by Debbie Lee - 14 Jan 2008 It s been two weeks since I returned from Iraq and I'm still processing all that I experienced and witnessed first hand while I was there. I know it will take me weeks to be able to write all of the amazing experiences that I had and tell of the troops who captured my heart. I was so touched by their amazing humble attitudes, their perseverance and determination in the battlefield, and their gratefulness for the cards that I shared that we gathered from Americans on the Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour. I was taken back by the normal response when I thanked them for serving. They would look at me with a dumfounded, are you kidding look, and say, 'THANK YOU!' singlepic=12,320,240,watermark,right They were amazed that I came to the battlefields of Iraq, on behalf of a grateful nation to personally thank them. We are so blessed as a nation with the quality and integrity of the men and women who have volunteered to defend our nation!I want to thank each one of you who contributed to make the 'Honoring Heroes at the Holidays Tour' and the trip to Iraq possible. Thank you to those who showed up at our rallies across America and celebrated with us our Heroes! Thank you to those who contributed financially! Thank you to those who made and contributed the over 226,000 cards that we delivered to the troops. Thank you to those who helped organize and get the word out! Thank you to those who prayed! Thank you to all of the pro-troops organizations who joined with us and who continue to stand in the gap for our brave men and women who are honored to serve in the Armed forces. My deepest gratitude and thanks go to those of you who are serving or have served in military branches. Our country is what it is today and we are blessed with all of the freedoms we enjoy because of all who have defended her and fought for her. I don't say this lightly, you really are my HEROES! May God continue to bless you and this country we so deeply love. As a Mom I was honored to have both my sons Marc, a Navy SEAL and Kristofer, a Marine Martial Arts Instructor and my son-in-law Chris, an Army Captain choose to serve in the military. I was proud of them and honored to be a military mother. When Marc died on 8-2-06 I inherited/adopted 21 new sons who were Marc's teammates and brothers who served with him and grew to love him. They have embraced me and call me 'MommaLee.' That was one of the greatest gifts Marc ever gave me. Over the past 17 months since Marc died my Military family has grown and I have lost track of how many I am a Military Mom to? I am so proud of each one of you! I was so blessed to be able to spend Christmas with the troops and share that Mother's love and gratitude with our brave and selfless men and women who give so much for you and for me! It will be a Christmas I will never forget. None of this would have ever been possible with out the strength, courage and love that I have been given by my Heavenly Father who has been my rock in the midst of the storm. He is the hope that is in me and He is my strength. I have been writing for over a week now, and it is difficult to condense it to an email, so until I get that finished I wanted to at least send a few pictures and a tiny taste of what I experienced. Here are the highlights that I will be expounding on over the next weeks and months: *I saw firsthand, while on patrol in the streets of Baghdad and Western Iraq the difference the surge is making in remarkable ways *I saw the impact that sharing the Christmas Cards and love from a grateful nation on their turf made in deep ways *I saw a military who implemented the directions and vision their leadership passed on with integrity and compassion *I visited Camp Marc Lee in Western Iraq, named in honor of my son and walked where my son spent his last days singlepic=11,320,240,watermark,right * I flew in a C-130, Blackhawk helicopter, rode in a HMMWR and a MRAP, wore the body armor and kevlar, at in the Chow halls, used the latrines, and slept in tents and got a deeper understanding of what our troops experience on a daily basis I can tell you that because of what I saw and experienced first hand I am even more committed (if that's possible) to telling the true stories of our troops and their successes, to supporting them, our wounded warriors, their families, the of the families of the fallen, and fighting for what they need and deserve. I will confront and hold accountable the Press, Hollywood, Code Pink, ANSWER or any other anti-war crowd, or those in Congress who spew their lies and are trying to destroy the character of our troops trying to make them out to be murders and rapists! I will confront and hold accountable the liberal left who continue to blame our President, Our Generals, Our recruiters for 'lying and killing our troops.' I know that I am not alone and over the past year I have been blessed to meet so many of you who are determined to stay in the fight and defend our troops and let them know America loves them and is behind them. "My son Marc died to give us all freedom of speech and shame on you who are being silent and aren't speaking out for what you believe in". Stay tuned for more detailed accounts of my trip! Debbie Lee singlepic=13,320,240,watermark,left |
