Thanksgiving and My Soldiers
In two days, most of you will be gathering with friends and loved ones and enjoying some good food...some good wine...and football. You will sit at your tables and toast your thanks. Then you will nap and start planning for Christmas. In two days....me and my soldiers will get up as we have everyday for the last several weeks and go to work or to guard duty or to some "yet to be determined" detail that may include filling sandbags or something worse. But for the most part...we are ok with that. You see...we want to be there with you. We just can't right now. But we want you to do the things you would do if we were all home. We want you to be happy...and to enjoy the time you can share with the people you care about. For me...I am thankful for many things...I won't go into them all but I am so happy to have a loving family, great friends, and my loves...Elvis and T. Those alone make me richer then most men. But this thanksgiving, I am giving thanks for the soldiers who have become my responsibility. My new friends and family include:
Specialist Michael B.....a great guy from Austin Texas who is smart, funny, and incredibly loyal. I count on him so much. He is my right hand soldier. Mike and I share many similier views on this war and in politics in general. He lives in a tiny blue dot (austin) in a very red state. He is 31 and has a wife and two dogs.
Specialist Scott M....another young soldier from Texas who I like so much. He is about 24 but looks about 16. Haha. He always tries hard and makes me laugh. He has grown so much since I first met him. He has a young son who was born back in the spring. His son is everything to him and I know that he is and will be a great dad. He hopes to make it back for his son's first birthday in March.
Specialist Jaime M...she is about 24 and a Texas girl with a husband and a 2 year old boy who she misses terribly. Jaime has become my "girl". I love her to death. We are always bantering back and forth and she has a great attitude and sense of humor. She reminds me of some of the gals I hung with back in Albany.
Specialist Arthur E....Arthur is also know as "smooth" because he is a big ladies man. Smooth is about 21. He is also very quiet and very intelligent. "Smooth" is from Alabama and is half African-American and half Korean. He does a great job at all his work. I am proud of the way he has grown into this job and am looking forward to seeing him continue to excel.
Specialist Licia S....Licia is our baby...barely 19. She is spunky and most of the guys call her "our princess". Deep down we really adore her but I think sometimes that she thinks I am really "old". Haha. But I admire her because she works hard and wants to make a good impression. She also did not get alot of support from her family and had to grow up very quickly. She is from Colorado.
SGT Sandra C is a hoot. She is a very sweet lady from Texas. Sandra is the mom of the group. I wont tell you how old she really is, but she has a very youthful spirit. She has a husband and a son at home and is our social director here. She knows everyone in the Brigade and sets up all of our dances and parties. She keeps us all laughing and loose. I am glad she is with us.
SGT Kendrick H is from Kansas. He is like 7 feet tall..He has been in the Navy where he was a paralegal as well. He recently joined the Army and has made a good transition. He is very smart and he and I always bust on each other. He just got promoted to SGT and I am sure he will be a fine NCO. He is about 23.
PFC Shenieka F. is from Texas. She a very quiet but very strong paralegal and is about 24. I am very proud of her work and Shenieka is always willing to do whatever work needs to be done. I enjoy working with her. She is not very tall soldier but she has a very big attitude and looks funny driving the big truck her unit assigned to her. Haha.
This deployment has been hard on all of these soldiers. But now we have become a family over here. We know that in the end...if we had nothing else...we still have each other. The other night, all of us gathered together for a early thanksgiving dinner. We were having a ball. We ate and drank near beer, smoked cigars and danced like fools. Everyday we laugh and laugh at each other's antics and we have become really close. I miss all my peeps at home...you have not been forgotten. But now, I have a little family I am taking care of here in Iraq. It is this family...of remarkable young men and woman...that I am truly thankful for this thanksgiving. Hey, this Thursday...set a place for me...and my soldiers. We promise not to eat too much...haha. HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!
Specialist Michael B.....a great guy from Austin Texas who is smart, funny, and incredibly loyal. I count on him so much. He is my right hand soldier. Mike and I share many similier views on this war and in politics in general. He lives in a tiny blue dot (austin) in a very red state. He is 31 and has a wife and two dogs.
