He's home, He's home!!

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 07:23:14 -0500, "Annie Wxill"
wrote:

snip
No kidding. I remember the expression, "war is hell." With full respect
for those who are in the middle of the action and not intending to diminish
their valor, I believe that it is only recently that people have come to
realize and admit that war is hell on the homefront as well.

Speaking as someone who spent 20 years in the Army, 17 1/2 of that
time in field units. I only went to one "war," but I can't count the
number of times my various units were away from home on 30 days to 6
months deployments. I was never married, but witnessed first hand how
hard it is on the wives (and husbands) and kids.

Just adding my 2cents worth... Military life certainly has it great
points, but "war is hell" could often be changed to "military life is
hell".
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 07:06:45 -0500, "Annie Wxill"
wrote:

snip
and to their families. I think too many people with the power to send
others to die, especially those in power who have not been in a military
conflict or waited for a loved one to return home, take war too lightly.
Annie

Whenever election time comes around, any candidate with military
experience gets a big plus in my book. Doesn't mean that I'll vote for
that candidate, though.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 07:06:45 -0500, "Annie Wxill"
wrote:

snip
and to their families. I think too many people with the power to send
others to die, especially those in power who have not been in a military
conflict or waited for a loved one to return home, take war too lightly.
Annie

Whenever election time comes around, any candidate with military
experience gets a big plus in my book. Doesn't mean that I'll vote for
that candidate, though.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

Annie Wxill wrote:


Pam, we all do whatever it takes to get us by when they are away from home.
That Vietnam year (Nov. 1967 to Nov. 1968) was the hardest of my life. I
was in college and pregnant, then a new mom, and kept to myself. Not living
on a military post, I did not have a mutual support group. Although I
personally did not have any problems, the college and the community in
general were not supportive of troops and their families during that time.




The community not being supportive is an understatement. Simeon's, my
adoptive son, father was in the marines during Vietnam, and still hasn't
been given credit for the work he did over there as he was in a
non-place. One where the US didn't admit to being. When he came back
to the states he was on crutches after intense therapy from a back
injury that almost paralyzed him. He was greeted with raw eggs, paint,
spit, and vegetables. Needless to say, he still despises "hippies" and
"liberal pinkos." We've had a couple of debates about them. I'm a
curious blend of conservative and free spirit forces, and Harry is a
blend of conservative and anarchist. This leads to some interesting
discussions.

Rob's father was also greeted back from his two tours in 'nam by
derision and fresh food. He's more liberal than Simeon's father, but
then he was career military, we're used to being called parasites.

While we have more support and more people willing to admit that they
support the military, we also have a growing number of people who are
calling this one another Vietnam and saying that they support the boys
and not the war and that their protests don't affect the morale of the
troops over there. I ate by myself yesterday so that I wouldn't get
into another of those arguments as I would have got myself fired and
possibly arrested with this one music teacher.

The Vietnam war was the beginning of the family support group, as so
many wives were living on post, sitting alone, and getting those
telegrams of loss. The movie "We were soldiers once" tells it all too
well. When Rob was in, I dreaded seeing an official car driving up our
street because I knew there was an officer, chaplain, and grief
assistant in it. Ft Campbell averaged 40+ training deaths a year.
Other posts were comparable. We saw those cars on a regular basis. I
haven't seen one in years, but the dream of one coming down my street
still makes me wake up covered with sweat and panting. Annie you're a
much braver girl than I am.

Pam S.

Annie Wxill wrote:


Pam, we all do whatever it takes to get us by when they are away from home.
That Vietnam year (Nov. 1967 to Nov. 1968) was the hardest of my life. I
was in college and pregnant, then a new mom, and kept to myself. Not living
on a military post, I did not have a mutual support group. Although I
personally did not have any problems, the college and the community in
general were not supportive of troops and their families during that time.




The community not being supportive is an understatement. Simeon's, my
adoptive son, father was in the marines during Vietnam, and still hasn't
been given credit for the work he did over there as he was in a
non-place. One where the US didn't admit to being. When he came back
to the states he was on crutches after intense therapy from a back
injury that almost paralyzed him. He was greeted with raw eggs, paint,
spit, and vegetables. Needless to say, he still despises "hippies" and
"liberal pinkos." We've had a couple of debates about them. I'm a
curious blend of conservative and free spirit forces, and Harry is a
blend of conservative and anarchist. This leads to some interesting
discussions.

