Casualties of War....

This morning a friend of mine was telling me about helping a friend of hers pack up her things in her house to get ready to move.  Her husband was killed in Iraq in March, and she and her kids are moving out of base housing and out on their own.  Maybe back to her hometown.  My friend said how hard it was to take the pictures off the walls.  And, she told me that her friend's kids were following my friend's husband around all day Saturday, calling him "Daddy".  She told my friend that the money she is receiving isn't nearly as much as she had expected it to be, and wonders how she is going to support her kids.  Man.  I cannot even imagaine.

Then, this afternoon I ventured over to the Lemon Lot at the PX (where people park cars and RVs they want to sell).  I saw a Marine in a wheelchair, having had his lower right leg below the knee amputated (or maybe blown off by a roadside bomb?).  Two boys, about 6 and 9 years old, were following him around, looking at cars.  I assume they are his sons. 

My husband told me last week that he will be returning to Iraq in March, for 7 months.  He wants to go, so I want him to go.  We both believe in the cause. He needs to be where the action is, and I love him for that.  I know I can manage while he is gone.  I've done it before, I can do it again.  But, quite honestly, I'd rather be blissfully ignorant of the dangers he will face.  I don't want to think about him being injured or killed.  He is my whole life.  And, when I see these brave men who are now broken (hopefully only physically - with their spirits intact), or hear these heart wrenching stories of the families that are left behind, it only makes it all the more obvious how important it is to treasure the time we have together - as husband and wife, and as a family.  God Bless our fighting men and women, and God Bless the families who support their desire to fight for freedom, for all, not just for Americans.