Request from the Sharp End
Via Freedom at Just A Girl and Sgt Hool with Taste of Freedom

I clicked on this referral in Technorati

"Just a Girl - > Freedom
In Just a Girl - > Freedom 11 hours ago
Interesting All About Traffic Big Lizards Committees of Correspondence Existence of Life Hidden Rants of a Nevadan Imagine Kitty Legal Stuff Mauser Girl Mayur MindSpill Movie Reviews My World Networks & Security NodeName Of Like Minds Peace of my Mind
"

And found myself reading---

"Freedom
By mel
Below is text copied directly from Euphoric Reality’s post. It is well worth the read and important to do what’s requested. Thanks to Diane and David for the same post.

All Bloggers & Readers - PASS THIS ON

I don’t have to wonder how soldiers feel about the Left’s hardline stance against the war. My friends are in Iraq and Afghanistan and I know the truth - they hate it; it’s demoralizing and a betrayal. Both Kit and I have posted emails and letters from soldiers here periodically to show our readers what WE hear on an ongoing basis. Here’s another. In fact,
this soldier wants and needs to be a VOICE. He asks that his words (and those of his platoon mates) be copied, forwarded, and widely disseminated. That is the very least we can do."

That the original posts were several months in the past is not relevant.

Like the Lady says "this soldier wants and needs to be a VOICE. He asks that his words (and those of his platoon mates) be copied, forwarded, and widely disseminated. That is the very least we can do."


"Preface from Sgt. Hook:
I received an email from a mother whose son is currently fighting in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. He and his platoon have penned a message to the American public that is a little different from the message we are getting via the MSM. He asked his mom to help get this
message out and she asked me. Here it is from the soldiers on the ground…

Mom,

Be my voice. I want this message heard. It is mine and my platoon’s to the country. A man I know lost his legs the other night. He is in another company in our battalion. I can no longer be silent after watching the sacrifices made by Iraqis and Americans everyday. Send it to a congressman if you have to. Send it to FOX news if you have to. Let this message be heard please…

My fellow Americans, I have a task for those with the courage and fortitude to take it. I have a message that needs not fall on deaf ears. A vision the blind need to see. I am not a political man nor one with great wisdom. I am just a soldier who finds himself helping rebuild a country that he helped liberate a couple years ago.

I have watched on television how the American public questions why their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters are fighting and dying in a country 9000 miles away from their own soil. Take the word of a soldier, for that is all I am, that our cause is a noble one. The reason we are here is one worth fighting for. A cause that has been the most costly and sought after cause in our small span of existence on our little planet. Bought in blood and paid for by those brave enough to give the ultimate sacrifice to obtain it. A right that is given to every man, woman, and child I believe by God. I am talking of freedom.

Freedom. One word but yet countless words could never capture it’s true meaning or power. “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.” I read that once and it couldn’t be more true. It’s not the average American’s fault that he or she is “blind and deaf” to the taste of freedom. Most Americans are born into their God-given right so it is all they ever know. I was once one of them. I would even dare to say that it isn’t surprising that they take for granted what they have had all their life. My experiences in the military however opened my eyes to the truth.

Ironically you will find the biggest outcries of opposition to our cause from those who have had no military experience and haven’t had to fight for freedom. I challenge all of those who are daring enough to question such a noble cause to come here for just a month and see it first hand. I have a feeling that many voices would be silenced.

I watched Cindy Sheehan sit on the President’s lawn and say that America isn’t worth dying for. Later she corrected herself and said Iraq isn’t worth dying for. She badmouthed all that her son had fought and died for. I bet he is rolling over in his grave.

Ladies and gentleman I ask you this. What if you lived in a country that wasn’t free? What if someone told you when you could have heat, electricity, and water? What if you had no sewage systems so human waste flowed into the streets? What if someone would kill you for bad-mouthing your government? What if you weren’t allowed to watch TV, connect to the internet, or have cell phones unless under extreme censorship? What if you couldn’t put shoes on your child’s feet?

You need not have a great understanding of the world but rather common sense to realize that it is our duty as HUMAN BEINGS to free the oppressed. If you lived that way would you not want someone to help you????

The Iraqis pour into the streets to wave at us and when we liberated the cities during the war they gathered in the thousands to cheer, hug and kiss us. It was what the soldiers in WW2 experienced, yet no one questioned their cause!! Saddam was no better than Hitler! He tortured and killed thousands of innocent people. We are heroes over here, yet Americans badmouth our President for having us here.

Every police station here has a dozen or more memorials for officers that were murdered trying to ensure that their people live free. These are husbands, fathers, and sons killed every day. What if it were your country? What would your choice be? Everything we fight for is worth the blood that may be shed. The media never reports the true HEROISM I witness everyday in the Iraqis. Yes, there are bad one’s here, but I assure you they are a minuscule percent. Yet they are a number big enough to cause worry in this country’s future.

I have watched brave souls give their all and lose their lives and limbs for this cause. I will no longer stand silent and let the “deaf and blind” be the only voice shouting. Stonewall Jackson once said, “All that I have, all that I am is at the service of the country.” For these brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including your son Cindy Sheehan, I will shout till I can no longer. These men and women are heroes. Their spirit lives on in their military and they will never be forgotten. They did not die in vain but rather for a cause that is larger than all of us.

My fellow countrymen and women, we are not overseas for our country alone but also another. We are here to spread democracy and freedom to those who KNOW the true taste of it because they fight for it everyday. You can see the desire in their eyes and I am honored to fight alongside them as an Infantryman in the 101st Airborne.

Freedom is not free, but yet it is everyone’s right to have. Ironic, isn’t it? That is why we are here. Though you will always have the skeptics, I know that most of our military will agree with this message. Please, at the request of this soldier spread this message to all you know. We are in Operation Iraqi Freedom and that is our goal. It is a cause that I and thousands of others stand ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice for because, Cindy Sheehan, freedom is worth dying for, no matter what country it is! And after the world is free only then can we hope to have peace.

SGT XXX and 1st Platoon
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)"


UPDATE: From Sgt Hook Some have called for the disclosure of the letter writer’s name to add credibility to the letter. Understanble. I did not enclose his name or unit for OPSEC reasons as we must remember that he and his platoon are in a warzone in a fight for their lives against a very savvy enemy. I emailed the young sergeant to let him know the response his letter is receiving and that many have requested permission to forward it to their representatives in Washington D.C. After checking with his commander regarding OPSEC, you’ll be glad to know that SGT Walter J. Rausch has authorized anyone to send his letter to whomever they see fit in helping to get his word out.
Pass it on.

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