Rob's father was also greeted back from his two tours in 'nam by
derision and fresh food. He's more liberal than Simeon's father, but
then he was career military, we're used to being called parasites.

While we have more support and more people willing to admit that they
support the military, we also have a growing number of people who are
calling this one another Vietnam and saying that they support the boys
and not the war and that their protests don't affect the morale of the
troops over there. I ate by myself yesterday so that I wouldn't get
into another of those arguments as I would have got myself fired and
possibly arrested with this one music teacher.

The Vietnam war was the beginning of the family support group, as so
many wives were living on post, sitting alone, and getting those
telegrams of loss. The movie "We were soldiers once" tells it all too
well. When Rob was in, I dreaded seeing an official car driving up our
street because I knew there was an officer, chaplain, and grief
assistant in it. Ft Campbell averaged 40+ training deaths a year.
Other posts were comparable. We saw those cars on a regular basis. I
haven't seen one in years, but the dream of one coming down my street
still makes me wake up covered with sweat and panting. Annie you're a
much braver girl than I am.

Pam S.

Annie Wxill wrote:


I think too many people with the power to send
others to die, especially those in power who have not been in a military
conflict or waited for a loved one to return home, take war too lightly.



That's one of the reasons Clinton was so despised by the military.
Every time something bad came out about his presidency or personal life,
we could count on him sending us somewhere deadly.

Pam S.

Annie Wxill wrote:


I think too many people with the power to send
others to die, especially those in power who have not been in a military
conflict or waited for a loved one to return home, take war too lightly.



That's one of the reasons Clinton was so despised by the military.
Every time something bad came out about his presidency or personal life,
we could count on him sending us somewhere deadly.

Pam S.

Gracecat wrote:


Good lord, Annie. And I acted like it was the end of the world when I didn't
hear from him for 32 hours. I'm not going to say I'm ashamed, but it does
show me humility.


Gracie, don't feel bad about it. No matter what the reason for the
separation, or the length of it, it is hard on all family members. If
it wasn't I'd wonder about the viability of that marriage. I always
felt guilty when feeling upset about Rob being gone, because I knew
there were spouses that weren't ever getting their loved ones back.
Rob's mom (I really love this woman) helped me put it in perspective.
If you didn't miss him, didn't feel like its the end of the world when
he's gone, you wouldn't love him.

What's important is that he's back now, and you can work out ways to get
by the next time he has to be gone. Maybe set up a support group of
sorts of your own. I know a lot of us will volunteer to work with you
in the group, including me, and I'm sure that your family back home can
help you with the inevitable sick children and busted appliances.

Pam S.

Gracecat wrote:


Good lord, Annie. And I acted like it was the end of the world when I didn't
hear from him for 32 hours. I'm not going to say I'm ashamed, but it does
show me humility.


Gracie, don't feel bad about it. No matter what the reason for the
separation, or the length of it, it is hard on all family members. If
it wasn't I'd wonder about the viability of that marriage. I always
felt guilty when feeling upset about Rob being gone, because I knew
there were spouses that weren't ever getting their loved ones back.
Rob's mom (I really love this woman) helped me put it in perspective.
If you didn't miss him, didn't feel like its the end of the world when
he's gone, you wouldn't love him.

What's important is that he's back now, and you can work out ways to get
by the next time he has to be gone. Maybe set up a support group of
sorts of your own. I know a lot of us will volunteer to work with you
in the group, including me, and I'm sure that your family back home can
help you with the inevitable sick children and busted appliances.

Pam S.

Steve Touchstone wrote:


Speaking as someone who spent 20 years in the Army, 17 1/2 of that
time in field units. I only went to one "war," but I can't count the
number of times my various units were away from home on 30 days to 6
months deployments. I was never married, but witnessed first hand how
hard it is on the wives (and husbands) and kids.



Very few are really cut out for military life. I was one of the lucky
ones, I have my own inner resources, and though my life doesn't feel
complete when Rob is gone, I can keep myself busy until we get together
again. Many of the marriages ended up in divorce because the spouses
couldn't handle the training separations, strange hours, plans that
hinge on an if, and promises that can't be kept.

It's hard, but very rewarding. We'll never forget the wonderful people
we've met all over the country (world for Rob, ask him about them),
traveling all over the USA, learning about different parts of the
country, and getting to become more than a family from the sticks. I
hated parts of military life, but I loved so much more, including
becoming a foster parent to lots of soldiers. These are some of the
greatest kids in the world. I wish more people appreciated them the way
they deserve.

Pam S.