Waves Winter 2004 Newsletter

...I knew that God had placed them there as warring angels...who believed in God and loved him enough
to give their lives to his service. -- The Awakening Heart by Betty J. Eadie, p. 88


March, 2005	W.A.V.E.S. Newsletter	Spring Edition

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A Letter from Iraq

Shared by Leigh Anne Marshall

I wanted to forward this letter on to all of you. My Uncle Mike, who has been in Iraq for nearly 6 months, is preparing to come home. This letter of his made me cry, and made me remember, as he does, how blessed we are -- even with the many problems we face here -- to live in a country like the United States. -- LAM

Hello everyone,

I have not been writing anything for a while here. We have been busy getting ready for our departure from Iraq. The time here has been a great learning experience for me. I have seen and done things that I never thought I would. From working here in the chapel and helping the Marines and Sailors make videos to send home to going out on convoys and watching the Marines doing their job, I have run the gamut. I have seen young Marines and Sailors deal with the gruesome task of processing the dead from the "Al Fajr" Campaign in Fallujah. Al Fajr I believe means "New Dawn".

The campaign had been originally called "Phantom Fury", but the name was changed. These same Marines and Sailors quickly shifted gears after the campaign and worked doing humanitarian aid for the refugees of Al Fajr who were re-entering the city to reclaim their homes, most of which had been destroyed in the attacks. I have heard the gun battles during the final phases of that campaign only meters away from me and saw the remains of insurgents as they were pulled from the rubble of destroyed buildings. I looked into the eyes of Iraqi soldiers as they walked the city in an attempt to rid it of the insurgents who terrorized their people. I looked into the eyes of children who were with their parents coming home to find their houses were in shambles. The children looking at me and smiling tugged at my heart, as I wanted to reach out to them, but there was no way I could change what they were experiencing. I would think of my own small grandchildren as I looked at them, and it made me all the more sorrowful at what these children had to see.

There were Iraqi men and women struggling for survival and taking whatever food and water and blankets we could offer to feed their families. I looked on all that and thought how often we take for granted all the good things and comforts we have as Americans. It made me think of all the times I had wasted things that these people could not even dream of having. Times I wasted money on gadgets that ended up in a closet, used only till the new wore off. It made me think and pray that I would not be so unappreciative of what I have at home. I have a nice house, plenty of food and comforts, a wife that I love and who loves me, and children and grandchildren who I would not trade for all the gold in Fort Knox. It made me realize that whatever I considered a bad time or an annoyance dimmed greatly when placed next to what these people were suffering.

I pray for a bright future for the people of Iraq. As the elections come this weekend I pray that all we have done and all the sacrifices made may bear fruit, and that these people can someday live in prosperity and comfort. We as Americans take for granted that we can go and vote in freedom, and we take for granted that that freedom came with a price. We are paying a great price to share that freedom with these people. Say what you will about why we are here, or whether we should even be here, we are here, and I have to believe that we are making a difference. If I did not feel that way, I would dishonor my comrades who fell in battle, or who, like me, have at the least suffered the separation from ones we love.

Today my time grows short here. We are preparing for our departure soon; I hope very soon. All the Marines and Sailors here are excited that they will soon be with family and loved ones. I pray that this weekend we are spared any violence as the elections get underway. May God watch over our Marines, Sailors, and Soldiers here who will be in harm’s way helping the people of Iraq exercise a freedom they may have never seen or at this moment may fail to fully understand.

I am doing fine here. As the time comes for me to be back on American soil, I, like others here, am thinking of what I will do when I get home, and what comforts I will take advantage of first. The thing that is foremost in my mind is being back with my wife and to be able to look at her in her eyes and say that I love her. That is the thing that I have missed most. Soon that will be a reality, and I hope that I never take for granted the good things that God has given me again. If I do, someone nudge me and remind me of these six months here in Iraq.

God Bless you all. I will see you soon; we are days away from leaving here.

Semper Fi.

RP1 (FMF) Michael Marshall, USNR
CSSG-15
Lakeside Chapel
Comm. 3624-316

Warring Angel Volunteers on Earth, (WAVES) is acknowledged as a trademark of Betty J. Eadie