Specialist Scott M....another young soldier from Texas who I like so much. He is about 24 but looks about 16. Haha. He always tries hard and makes me laugh. He has grown so much since I first met him. He has a young son who was born back in the spring. His son is everything to him and I know that he is and will be a great dad. He hopes to make it back for his son's first birthday in March.
Specialist Jaime M...she is about 24 and a Texas girl with a husband and a 2 year old boy who she misses terribly. Jaime has become my "girl". I love her to death. We are always bantering back and forth and she has a great attitude and sense of humor. She reminds me of some of the gals I hung with back in Albany.
Specialist Arthur E....Arthur is also know as "smooth" because he is a big ladies man. Smooth is about 21. He is also very quiet and very intelligent. "Smooth" is from Alabama and is half African-American and half Korean. He does a great job at all his work. I am proud of the way he has grown into this job and am looking forward to seeing him continue to excel.
Specialist Licia S....Licia is our baby...barely 19. She is spunky and most of the guys call her "our princess". Deep down we really adore her but I think sometimes that she thinks I am really "old". Haha. But I admire her because she works hard and wants to make a good impression. She also did not get alot of support from her family and had to grow up very quickly. She is from Colorado.
SGT Sandra C is a hoot. She is a very sweet lady from Texas. Sandra is the mom of the group. I wont tell you how old she really is, but she has a very youthful spirit. She has a husband and a son at home and is our social director here. She knows everyone in the Brigade and sets up all of our dances and parties. She keeps us all laughing and loose. I am glad she is with us.
SGT Kendrick H is from Kansas. He is like 7 feet tall..He has been in the Navy where he was a paralegal as well. He recently joined the Army and has made a good transition. He is very smart and he and I always bust on each other. He just got promoted to SGT and I am sure he will be a fine NCO. He is about 23.
PFC Shenieka F. is from Texas. She a very quiet but very strong paralegal and is about 24. I am very proud of her work and Shenieka is always willing to do whatever work needs to be done. I enjoy working with her. She is not very tall soldier but she has a very big attitude and looks funny driving the big truck her unit assigned to her. Haha.
This deployment has been hard on all of these soldiers. But now we have become a family over here. We know that in the end...if we had nothing else...we still have each other. The other night, all of us gathered together for a early thanksgiving dinner. We were having a ball. We ate and drank near beer, smoked cigars and danced like fools. Everyday we laugh and laugh at each other's antics and we have become really close. I miss all my peeps at home...you have not been forgotten. But now, I have a little family I am taking care of here in Iraq. It is this family...of remarkable young men and woman...that I am truly thankful for this thanksgiving. Hey, this Thursday...set a place for me...and my soldiers. We promise not to eat too much...haha. HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL!!
posted by An Army of One at November 21, 2006
5 Comments:
How can I not love all of you? I am thankful for you, Glenn, and for the men and women who serve with you.
Hi Glenn! We all miss you and will be thinking of you on Thanksgiving. Hopefully we'll be able to see you in February when you go on R&R. I just got back from Austin, TX the other day. I was doing a show near there so you can tell Specialist Michael B. that his town (the little blue dot amidst a sea of red) is doing well and I am sure they are missing him and looking forward to seeing him soon. As always take care and keep your noggin down.
MT
So good of you to insert some humanity while being surrounded with such distruction - going over to help rebuild what your own country destroyed is commendable but I can't help but think you felt it was going to be some kind of adventure (did't you watch the movie Platoon?) - watching some other American solders videos on YouTube has left me with the feeling that the real negative impact on American society is still ahead of you, a whole lot of government trained killers will be released on the nation - the people of the US should have a much better government, when you elect your next commander and chief please be aware of the magnatude of that decision. Do hope for your sake you are not faced with having to take another person's life - your involvement in this conflict really underlines the many differences between Canadians and Americans - wishing you and your fellow solders a safe return and the rebuilding of a truely independant safe and secure Iraq of their own choosing. Freedom is not only an American right.
happy thanxgivin' pappy....no winterlight this year, just rain and clouds. sittin behind closed windows thinking about elvis, cans of nuts, and cheese cloth...
Happy T-day from your family at 4ntv.
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