The Veterans' Voice

Well all I can say is this trip back to Iraq has been one for the record books! Let me back up just a little and fill you in. Back in Jan I moved my family back to Colorado to live while I’m in Iraq. I was there 2 weeks getting them settled and then had to leave. Honestly that morning was just awful. My heart grew heaver and heavier with each passing minute. I moved my departure time to 11 am and it¡¦s didn¡¦t help I still had to leave. My wife and I cried and the kids just kind of stayed occupied. The entire trip home I had a very heavy heart and had to admit it was not going to be a very good trip. IN Colorado I battled a blizzard!, snow packed roads, and ICE. I stayed in Arizona at ¡§dads¡¨ house. A traditional Navajo meal was made of mutton stew and fray bread and we talked and then dad announced it was time to do a ceremony. After all was set up I presented him with the 2 eagle feathers I was going to be taking with me. Many prayers were said asking for the Holy One to protected me and my men and when all was said and done he retired to his room not to talk again. This was his time to reflect on his prayers and to think. I think it was also his way of not crying or getting emotional in front of all of us because of my leaving. He has his ways¡K¡K.. I left in the morning at 0500 with no send off just a hug from my aunt and off I went. She to did not want a long good by simply a hug, she shed enough tears the night before.

Off I go and would you know it another SNOW STORM! Flagstaff was getting hammered, I work my way through it then down into California and now it¡¦s a DUST STORM!!!!! I’m telling you I’m convinced I’m not supposed to get home! IN Victorville it was WIND! Some of it in excess of 70MPH. Then RAIN! I got back just in time to go to church but I honestly felt drained, sad, lonely without my wife and kids in church with me and I just could not keep my focus. I felt like a man with no home and no family. I had a room in the barracks I was given for the 2 weeks before I was to leave and that¡¦s where I was going to call home. Needless to say living in the barracks just sucks but I had a roof so I was not going to complain. Come to find out most of the Marines in the barracks were also going to Iraq and many of them also had moved families home to some other place and they to were bachelors. Well at least I was not the only one in this situation. I spent my time getting ready and going through the last minute BS that always happens. My wife and kids came back to California to see me off so I got us a room on the beach in one of the base cottages and I have to admit it was real nice. The kids had a play ground to play on and a whole beach to play in right outside the back door. The clock is still ticking. We had only a couple of days to share before I had to get on the buss and I didn¡¦t want to waste them. I was going to be gone for valentines day and one thing I always did was make a great valentines day dinner for the wife and kids that included steak, lobster, shrimp, wine and chocolate covered strawberries but I didn¡¦t have the ability to do that as I was a man without a home so to speak. In talking with a couple of very nice ladies at a store on base they directed me to a restaurant in town just out the gate. The owner was a retired Marine and after explaining my dilemma he bent over backwards!! We discussed the meal, the flowers I had delivered to the restaurant, the gift I brought early that day, the card, and we even picked out the wine. I really wanted this to go good as the entire 3 weeks of our move we just were so stress out that we did not do a very good job of loving or supporting each other.

The day comes and except for being a little behind schedule everything we good. Everything was delivered on time and the owner was ready when we showed up. We got there at 1900 and the hostess walked us to table 11 as designed. The waitress came over and welcomed us and she was followed by the owner. He introduced himself to my wife and the fun began! First thing he did was take our menus away and said you won¡¦t need these¡K. The waitress comes out and has that BEAUTFUL bunch of roses and presented them to my wife. OK 1 brownie point ƒº After a few minutes the wine and then the appetizers we talked about arrived. Man where these great a sample latter of sorts with different sea food dishes and a deep fried avocado that was OUT OF THIS WORLD. NOW comes my steak and her ¡§Angels on horse back¡¨ shrimp with scalps with a strip of bacon around them and grilled on the grill. Part way through the dinner the owner ¡§Ray¡¨ came back and said please leave room for desert I had something special for you¡K OK we said¡K Through all this we were just relaxing and enjoying the time to ourselves. It was great to have had my niece come back with her so she could watch the kids for us. About this time the bottle of wine was empty and we had eaten enough so we could save room and the plates were taken away.

