A few days ago, I responded to a request (I've forgotten exactly where it came from) to contact soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan with an Independence Day message. I visited the site and wrote a few messages. The messages were simple; basically just saying "thanks" to our soldiers for their service. The notes I wrote would be distributed, the web site said, to a number of soldiers, so they were written rather generically.
Yesterday I received an (unexpected) response from two of those soldiers, sent to all the people who wrote him. Here it is, exactly as I received it:
JUNE 6, 2005
GREETINGS FROM MOSUL, IRAQ! MY NAME IS SGT. JOHN PAUL FURMAN, AND I AM THE SOLDIER WHO HAS BEEN THE RECIPIENT OF OVER 200-300 (AND STILL RISING) E-MAILS FROM AMERICANS ALL ACROSS THE U.S., AND OTHER COUNTRIES TO INCLUDE CANADA, GERMANY AND NEW ZEALAND! I’VE RECEIVED E-MAILS FROM PEOPLE THAT HAIL FROM NEW YORK CITY, TO SACREMENTO, CA. ALL OF THE E-MAILS HAVE BEEN FILLED WITH INSPIRATIONAL AND VERY KIND WORDS. TO SAY THAT I AM TOUCHED BY THIS WOULD BE AN UNDERSTATEMENT. I CAN’T BEGIN TO PUT IN WORDS HOW THIS HUGE SHOWING OF SUPPORT HAS TOUCHED ME. EVEN IF I COULD PUT IT INTO WORDS, I’M SURE IT WOULD STILL NOT DO MY FEELINGS JUSTICE. I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU! TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE TAKEN TIME OUT OF THEIR BUSY SCHEDULES TO WRITE A PERFECT STRANGER, AND POUR YOUR HEART OUT TO HIM. I’M STILL IN THE PROCESS OF READING THESE E-MAILS, BUT EVERYONE I’VE READ HAS TOUCHED ME DEEPLY.
I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN? I GUESS TO TELL MY WHOLE STORY, AND HOW THIS ALL STARTED, YOU NEED TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHO I AM. I AM THE TYPICALL PRODUCT OF MIDWESTERN AMERICA, NOTHWEST INDIANA TO BE MORE EXACT. MY PARENTS BOTH SERVED IN THE ARMY, AS A MATTER OF FACT THEY MET IN THE ARMY. MY DAD WAS A CAREER SOLDIER OF 22 YEARS OF SERVICE, WITH TWO TOURS OF DUTY IN VIET-NAM AS A COMBAT INFANTRYMAN. MY MOM SERVED IN THE WOMENS ARMY CORPS, EARNING THE RANK OF SARGEANT. GROWING UP AS A LITTLE BOY, I THOUGHT EVERYBODYS DAD DROVE A TANK FOR A LIVING, BECAUSE IN MY WORLD, AT THAT TIME, EVERYBODYS DAD DID. GROWING UP I WAS TAUGHT THAT TO EARN THE TITLE OF “UNITED STATES SOLDIER” WAS THE MOST HONORABLE THING A PERSON COULD DO. I ALWAYS KNEW THAT I WOULD BE IN THE MILITARY IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER. I ENLISTED IN THE INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD MY SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL (2000), AND REPORTED FOR TRAINING THAT SUMMER. MY DECISION TO JOIN THE NATIONAL GUARD HAS BEEN WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE BEST DECISIONS I’VE EVER MADE IN MY SHORT 23 YEARS OF LIVING. THE MILITARY, ALONG WITH MY PARENTS, HAS TAUGHT ME LIFE LESSONS THAT HAVE PROVEN VALUABLE MANY TIMES. I LEARNED THAT THERE ARE THINGS: IDEAS, VALUES AND MORALS THAT ARE BIGGER THAN ANY PERSON COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE, AND SUCH THINGS ARE TO BE CHERISHED. THEY ARE EQUALLY WORTH PROTECTING, AS WELL AS GIVING. UNFORTUNATELY, SOMETIMES THESE THINGS HAVE TO BE FOUGHT FOR TO KEEP THEM ALIVE.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 WAS A DAY THAT THREW MOST AMERICANS WORLD UPSIDE DOWN. IT CAME AS A SHOCK TO ALL OF US AND TO MANY OF US, THE SHOCK IS STILL THERE. I THOUGHT THAT I WAS HONESTLY READY TO GO TO WAR THAT DAY, AND EVERYBODY KNEW THAT A WAR WAS INEVITABLE. SOMEBODY NEEDED TO PAY FOR THE THOUSANDS OF LIVES THAT HAD BEEN TAKEN. WE INVADED AFGHANISTAN, AND MY UNIT DID NOT GET THE CALL. WE OUSTED THE TALIBAN, AND STILL MY UNIT DID NOT GET THE CALL. OUR PRESIDENT HAD REASON TO BELIEVE THAT SADDAM HUSSIEN WAS HARBORING TERRORISTS, AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, AND WE INVADED IRAQ. STILL, MY UNIT WAS NOT CALLED. AS MUCH AS I HATE TO ADMIT THIS, AFTER A YEAR OF THE WAR IN IRAQ, I FIGURED WE WERE GOING TO SIT THIS ONE OUT AS WELL, AND WENT ABOUT MY NORMAL LIFE BUSINESS. SOMETIME IN THE LATE SPRING OF 2004, MY UNIT, THE 113TH ENGINEER BATTALION OF THE INDIANA NATIONAL GUARD, RECEIVED OUR “WARNO” (WARNING ORDER). “BE PREPARED TO GO TO IRAQ. BE ESPECIALLY PREPARED TO GO TO MOSUL, THE SECOND LARGEST CITY IN IRAQ.”
