What can I say? Ladies, Gentlemen, and genuine Hell-Raisers, I salute you. I’m not a gifted writer. Please accept my humble efforts as proof that I care.
Some of you were committed to enlistment contracts and already in uniform before 9/11. To you I say: Thank you for not running and hiding. Some of you, like my nephew Robbie, still had a choice when it became clear that you were signing up to fight. An extra "Thank you" to you.
Robbie, you’ll never know how proud you made me the night in October of 2001 when we discussed how the world had changed and you made it clear that you’re plans hadn’t changed in the least. It scares the Hell out me knowing that the little boy I taught to tiptoe up on baby rabbits (You probably don’t remember, but I do) is now in uniform and has a damned good chance of ending up in a war zone before the dust settles. Be safe, please.
I know what Viet Nam cost those of us who went there and did what our country asked of us. Three boys men from my little home town didn’t come home. My cousin, Scott Parker, survived numerous firefights then came home to die of lung cancer caused by four packs of cigarettes per day. His name isn’t on The Wall, but it should be. As Kimmymac so ably pointed out in the mail I posted as "Changes", you will not come home unchanged, even those of you who never see combat. Being away from home, knowing you don't have the option of just saying "Enough of this!" and catching the next plane out, wondering what tomorrow will bring and whether those back home remember and care, will affect you for the rest of your lives. There’s nothing I can do for those of your generation who will killed and maimed by bullets and bombs. I pray that number won’t be any bigger than it has to be. Please know and believe that if I could trade places with you I would, as would many of my generation. Please know that we back home do remember, that we do care, that we do appreciate you. I’ll do everything I can, with this letter, my prayers, and my small presence on the web, to minimize the emotional scars I know some of you will come home with. I wish I could do more. May God bless and keep you.
What else is there to say? More gifted writers might think of something, but I can’t. I salute you. You’re in my prayers. THANK YOU.
Bill Faith
Lawrenceville, IL
USAF 1970-1974
Viet Nam 1971-1972
