Family

Thank You, Soldier

Posted on by Jean

My great-grandfathers were military, my grandfathers were military, I grew up as a Navy brat, served in the Army myself for nine years and, as most of you know, am a military wife. I know first-hand the sacrifices that our military and their families make in serving our country. While I’m grateful to each and every one of them, I’d like to tell you about my very own personal soldier.

I met my soldier at an Army school at Ft.Devens, MA on July 5 th, 1992. We were married just two short months later. I don’t thank him enough for the things that he does for me, our sons and our country. I think it’s clear that I love him as a man and the father of my children, but as a soldier, my heart swells with pride for him.

He’s been a Federal Special Agent with Criminal Investigations for ten years. He seldom wears a uniform. We’ve had neighbors for a year that didn’t know he was in the Army. His hours are very long and demanding and he has been very short-manned our entire tour here, but he maintains his positive outlook on life and always-jolly mood. Middle-of-the-night phone calls are common in our home

He is fair, professional and caring. His men love working for him so much that, on several occasions, they have asked to be assigned with him, even when it meant deploying to Afghanistan. In February he will leave for his second deployment to Afhganistan. The first time he was gone for eight months. It will be a year this time with two weeks R&R leave somewhere in the middle. It’s a year that he will miss out on not only the little luxuries in life that we all take for granted, but it’s a year that he’ll miss out on his sons and his wife. I know for my husband that will be the hardest part. Missing his family. And though daily life for us here at home will be tough as I muddle my way through single-parenthood again, the hardest part for us will be missing him.

Each deployment gets a little easier with new technology. When he went to Bosnia he got a video every week of toddler Daniel.When he went to the Pentagon to process the crime seen on 9/11, Celluair gave them all phones to use for free while they were there so we could get hold of him at any time and as it was playing out on CNN, he could call to let me know he was okay when the Pentagon collapsed and caught on fire again. When he went to Afghanistan the last time, we had Yahoo Instant Messaging and games to play together online (I cheated my pants off on online Chess and didn’t admit it to him until he came home). This time we’ll have DSL and great web cams. It will still hurt and we’ll miss him but we’ll get through it.

So, thank you, Dan, for being the man, husband, father and soldier that you are. For setting a fine example for our sons to follow and for loving your family and making us so proud.

A little update on Jeremy: As I type he is outprocessing during his last day in the Army. He will be on his way to his grandparents and civilain life this afternoon.

Jean

29 thoughts on “Thank You, Soldier”

  2. Tish says:

    I am also from a military family. I went from Army brat, to Guardsman, to Army wife. (My oldest son was born while I was on A/D). My son and sister had overlapping tours in A-stan (he is currently in Ranger school, she returned with her unit to Hawaii) so she was able to see him several times when she inspected his Camp. My husband retired this summer after serving for 27yrs so, like your son, we are adjusting to civilian life! I’ll keep your husband in my prayers, and you and your sons also.

  3. Jan G says:

    Just wanted to say thank you; to you, your husband, your son, your family for the sacrifices that you have made for our country. You and people like you are truly what makes this a great country, and we couldn’t do it without you!

  4. Jan says:

    Thanks to you ALL for your service to our country.
    The webcams are a wonderful thing. We use one with my daughter in Japan and it’s amazing how close you feel when you can see the person in real time as you talk. We sometimes knit while chatting and just hold up our projects to share progress. Of course, it’s never the same as being there, but so much better than a phone call or IMing.

  6. Chris says:

    You know I am thankful for the service of your family, but it’s always nice to be reminded of it again. What a wonderful tribute to your guy! I say he deserves a nice hand knit sweater.

  7. Isela says:

    I just want to say thank you for posting this and a heart felt thank you to you and to your entire family. Thank you. I know it is not enough. I wish you both hope and comfort. Thank you.

  8. Brynne says:

    Thank you so much for sharing this with the blog world. More people need to see the faces of the military that is so often unfairly criticized.

  9. Leah says:

    Thank you for your wonderful tribute to your husband, Dan. On Veterans day it is wonderful to hear the personal stories of the wonderful people who protect us all.
    Leah

  10. Lisa says:

    What a beautiful tribute to your husband. Please thank him for me for all the incredible sacrifices he and his fellow soldiers make for our great country.

  11. PJ says:

    love, love, love your post…I can identify as a Navy family (I’m also a Vet) there is a personal side of it all and thank you for highlighting that!

  13. Kat says:

    My thanks to Dan and Jeremy; my friend Tom (recently home safe and sound from 2 years in Iraq), my Uncle George (WWII), my grandfather (WWI), my cousins (Korea and Vietnam), my friend Don (Vietnam), my friend Fish (Gulf War) and all the other service men and women out there. I may not agree with the political leadership that got us into the current situation, but all of you have my thanks and appreciation for the jobs that you are doing and the sacrifices that you and your families are making. Without you this wouldn’t be America.

  14. Annie says:

    Wow, Jean. What a beautiful love letter to your husband. I’ve got tears in my eyes as I type this. My thanks go to him and all the others as well.

  15. Gerlinde says:

    Tell Dan and your Son Thank you for all they are doing for us.And Thank you to you too. Without having a caring,strong Wife behind him he could not do what he does.

  19. margene says:

    What a loving tribute. We are all proud of men like Dan for their duty to our Nation. How wonderful that you’ll have Jeremy home soon!
    Peace to you.

  21. Monica Flores Dunn says:

    What an excellent and extremely moving tribute on this very special day. I’ve said it many times before, but I’ll continue saying it — from the bottom of my heart, thank you to Danny, you, Jeremy and the boys, my dad, my mom, all of whom have had to sacrifice in one way or another so that we can continue to live a life of freedom! Your courage is awe-inspiring! You are my heroes!

  23. Theresa says:

    Thanks for the lovely tribute. Thank you to your husband and to you, because I know from our family’s experience (Navy) that it is not just the soldier/sailor who gives. It’s neat to see another little glimpse in your lives.

  25. KT says:

    Thank you so much for your service as well as your husband’s and your son’s. I was very moved by this post. My one of favorite cousins is going back to Iraq for his 2nd tour in two weeks. When he was there before technology really made a difference. It was amazing to get calls and the occasional email. Thank you for tribute to your husband.
    Here is a quote for you: We sleep safely in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm.
    – George Orwell

  27. amanda says:

    What a great tribute to your husband! And to your bravery and patience as well—thanks to both of you. And seeing that pic of your hubby I can see where Daniel gets his good looks :O)

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