GEN. PATTON SAID “SOLDIERS TRAIN FOR WAR. EVERYTHING ELSE IS BULLSHIT.” AS TRUE AS A STATEMENT AS THIS IS, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRAIN, AND TRY TO PREPARE YOURSELF MENTALLY, IT’S IMPOSSIBLE TO BE READY TO GO TO WAR. THE THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS THAT OVERCOME YOU RUN FROM FEAR TO PRIDE, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN. TO SAY THAT MY WORLD WAS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN, JUST DOESN’T DO IT. EVEN STRANGER THAN YOUR OWN FEELINGS, ARE THE EXPRESSIONS OF THE FACES OF YOUR FELLOW SOLDIERS. AS I LOOKED AROUND, AT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD SHORTLY BECOME MY FAMILY FOR THE NEXT YEAR, I COULDN’T BELIEVE THE DIFFERENT REACTIONS. I SAW PEOPLE WHO STARTED TO CRY, AND SAW YOUNG MEN NO MORE THAN 19 YEARS OLD WHO HALF GRINNED. NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING TO WAR, BUT BECAUSE THEY WERE GOING WHERE THEY WERE NEEDED, AND THEY WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE THE SKILLS IN WHICH THEY’VE TRAINED OVER YEARS TO FINE TUNE.
I AM NOW AT THE HALF WAY POINT OF MY DEPLOYMENT TO IRAQ. IT HAS BEEN AN EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER THE WHOLE WAY. I’VE SEEN INFANTRYMEN, THE BEST FIGHTING MEN IN THE WORLD, HUDDLE IN A SILENT PRAYER, CHOKING BACK TEARS, BECAUSE THEY JUST LOST ONE OF THEIR OWN. A BROTHER IN ARMS. I LISTENED TO THE SOUND OF CELEBRATORY GUN FIRE THE DAY OF THE ELECTIONS. THE FIRST FREE ELECTIONS MANY IRAQI CITIZENS HAVE HAD THE PRIVELEDGE TO PARTICIPATE IN. I’VE WALKED IN THE RUINS OF THE BIBLICAL CITY OF NINEVAH. THEY CALL IT “THE CRADLE OF CIVILIZATION,” AS THE SITE OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN IS BELIEVED TO BE CLOSE BY. I’VE WALKED THROUGH THE MOSUL PALACE COMPOUND THAT WAS ONCE USED TO HOST PARTIES BY SADDAM HUSSEIN, WHILE HIS OWN PEOPLE LIVED IN MUD HUTS AT A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY STATUS. I’VE HAD IRAQI CHILDREN RUN TO ME TO GIVE ME A HUG AND OF COURSE, GET A PIECE OF CANDY, OR A TOY. NOT BECAUSE THEY KNOW WHO I AM, BUT BECAUSE THEY KNOW I’M AN AMERICAN SOLDIER, AND I’M HERE TO HELP THEM.
