A Tribute to our Troops
Enduring

By Mrs. Gail Gross (Wife of soldier in Heidelberg, Germany)

I want you to consider your morning and day. How did your day start? My day began with my alarm clock going off at 0530 to an AFN (American Forces Network) station reporting news of “Operation Iraqi Freedom.” I rolled over, kissed my husband (silently praising God he was there and praying for the many husbands and wives who did not wake up next to their spouse) and crawled out of a cozy, warm bed. I walked to the bathroom, flipped on the light and turned on a hot shower. After my shower with soap, shampoo and crème rinse, I brushed my teeth and gargled with Listerine. I applied deodorant, make-up and perfume, dried my hair with an electric blow dryer and then assured my hair would stay in place for the day with a little hair spray. Did I forget to mention that all these events occurred in a comfortable housing unit of about 1400 square feet, which is adequately heated, safe and secure?

Simultaneously, my husband is preparing for his day of duty. Throughout these activities, coffee is brewing and a clean cup stands ceremoniously on the kitchen counter ready to receive the hot aromatic liquid. We meet at the door, join hands, bow our heads and pray for God’s blessing on our day and most especially God’s provision of safety and blessings on our troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am certain that many of you began your day just as my husband and I did. What about our troops who are in the field? Have you stopped to think about how or when their day starts and ends? I am married to a soldier and I have an inside look at what is happening in the Iraqi desert. Our troops have been at war in Iraq for six days, but many have been in the desert three or four months, waiting. They are waiting for the order to begin what they have been trained to do: fight. While they are waiting, they train during the day and sleep at night. They eat three square MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) and train some more. The days are long and hot and the nights are short and cold and the anticipation escalates with each passing hour. Then it comes. The order they’ve been waiting for. They are on the move. History in the making: lives and cultures never to be the same again.

I see people (celebrities) on AFN television saying how they appreci-ate the sacrifices our troops are making. I sometimes wonder if they realize the magnitude of those sacrifices. To me the sacrifices made voluntarily by our troops to protect America from enemies foreign and domestic are incredible. Set aside the fact that the only shower or bath that many have had in months is with a baby wipe. That’s right, a baby wipe bath. There are no cozy warm beds in the Iraqi desert either, only cots and sleeping bags in tents. Have any of you tried to sleep in a tent full of other people? They are tired, hot, missing their loved ones and waiting to battle the enemy. I would guess that rest is difficult at best.

In the midst of waiting there are sandstorms to contend with – winds up to 50 miles an hour throwing and swirling sand everywhere. Sometimes visibility is limited to about 10-15 feet. Sand gets in their teeth and ears and nose and eyes. During a sandstorm they must try to cover these orifices with ski goggles and/or scarves, but still there is sand. Imagine your toilet paper and Kleenex with grains of sand in it. It is almost like the proverbial wedding rice or birdseed that continues to show itself long after the “I do’s.”

Routines have changed. They fight at night and try to catch some rest during the day. The nights are still too short, but the days are still too long. Most meals are on the run and sleep often occurs in a foxhole. They must be ready to take up arms and become fully mobile in a matter of mere minutes. Oh, did I forget to mention while they are doing all this they are constantly thinking about firing upon and being fired upon by the enemy? Endless thoughts of death, dying, capture and torture invade their minds. During a respite, thoughts drift to families and home and the new baby that was born yesterday but will not be held until the war is over. They see and hear about death on a daily basis and must instantaneously digest that comrades are missing, perhaps captured, and continue on. The mental fatigue alone is enough to send most of us to counseling, yet our troops endure. The physical exhaustion is phenomenal, yet our troops endure. The yearning for family and all else that is familiar is nearly unbearable, yet our troops endure. The end is in sight only because there was a beginning, but no one knows when that end will come, yet our troops endure. Their very lives are at stake, yet our troops endure. This does not resemble the beginning or for that matter, any part of my day.

Why do they endure? They endure because it is the right thing to do. They endure because Saddam Hussein is a tyrannical despot without heart or conscience. He has pillaged and raped his own people and country simply to promote his maniacal and egotistical regime. Hussein’s propaganda strives to control and devalue the Iraqi people. No Iraqi citizen openly questions Hussein or his methods because to do so would mean certain death. No one deserves to be treated as Hussein has treated his countrymen. Iraq is a country rich in oil; however, many Iraqis live in squalor while Hussein lives in splendor and luxury. Our troops endure to depose Saddam Hussein and to return Iraq to its people.

I believe the battle to be long. After the war many (200,000 estimated) troops will continue to endure. American and coalition troops will not leave Iraq upon deliverance of freedom. Oh no, we will stay and help the Iraqi people rebuild and reconstruct their country. America will spend billions of dollars to train and educate those who have been oppressed by Saddam for decades. We will help the Iraqi people regain their self respect and value as a nation. Why? It is the right thing to do.

I am an American and I support our troops and President Bush. Our troops and coalition forces are in Iraq fighting the noble fight. As a nation we are far too willing to sit back and allow others to suffer needlessly because we do not wish to get involved or worse, we are content to allow injustices to be heaped upon the innocent because it does not directly affect us or affect our lives in America. There was a time, not so long ago, when the difference between right and wrong and good and bad was much more easily discernible. I think we need to ask ourselves what happened. When did evil become an acceptable behavior? Saddam Hussein’s malevolent regime is inhumane and no longer tolerable, and if American and coalition troops are willing to put their lives on the line to bring it down then the least you and I can do is support them in any way possible.

So tomorrow morning when you crawl out of your cozy, warm bed, after you take a hot shower, and while you enjoy a cup of hot coffee, remember that oppression of a people is wrong and there are service members who are actively fighting against the evils of this world. Say a prayer for them. Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “In the truest sense, freedom cannot be bestowed; it must be achieved.” Why not help our fellow man achieve that freedom?