My Christmas Wish

The world of ours is filled with hotbeds of hatred, and as we prepare to celebrate Christmas tomorrow, there are governments and peoples who would wish this country and all who live here dead.

This great melting pot of society called the United States Of America stands on guard against those who would destroy us and our way of life. And, in these hell-holes around the world are Americans, some soldiers and some civilians, who represent our country.

They stand tall and proud, most wishing they were home with their family, and not in a position where someone is trying to kill them. I wish each of those people were home, safe and sound, and with their wives and children or with their parents ... alive and well.

As Christmas dawns tomorrow, our Armed Forces will be fighting on our behalf.

One of the most wonderful days of the year will dawn tomorrow, and while many of us celebrate with our families, our soldiers will wish each other a Merry Christmas while watching each others back. They don't like the role they are in, but wish to help or get out of the country.

Politicians waffle back and forth, and there is much talk about a call-up of even more troops, and I think of my grandson who proudly served his country for a year in Iraq. He came home after a year in-country, won't talk about the war over there, and we saw him, his wife and newborn baby just last week. He's one of the lucky or fortunate ones. He made it back.

None of us talked about the possibility of his being recalled to Iraq for another year, and all we know is he has said he would go back if called on to do so. He is, after all, a Marine and that's what Marines do.

We understand his feeling of obligation, and he understands our hopes that he won't have to return, but the thing I find most troubling on Christmas Eve, is why our young people need to be there at all. I understand the politics of it, and the reasons for it, but he and many other have served their time. Is it necessary they return?

Our military is fulfilling an obligation brought on by politicians.

Many of the people who have served feel an obligation to this great nation of ours, and to the Iraqi people who are caught in the middle of this horrible example of urban warfare.

I, and millions of others, wish there were no wars to be fought, and that everyone could coexist peacefully, but that bit of thinking is naive and misleading. So, our men and women find themselves in a battle they didn't start, and one that most would prefer not having to fight, but fight they will. They go into harm's way for those of us who can't fight this war/

Tomorrow, as many of us gather around a groaning table supporting enough food to feed many more people than will be eating it, I'll think of my grandson and many others. He is in college and working in Pennsylvania, and it's my hope he can stay there. It's my hope that all who have served will not be forced to endure another tour of duty.

This current war, like the one in Viet Nam, may not be won on the battle field or anywhere else.

I feel now as I did about the Viet Nam War that our soldiers were not being allowed to win, and for every soldier who returns with a whole body, there are many who have seen enough hell that they suffer from recurring mental tortures. It has occurred in every war, and our Armed Forces can't escape the mental misery of this one either.

I wish families could be reunited, fathers could kiss their babies and their wife, and that for once this world and those who live in it could be at peace. Don't get me wrong: I strongly support our troops in what they do. I pray for their deliverance from fear, wounds or death.

Some of my early years were spent in the military between Korea and Viet Nam, but I was trained and ready. There was no need at the time for me, but having spent time in the Navy, means that only through good fortune did I escape such conflicts as our troops now face.

I pray, "God, please watch over our troops on foreign soil, and bring them safely home."

I ask for nothing for myself on this sacred day, but do ask the Good Lord to watch over our troops and allow them to return home, mentally and physically intact, in the very near future.

Many will return to fish and to hunt, and whenever you or I go afield to do these things, let us thank those who have fought in this ugly war for their efforts and sacrifices. They are the ones who fight our battles, and allow us to have our freedoms, our lives, our liberties and our peacefulness.

God bless our troops, and God bless America. This is the greatest nation of all, and it has been our Armed Forces, past and present, who allow us to dream and live the great American experience.

Merry Christmas. And keep a prayer available for our Armed Forces. They need all the help they can get.

Posted via email from Dave Richey Outdoors