A friend of mine shares his concerns as a Father of a Marine in Afghanistan

[sellitman]

Most of us can only imagine what it is like to have a son on the front lines in Afghanistan. These are NYT 's articles written by a friend of mine that was published in their Blog "War, Notes From The Front". I thought I might share. It blew me away. Grab a box of Kleenex but know this does have a happy ending at least for this family .- Kevin


NYT "At War" Notes From the front

Christmas in Harm’s Way

Mr. Cassone, whose son Richard is serving as a sergeant in Afghanistan, sent this essay to the Complaint Box on the City Room blog this weekend. The City Room editors thought it was more of a poignant story than a complaint and thought At War readers might appreciate it. We did, too.

http://tinyurl.com/yb7texk
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Combatting Worry

Mr. Cassone, whose son Richard is serving as a sergeant in Afghanistan, contributed a post in December appealing for a little compassion for parents of active-duty service members during the holidays. Below, he writes about a recent check-in with his son and the worry that lingers after each call.

http://tinyurl.com/2ap5v9x
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One Homecoming

http://tinyurl.com/25sx6x9

[w8liftinglady]

1. I felt my son's three tours come back...damn.If you don't mind-one example.

My son's first tour in Iraq was right out of high school in 2002.He was 19.he was trained as a truck mechanic,but during his first deployment,he was strictly in full battle mode.He sent me lots of pics,letters,and such.He sent one cute pic of him-in full battle gear,with a cute kid about 8(his brother's age) sitting next to him. It was cute,and could've been a great ad for the War.About a week later,he called me around 1:30 in the morning-his voice so quiet I could hardly hear him."I'm so freaked out".Apparently during a skirmish between his unit and Iraqis,the child was killed-and he saw it happen.This was the beginning of the end of my son as I knew him.
I can't read all of Mr. cassone's writing,not now.I want to meet him,give him a hug,and let him know--we all understand.

[Greyhound]

2. And for what...

But, that's all behind us now and we're moving forward.:puke:

ETA; :kick: & R

[w8liftinglady]

3. kicking just because it's good to see what parents feel...

war doesn't affect just the deployed.

[Ignis]

4. K&R.

It's time to bring them home.