I visited a Marine's wife today

[nini]

I've known her since she was about 3 years old. She is now married to a young man who is in the Marines and currently in Iraq. They have a 4 month old daughter.


I asked how he was and if she gets to talk to him much. She said sometimes a couple times a week, other times maybe once if she's lucky. She said she made the mistake of asking him what he actually did there.. the details were GRUESOME. I wanted to cry.

I asked about what they thought of Bush saying he was going to wait until next month to decide what to do about Iraq. Her dad's head about exploded - I heard every word you can imagine about what a failure bush is and how dare he take one minute off from solving the mess over there while soldiers are dying and families are agonizing over them being there and not at home.

I'm sure there are military families still towing the line - as they will refuse to believe they're fighting for a lie, but if they ever try to convince you the ENTIRE military is behind Bush - don't believe it. This delay in a decision has pissed them off more than the dumbass will ever imagine.

I just hope her husband does get to come home unlike so many of the men/women in his stories. :cry:

[babylonsister]

1. Thank you, nini. We need to hear these stories from the families. nt

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. I hope that they come home

and soon. Staying is just a waste. Our pest control company got a call from a soldier that was home from Iraq to be there when his first child was born. I told him I sincerely hoped he would be home for good soon-the sooner the better-he laughed and said thanks. Our company did not charge him for the pest service-we support our troops with more than stupid magnets.

[brer cat]

7. Thank you! The *($## magnets don't support anything

beyond a picture on a refrigerator!

[wtmusic]

9. Good for you

someone putting their time, effort, and money where there mouth is. I rarity nowadays. :thumbsup:

[wtmusic]

3. Gruesome as in...

what he saw, or what he did?

[nini]

4. well both I guess

He is involved in the cleanup of the aftermath of roadside bombs and similar situations - use your imagination. :-(

[Ilsa]

5. And from what I can tell, it sounds like soldiers/marines are more

likely to be frank about their lives in Iraq with their wives versus their mothers. One Marine's mom told me that her son told her, "Don't believe the news stories you hear in the American media," but she knew he was just saying that to make her feel better.

I'm glad this man has been honest with his wife so she will have some concept that he is changing as a person from being over there. Alot of people don't realize that war can change the people who have to fight it.

[nealmhughes]

6. My mother, my sister, myself and my grandmother were at lunch today.

My grandmother said to us "Oh, Lord, there's poor L.C." Her grandson was killed in Iraq last spring. Her first great grandson was born a few months ago (his son). She saw us and we all sadly waved and she came to join us. My grandmother broached the subject of how she, her son, her grandson's widow and the baby were doing now. She said holding on as best they could and showed us pictures of the baby. My grandmother said she was sorry she couldn't get to the fueneral or by her house, but it was so crowded she didn't know what to say...

Eventually I got asked something and I just said, "Yes, I have followed the story closely. I wanted to go to the funeral, but did not have the ability due to a doctor's appt. I saw a lot of it on TV. I also blogged about the baby's healthy birth when he was born and in the newspaper."

When we left, I said, "My friend and neighbor Jake was killed in Afghanistan last winter. He was 6 months away from getting married and only had to take a directed reading to get his MA..."

We didn't talk much on the way to the hardware store. Then as we started to get out, my 87 year old grandmother, the paragon of the Southern church lady said, "Damn that ole Bush for what he has put all our boys and their families through."

[nini]

8. The words of a wise woman :-)

they've seen it all in their lives. This has got to hurt them to their cores after fighting the fight in WWII.

[lebkuchen]

10. I'm on a deploying base in Germany

and the majority of customers by far are saying, post election, that they're glad the dems won (this base is full of Bible-belter born-agains).

[seashorelady]

12. That's a really good sign

A change in the air for sure.

[OneBlueSky]

11. Bush out raising money and hosting holiday celebrations while soldiers are dying . . .

in Iraq and Afghanistan is unforgivable, and demonstrates his total lack of empathy and responsibility . . . the man is a toad . . .

Bush and his henchmen should be devoting every waking hour to solving the Iraq mess and getting our troops the hell out of there . . . but they have no intention of leaving -- ever . . . the Green Zone, the permanent bases, and the "world's largest embassy" are testaments to the BushCo plans to control Iraqi oil in perpetuity, and to maintain a strong base of U.S. operations in the region, also in perpetuity . . .

how they can possibly rationalize devastating a sovereign nation and killing hundreds of thousands of its citizens like this is beyond my comprehension . . . these are amoral people who need to be impeached, tried, convicted, and severely punished for the war crimes and the crimes against humanity they have perpetrated . . .

[nini]

13. exactly.. it was tough to not think of that when looking at his baby

She deserves to grow up with her dad and the fact he is over there when his commander in chief doesn't seem to think getting that crap resolved is more important than his Xmas vacation is sickening.

I cannot think of another president who would do this so blatantly as *.

[Bozita]

17. Hey, he's gotta attend 24 Xmas parties! Being Prez is hard work, ...

real hard work.

Yup, it's hard work. Real hard work!

[Uncle Joe]

14. Thanks for post nini

Kicked and recommended

[nini]

15. thank you... we need to know how hurt these families really are

It's tragic what the policies of the admin are doing to good loving people. :-(

[Laurab]

16. My nephew (Army) told us, but wouldn't tell his wife

what he did over there. Gruesome is a good word for it. He's not in combat, but over there, everyone is. I asked him if he had to do things that would keep him up at night, he immediately said "yes" and started to talk about his experiences. The worst for him seemed to be the fact that there are children pointing guns at soldiers, and it's either you or them. What got him through was thinking "I'm going to get home to my baby son".

The expressions on his face while he was talking were indescribable. I would guess, since he did talk about it, that he's one of the luckier ones. I imagine a lot won't talk about it, and we're going to have tens of thousands of very messed up young men and women here at home.

In '04 my nephew voted for Kerry, and said everyone he knew in the military was doing the same. I don't recall the military vote ever being released, which to me means it went largely for Kerry.

I know there is hope now that dems have the majority - it will be too late for many, many people, but hopefully we're on the road out.

And that asshole * is proud to say how well he sleeps at night....

[SammyWinstonJack]

18. While the "recount" of the '00 sElection was going on, I was a regular in

the AOL political chat rooms. Many on there were military members and their families. They were absolutely ecstatic about bush being their new Commander in Chief. They were so excited that bush had pledged to keep them and their families together on US soil. They talked about how Clinton had kept their families apart and how he had demoralized the military. I wonder how they feel now?

[Booster]

19. My Marine nephew's wife spent the weekend with me, and,

although both my nephew and his wife do not believe in this war now (he has already been over there and returned, probably to go again), she said "we have to support this war" because of the troops. I told her I absolutely could in no way support this war - again, she said we have to. I said "give me a reason to support this war" and it was like I had hit her in the stomach. She sat for a minute then said very quietly "I can't - there is no reason to support this war". I felt sorry for her; it's really hard for soldiers and their families to say they don't support the war because it brings home to them that their loved ones are risking their lives for nothing, and they just can't accept that. I have to keep telling myself that it is their job and they have no choice where they go or what they do, but I do know that my nephew is the most kind-hearted man you would ever want to know. He only has two more years before he retires, and to see him go back to this insane war wears heavy on my soul - he doesn't want to, but he has to - it's his job.