Letter Home From A Marine

Raven who writes at And Rightly So, one of my very favorite blogging type people had a note up today regarding a letter home from a proud member of the United States Marine Corps sent to the New Hampshire Union Leader. After reading the letter, and noting that it exactly mirrors my feelings, as well as those of Raven apparantly, I decided to reproduce the letter in it's entirety as well. It is a message worth reading and pondering. The Letter:

I AM a U.S. Marine serving in Iraq. I am in the utilities field, installing temporary power grids and purifying water for the U.S. forces in my area of operation. I hear a lot of news about why we should be here and why we shouldn’t.

Well, I am tired of reading the same news about the fact that we are here. The truth is that the decision was made to come here and now it is time to stop bickering about if it was a right or wrong decision. The decision was made, and there are only two options the elected officials of our country face.

One is to pack up and leave everything as it sits right now. The second is to see the decision through and make a thriving country with the potential to succeed.

If we go with the first option, then yes, there is a chance that the citizens of Iraq will overcome the struggle for independence from the insurgent forces on their own and become a legitimate democracy. But after being here and watching the people learn what true freedom is, you can see they are still in the beginning stages of understanding what it truly means. They have been oppressed for so many years that anything other than complete control over their decisions is very different and hard for them to comprehend.

I know these are pretty bold stereotypical comments. There are many educated citizens of Iraq who do know full well what a westernized democracy can mean for their nation, but in the same note the majority of these educated people were in the hierarchy of the old regime and have lost a considerable amount of power because of the change.

In the second option, seeing things through to the end, the United States will carry a heavy burden on the deficit and will not see any monetary gain from this aid we are providing to the Middle East for many years to come. In any normal business, if you saw this loss versus gain, you would be a wise person to cut your losses and move on, but this is not a business, this is a civilization. This concerns a whole nation of people and not just a few jobs lost due to layoffs. [emphasis added]

At this point you are probably wondering what my point is, or what option I side with. Well, I do not take any side and my point is only this:

We have elected officials in our government to make decisions to guide our nation in the future. They are privy to a lot more information that you or I have not had the opportunity to review. They have made decisions, and it is our job to follow. I do not question why or how; I get things done.

Instead of criticizing what someone should have done, help find the solutions to bring about a quicker resolution that will benefit all concerned, not just yourself.

As a Marine, I am proud knowing that each day that passes here in Iraq we make it that much safer for more than the 99 percent of the populace of Iraq. There is still a threat, and there are still deaths each and every day. That is unavoidable.

As for me, I say, “Aye, aye, sir� and applaud the fact that we do not abandon a job unfinished."

Staff Sgt. Edward G. Bowie is a Marine serving in Fallujah. He grew up in Bristol.

Good Find Raven. One ATTA-GIRL is in the mail for ya.