Topic : 1 More Yellow Ribbon

This year, 2007, I wanted to send a few (+/- 10) overseas soldiers a Christmas Card .  I  wrote around to different people on the internet for mailing addresses.  I received 720 requests for Christmas cards. 
I didn't want to let anyone down, so I asked stores for card donations and set up tables at shops in town so people could write a note to a soldier if they wanted. The response I received was wonderful!   People lined up to write and sign cards, and donate money for more cards and postage.   In the end, I was able to send a total of 1690 cards.  I want to do it again next year (only bigger!) and am asking for your help now.  And since it's after Christmas now, all Christmas cards are on sale.  All donations of Christmas cards will be sent to soldiers far away from their homes and families.  Every card will also include a prayer for the soldier's safety and God's blessing.  I'm probably asking the wrong group, but I'm open for suggestions too!  Any help any of you can give would be so greatly appreciated.  And send me your soldier's name/address too!

Cynthia Craker   c.german@sbcglobal.net

I am wondering....how out of touch am I?

 

My Mother (Navy), my Father (Air Force), my Uncles (Army,Marines, Navy), my Cousins (Army), my Aunts (Navy), my Grandfathers (Army), and last but not least my Husband (Army) have all been in Wars.

 

But they were not, did not,  portray 'how pitiful' they were for having to leave!  Nor did we make the children feel bad because of it.  I feel so sorry for all thses kids being made to feel so bad cause their Father is gone.  it's all in the perception.

 

I think America must need to get a grip and stop all the whinning.

 

Most people here in America don't realize how fortunate we are here. We take it for granted and say things about what we don't like about our leaders that in some places would make those kinds of people candidates for a quick beheading.

 

We have plumbing 24/7, bomb-free backyards, electricity, our teenagers own cars, iPods, computers, and cell phones,  girls can get an education and a career, and choose their spouses.  Women in the Middle East can't.  Yet, we b**ch and moan about how bad we have it, and that "war is bad" and neglect the fact that our freedom to whine is still intact because others actually died for that right- an allegory to Jesus dying for everyone else's sins. 

 

 

By Chuck Norris
Jun 4, 2008


Sen. John McCain played advanced political chess back and forth this past week with Sen. Barack Obama over the war in Iraq. Because the Democratic presidential hopeful has been to Iraq only once (more than two years ago), McCain said Obama has a "profound misunderstanding" about the progress made in Iraq.

Three Surprises Awaiting Obama in Iraq (Image: Wenn)

The fact is John McCain is absolutely right. Barack doesn't have a clue what really is going on in Iraq. And Obama will eat some humble military pie if he goes there. The way I see it, he's going to face at least three major surprises:

Surprise No. 1: The surge really did work. I have been to Iraq twice to visit the troops since Obama's single visit. During my two trips (2006 and 2007) to Iraq, I visited 28 bases and shook hands with nearly 40,000 troops. I cannot express the profound pride I feel for our troops. I will remember those experiences for the rest of my life.

One thing that was absolutely apparent in my second visit to Iraq was how well the surge was working. Despite the fact that not one major media outlet at the time reported the positive impact of the surge, I had seen it with my own eyes and could compare the progress between my two visits in more than two dozen locations across the country (many of which were hotbeds of gunfire the year before).

Fewer U.S. troops died in Iraq last month than during almost any other month since the war began five years ago.

A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity to visit Iraq for a third time. I was invited again by Robert Magnus, a four-star general, whose retirement this July completes a truly stellar career in military service from Vietnam to the Iraq war. Unfortunately, I was under publishing deadlines to complete my upcoming (fall release) book, "Black Belt Patriotism," so I could not join him.

Surprise No. 2: War is not reflected accurately in the news.

So where does Obama get his facts about the war? How is it that he can conclude so confidently that the Iraq war is futile and a result of failed strategy and policies? If he hasn't been to Iraq since the surge even started, how can he truly know anything about the battlefields?

The truth is that Obama gets his knowledge about the war from the same places most of us do: major media, White House press reports, so-called military experts (who are often no longer on the battlefields), our favorite news blogs and Web sites, etc. But are we truly getting all the facts about the war from those sources? Most of them?

Imagine what our military officers and few political leaders who really understand the ins and outs of the war think when those "on the outside" pontificate about their knowledge of the war. Have you ever had someone try to tell you what it's like to be in your shoes and be dead wrong? Do we expect that our military leaders are honestly going to tell media representatives all the truths about the war so that CNN can splash them around the globe for all the terrorists to hear? If our military leaders actually found WMDs or knew where Osama bin Laden is hidden, are we really so slow to figure out why they could not and would not tell the public? If it's true that we can't judge a book by its cover, do we think we can judge a war by its news coverage? Does Obama?

Surprise No. 3: All of our service members are absolutely amazing heroes.

Considering how Obama has spoken negatively about the war, for which our troops and their families sacrifice daily, one might think he would experience a cold military reception in Iraq. But those poised souls are much bigger than that. If Obama goes to Iraq, they will offer him the honor and respect he never could give them. The troops deserve admiration from the possible commander in chief. But how can he march them forward when he rejects their cause, has not sat down with their officers and generals, and wants to negotiate with terrorists?

Whatever the reasons we went in, we're there now. We can fight the constitutional correctness until the cows come home, but our troops are there. And they are fighting for the freedom and democracy of more than 12 million Iraqis, who bravely went to the polls a few years ago to establish a new constitution and government. I am grateful for our troops' service, humbled by their courage, and amazed by their sacrifice. And I believe even Obama will be surprised by their fortitude if he just opens his eyes

I lost my only child my son Matthew on 9/11. He was proudly serving our country as a member of the US Navy and was working at the Pentagon that morning. Matthew was 21.

 

Our military men and women both past and present are a big part of my heart. To all our Veterans I think you deserve better care and treatment. I think the way the men and woman got treated when they returned from Vietnam was appalling.  I still don't think all our miltary is given the support and care they deserve.

 

If it wasn't for all the men and women who serve our country Matt's death and the death of all the others killed on 9/11, the ones we lost on US Cole, and in Beiruit would have been in vain.  All the ones we have lost in Iraq and Afganistan should never be forgotten, and those wounded should get the best care available.  Never forget all the sacrifices made by all and never forget their families.

 

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.  We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream.  It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day, we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States"

 

__Ronald Reagan, POTUS 1980-1988

 

If you would like to sponser a care package to troops in Iraq, you can do so through:

 

http://www.thecampaignstore.com/store/default.asp?parentid=409

 

or the Move America Forward organization.

 

God Bless our troops!