WE, THE U.S. MILITARY ARE DOING GREAT THINGS IN IRAQ. I’VE SEEN IT FOR MY OWN EYES. I’M VERY PROUD TO KNOW THAT WE’RE MAKING AMERICA PROUD OF US. I’VE HEARD THAT SOME PEOPLE BACK HOME ARE SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT WHAT WE ARE DOING OVER HERE AND IN AFGHANISTAN. WHEN PEOPLE SAY BAD THINGS BOUT THE MILITARY, WE HEAR IT. IT HURTS ALL OF US. MOST IMPORTANTLY IT UNDERCUTS THE FACT THAT MANY BRAVE AMERICAN MEN AND WOMEN HAVE SACRIFICED THE ULTIMATE AND THIS IS THE THANKS THEY AND THEIR FAMILIES RECEIVE. PEOPLE CAN SAY WHATEVER THEY WANT, RIGHT OR WRONG. IT‘S NOT A CRIME IN AMERICA, LIKE IT WAS IN IRAQ BEFORE WE CAME HERE. AMERICAN SERVICE MEMBERS KNOW, THAT WE ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE GIVEN THEM THAT RIGHT. YOUR WELCOME. WE KNOW WHAT THE TRUTH IS. I’VE SEEN THE TRUTH, I’VE LIVED THE TRUTH.
TO ALL THE NAY SAYERS: WALK SIX MONTHS IN MY BOOTS, SEE THE THINGS I HAVE. LOOK AT A CHILD OF IRAQ; LOOK AT THE AVERAGE HOME OF AN IRAQI FAMILY, AND THEN COMPARE IT TO THE PALACES OF SADDAM. WATCH GROWN MEN AND WOMEN CRY OVER THE LOSS OF A FRIEND. LIVE THE LIFE WE’VE LIVED FOR 6 MONTHS. AFTER THAT, MAYBE YOU WILL GET IT RIGHT.
TO ALL OF YOU WHO TOOK THE TIME TO SEND ME AN E-MAIL, THANK YOU! YOU KNOW THE TRUTH, THAT FREEDOM IS THE GREATEST GIFT THAT THE U.S. COULD GIVE, AND IF WE DIDN’T BRING THE FIGHT TO THE TERRORISTS, YOU KNOW THAT THEY WOULD BRING IT RIGHT BACK TO US. I AM GOING TO DO MY BEST TO ENSURE THESE E-MAILS MAKE IT TO AS MANY AS MY COMRADES AS POSSIBLE. GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU, YOUR FAMILIES, AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED IN THE U.S. MILITARY PAST AND PRESENT.
SINCEREST THANKS
SGT. JOHN PAUL T. FURMAN III
FROM MOSUL, IRAQ
JULY 6, 2005
IT HAS TAKEN ME A WHILE, BUT I HAVE READ EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE E-MAILS. THE COUNT IS NOW AROUND 300 GIVE OR TAKE. YOU CAN NOW ADD AUSTRALIA, ENGLAND, AND IRELAND TO THE LIST OF COUNTRIES THAT I’VE RECEIVED E-MAILS FROM. OUT OF ALL OF THESE E-MAILS, YOU WILL BE HAPPY TO KNOW THAT I ONLY RECEIVED ONE “NASTY-GRAM.”
I HAVE HEARD YOUR WORDS AND THOUGHTS. A MAN FROM CANADA HAD HIS 6 AND 7 YEAR OLD SONS WRITE A FEW WORDS OF SUPPORT. A WOMAN FROM NEW YORK CITY TOLD ME HER STORY OF BEING FOUR BLOCKS AWAY FROM THE W.T.C. THE DAY IT FELL. ANOTHER WOMAN TOLD ME THAT HER SON HAD MARRIED A WOMAN THAT WAS LEFT A WIDOW WITH 2 SMALL CHILDREN FROM 9-11. A WWII VET TOLD ME ABOUT HIS JUMP INTO NORMANDY ON D-DAY WITH THE 101ST AIRBORNE. ONE WOMAN TOLD ME THAT SHE HOPED THE E-MAIL ACCOUNT WAS “FLOODED WITH LETTERS.“ YOUR WISH CAME TRUE. VETERANS OF ALL GENERATIONS AND CONFLICTS HAVE SENT THEIR THANKS! SO HAVE SEVERAL OF OUR NATIONS COLLEGE STUDENTS. EVERY E-MAIL WAS TOUCHING, AND VERY SINCERE. THANK YOU!
PLEASE ACCEPT MY APOLOGY FOR TAKING SO LONG TO REPLY, IT TAKES A WHILE TO ADD THAT MANY ADDRESSES INTO THE ADDRESS BOOK. IT WAS WORTH IT THOUGH.
THANKS AGAIN,
SGT. JOHN FURMAN
FROM MOSUL, IRAQ
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