This story still brings tears to my eyes. Chaplain Lewis tells it best on his blog entry. Due to some military restrictions, he wasn’t able to update his blog for a while but he continued to write and is just now beginning to post again.
It happened just the way he describes. We had “adopted” a soldier from Ft. Lewis, one of the “Strykers”. Just a few days before Christmas, 2004, as I recall, there was a massive attack and many of the Strykers were involved. I often listen to Hugh Hewitt and read his blog and as Chaplain Lewis explains, that’s where I came across his blog . . you know how one link leads to another. Chaplain Lewis’ Mascal blog entry received a lot of attention and while I didn’t love reading about the incident, I loved reading Chaplain Lewis’ writings. I went back and read all of his blog entries. One of the things that he wrote (I can’t remember when he wrote it and I’ll probably get the details wrong but .. I remember the main part of it!) that initially caught my attention was something about when their group came home once. They got home in the middle of the night and the other wives had left vehicles in the parking lot for the soldiers to get home. Chaplain Lewis’ wife was there . . dressed, with makeup on, waiting for her husband. That really hit home for me. I wondered what I would have done. I hope I would have been there waiting but . . knowing me, I would have left the car in the parking lot. There were several incidents that I read about his wife and what a fantastic mom and wife she is and about the only way I know to thank and honor someone is to make them a quilt so that’s what I did.
I’d like to remind everyone reading this . . no matter what you feel about the war, the President, or politics, please support our troops and their families. A card can do wonders! A package can make a tremendous difference. Dropping off McDonald’s (or Hardees or Starbucks) gift certificates to families of our troops can make a huge difference. Just let someone know you care!! It was easy to adopt soldiers and families when the War on Terror first began but now that it’s been dragging on and the political climate has changed, please, please make an effort to support our Troops!
Judy L.