MAN was that dinner GREAT! My steak was perfect, in fact he must have read my mind because he never did ask me how I liked it but a med/rare guy I am and that¡¦s what I got. About this time Ray comes out with a rolling cart. It had several bowels and bottles on it and most of the bowels were covered. He said do you like bananas?? Yes and he said ok then your going to love this. He turned on the flame of the portable burner, 2 cubes of butter in the bowel, sugar, brown sugar, some orange peel, some lemon peel, and started to stir. At the same time he peeled an orange so the peel came off like a slinky and squeezed the orange juice into the bowel as well. It was melted and thick and he poured 2 kinds of liquor in the second one is the one that caught on fire. As he held the orange peel up above the mix it also caught on fire and you could smell the orange giving off an amazing smell as it dripped into the bowel. About this time the girl brought out 2 bowel of ice cream and he placed the concoction into the bowels and put cream on top!
HOLY SMOKES I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE when I tasted it. I was DONE! So was my wife! All this and I got at least 5 more points !!!!

If this was not enough, the waitress came over and said Ray wanted to tell me to be save, and happy valentines day and that he took 50% off the bill!

I have to tell you it¡¦s at times like this I truly know there are some wonderful people out there!!!

The day came to leave and I had to be at the parade deck at 0615 with my weapon so we were up early. This was it the day I was leaving again¡K. It was the day so many of us have faced for so many years in so many states all of us leaving our loved ones for some far off land. Our grandfathers did it, our great grand fathers did it, and still it¡¦s not easy. It is still a whole family deployment just as it was for our families from WWI and WWI and Korea Vietnam¡K¡K¡K¡K. It¡¦s almost a legacy of sorts that is passed on to us who serve from those before us who served. In a way I think it¡¦s this common thread that ties all service members together and not the fact we wore a uniform.

We loaded up the Durango and headed over to the Armory. I picked up my weapons and meet the family on the parade deck. Inside I was breaking for the leaving but excited as I was going back to Iraq. I honestly felt like a old salty guy getting back on the bus ļ I held the kids and hugged them and held them some more and worked my wife in as well. My niece was there as well and this was her first time witnessing the departure of any military unit for deployment. She was crying as well ļ Having 3 African American children does make us a bit of an oddity so we did have a lot of people watching us and when it was time to get on the bus I gave my last hugs and the kids just kept saying I love you daddy! I love you!! Isaiah just kept saying it over and over and the people around them were crying watching him say that. After the rest of my unit arrived in Iraq about 2 weeks later I had my Co come up to me and tell me that Isaiah saying good bye had all the woman in that area crying because he was so cute.

Honestly it just does not get any easier!!!
We leave and DARN we got delayed at the air force base for 4 DAM% DAYS!!!!!! Then we finally leave and get delayed in Kuwait for 3 more days!!! I swear this turned int the trip from hell just to get to Iraq. Even through I was able to call and talk to my wife on the cell phone I decided not to have them come up to see me as all it would do is reopen wounds and I didn¡¦t want to put the kids through that. So we talked on the phone but they left 2 days later and headed back to Colorado¡K¡K¡K

Time crawled by but we finally made it. AWWW smell that diesel fuel and engine exhaust and burning trash!!!!!!!!!!! YEP I¡¦m BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I spent the next 2 weeks getting settled in, moving billeting areas, getting to know the current operations and processes and just enjoying the commodore of the guys leaving. I was left with an exceptional operation here and the crew before us from the east coast did an awesome job here. I honestly could not have asked for a better turn over and I must say it was a lot better then I had expected¡K¡K The day my Marines go here my Sgt and I were waiting for them at the airfield and I must say it was GREAT to see them. I did have one Marine who got into some trouble after I left and was taken off the deployment so I was starting the deployment 1 man short already. Man it was great to see my Marines ƒº I can tell they were very gad to see me as well ƒº Kind of makes you feel good when your Marines are glad to see you.

My next posting will be in the next week, a lot has gone on and I¡¦m way behind in my typing so be looking for that next week¡K..

Until next time God bless