because there is a fist-size hole in his head.
And last but not least, the best days are when an Afghan comes up to you thanking you for everything that you have done to help them and for making their (home) a better place now that the Taliban are gone.
If anything, this is probably the biggest reason why I proudly enjoy being over here. I can't explain it to anyone and there is no description of what it feels like, but it was the same feeling I got when I was in Iraq as well. And I am sure it's the same feeling that generations of American soldiers before me have gotten as they fought and sacrificed their lives for the freedoms that we enjoy today.
Perhaps the biggest thing that has made being over here much more bearable, is the amount of public support that we have received from people. Getting a care package or a letter of support when you are out in the middle of nowhere from a complete stranger, thanking you, does make the day seem a little better.
I would especially like to thank my Aunt Jan Martin, and The local Troop Support organization who have provided care packages to soldiers serving overseas and have volunteered endless hours of their time and energy making our lives easier. The British soldiers (who don't get anything) are extremely grateful as well.

You can read all of Capt. Bruno de Solenni's letter here.

With good news in Iraq, the campaign here at home and all the other news, it's easy to forget that we still have many brave men and women serving in very dangerous places, far far from home.

I hate to admit it but it's been awhile since I've done anything to "support the troops" (not that I ever did near enough to begin with). Thankfully a quick trip to Soldiers Angels was a good first step. Sure it was just a couple of bucks to help them with their good work but it was the least I could do.

Posted by: DrewM at 10:31 AM | Comments (18)
Post contains 458 words, total size 3 kb.

1 RIP soldier. It is because of people like you that I sleep well at night.

Posted by: RobG at September 23, 2008 10:46 AM (8Yrry)

2 Not to be dismissive, seriously, but having been in this sort of stress, it has a tendency to heighten one's appreciation for things we who are not take for granted- like the reasonable assumption no one is about to ram a truck full of explosives into the building you're in. Bearing in mind some guys are better in a visual medium, even today the typical outlet is in letters, because almost every individual gets to feeling it's not right to show how scared he is- because he knows the other guy is just as scared and do pretty much the same - but still has to put his feelings in words It's one of the reasons Ken Burns had so much to work with on his Civil War series.

Posted by: Diderot's dog at September 23, 2008 10:51 AM (nrD02)

3 I hold my manhood cheap

Posted by: toby928: Caesarist at September 23, 2008 10:56 AM (evdj2)

4 Unfortunately, no matter how well things are progressing over here, there are still Soldiers getting killed. It's good that he was seeing the real difference he was making in the lives of the people he was working with, and he was getting satisfaction out of that. Real progress has been made in both nations by our troops, and if they can successfully maintain those gains after we leave, it could significantly affect the entire region. I think it's a longshot, but it will be awesome if it occurs.

This article reminds me of something I had been thinking about earlier...the De

Posted by: Grimaldi at September 23, 2008 11:03 AM (lduP/)

5 www.opgratitude.com

Posted by: polynikes at September 23, 2008 11:11 AM (m2CN7)

6 To hell with this. We know where the Taliban are -- on the Afghan/Pakistan border.

Pull our guys back. Way back. Light off a dozen or so Big Ones on the border.

We're losing good men trying to do this the right way.

Posted by: Bill at September 23, 2008 11:18 AM (bZH9/)

7 Besides Soldiers Angels, the USO continues to provide all kinds of support including phone cards so deployed soldiers can call home.

Posted by: Retread at September 23, 2008 11:23 AM (P/AfD)

Thanks for the reminder, Drew. I went over the Soldier's Angels and donated and went ahead and adopted one of them there grunts. They are just so damn cute!! Gonna get a care package off to him tomorrow. I'm thinking goodies, reading material and maybe some TP that doesn't feel like sand paper (I've been there, I know the mil buys the cheapest stuff available made from bark and ground glass.)

Can anyone give me some more suggestions about what to put in there?

Posted by: Dewy at September 23, 2008 11:36 AM (PWj7B)

9 After reading this i remembered that I had seen a wish list on Amazon for Walter Reed soldiers...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/20LA40LBG26FB/

i just sent them about 20 of the DVD's they wanted.. Its the least i could do as I sit at work and enjoy a beautiful day, while our bravest protect us... yes even the moonbats and libtards are safe...

Posted by: PISSED at September 23, 2008 11:39 AM (tq6S/)

Economies of scale....

You get, what, like 40k drive-bys here each and every day?

So, if everyone who dropped by here gave $1, that would be a sweet $40k in care packages. But, knowing that that won't happen, what if only 10% of the readership gave $20? A whopping $80k, that's what!

I am trying on my new 'optimistic' suit here and thus refuse to consider that a measley 10% of readership can't come up with something.

It would be fun to see just what this moronblog can accomplish. Why not hold a fund drive on the site? Attach it to a seperate Paypal account and make it even more convenient for the lazy lot of us to drop a dime or two.

Posted by: jmflynny at September 23, 2008 11:45 AM (kxRMH)

11 I just donated AND just adopted a soldier...felt GREAT...felt PATRIOTIC

going to make a care package now! *quick someone get the link to Biden, maybe he is just confused about that feeling

www.iliketoberight.blogspot.com

Posted by: christy at September 23, 2008 11:47 AM (BGIzK)

Been there and done that, and have skin in the game now. Anything, no matter how small, that you can do is received with tremendous appreciation.

It would be an honor beyond measure to wear that uniform alonside these young men and women once more.

Posted by: irongrampa at September 23, 2008 11:58 AM (ud5dN)

13 ``Can anyone give me some more suggestions about what to put in there [care packages for soldiers]?''

Don't know about Afghanistan, but if your guy's in Iraq, send heavy Ziploc bags. Seriously. They get these sandstorms in the desert and the damn sand gets into everything. The big gallon and two-gallon bags are good for storing stuff.

You can't mail aerosols, so if you're sending soap or shaving cream or anything like that, make sure it's in bar form.

Handi-wipes (again, for cleaning sand off one's person and out of one's possessions).

If you want to send food, make sure it's well wrapped up and will survive the trip - when it's going via APO/FPO it's going to get knocked around, you have no idea how long it will take to get there. Prepackaged stuff is better than fresh. When my son was in Iraq I sent him cookies from the Harry & David catalog.

That's all I can remember. Other folks who've had family/friends over there more recently, can probably suggest other things.

Posted by: Annalucia at September 23, 2008 11:59 AM (OMiLl)

14 I've been a Soldiers Angel for over two years and have adopted about a dozen men and women in Iraq, Afghanistan, and South Korea. From my experience, I have found that they really appreciate baby wipes, jerky, dried fruit and nut mixes, powdered drink mixes like Crystal Light or Propel, Mach 3 blades, magazines, bath sponges, and bath wash like Axe. It's a good idea to send Axe wrapped in several Ziplocs and not mix with food packages. It has a really strong smell. The thing they like best of all, though, is a letter of support.

Posted by: Warm Mountain at September 23, 2008 12:52 PM (XMTFe)

15 Porn and valu-rite morons!!! The rest of that crap you can buy at the PX.

Posted by: CavMedic at September 23, 2008 12:58 PM (tc3dx)

16 Thank you, DrewM.

Posted by: MaryAnn at September 23, 2008 01:07 PM (zMfqL)

17 RIP

Posted by: eman at September 23, 2008 03:12 PM (TE1SV)

http://www.anysoldier.com/ is also an excellent site for anyone who wants a way to support the troops. I've been sending care packages using their listings for the last few years. Their forum has excellent suggestions on what to include in care packages.

Regards,

Posted by: Dumb_Blonde at September 23, 2008 09:41 PM (NfQgf)

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