He's gone......
I watched him march onto a bus at the head of the battery last night, carrying the Bravo Battery guidon. It was a very proud moment for me, but a somber one, too.
At 1830 yesterday evening, he left the apartment, telling Katie, his wife, and I that he would probably be back in a couple of hours. He didn't expect to leave until today. Instead, we got a call from him telling us he was going with the main group and to come up to visit for a couple of hours with the rest of the families. We dropped everything, stood in line for 45 minutes to get a pass at the gate, caught up with him at the bag drop, and followed him back to the battery.
They had to draw their weapons from the arms room, so we stood in line with him and dozens of other soldiers. If you've never been around a bunch of soldiers getting ready to deploy, it's a wonderful experience. I watched as Seth joked and talked with his buddies and realized that he'll be with brothers while he's in Iraq. It really eased the pain in my heart. I saw him give one of his soldiers a hard time as he was passing out magazine holders telling them what to do with them. Seth kept asking, "Now, what are we supposed to do with this?" After about the 10th time, the guy finally looked at Seth and said some smart remark that had everyone laughing. Yeah, just like being with his brothers. It did my heart good.
I finally got to meet the guys I've heard him talk about so often......a bunch of really great guys from all over the country. For some of them, it's their second deployment to Iraq, and for some, it's even more than that. I took pictures of him with his friends, and of course, a picture of him with his weapon to send to my Dad, the WWII vet. There were also pictures taken of him with Katie and me, the formation, and of the loading of the buses and such.
I did really well, I didn't shed a tear until I got in the car to leave, but I knew I had to be strong for Seth and for Katie. Truthfully, after watching him with his brothers-in-arms, it was hard to be sad. He's just begun an adventure that will change his life, with a family that I know will protect his life with their own, and vice versa. For those of you who haven't ever experienced that, it's an incredible thing. It doesn't get much better than that...
Oh yeah, today is Seth's birthday...he was 24 as of about 0030 this morning. Happy birthday, baby boy!! I love you with all my heart......
At 1830 yesterday evening, he left the apartment, telling Katie, his wife, and I that he would probably be back in a couple of hours. He didn't expect to leave until today. Instead, we got a call from him telling us he was going with the main group and to come up to visit for a couple of hours with the rest of the families. We dropped everything, stood in line for 45 minutes to get a pass at the gate, caught up with him at the bag drop, and followed him back to the battery.
They had to draw their weapons from the arms room, so we stood in line with him and dozens of other soldiers. If you've never been around a bunch of soldiers getting ready to deploy, it's a wonderful experience. I watched as Seth joked and talked with his buddies and realized that he'll be with brothers while he's in Iraq. It really eased the pain in my heart. I saw him give one of his soldiers a hard time as he was passing out magazine holders telling them what to do with them. Seth kept asking, "Now, what are we supposed to do with this?" After about the 10th time, the guy finally looked at Seth and said some smart remark that had everyone laughing. Yeah, just like being with his brothers. It did my heart good.
I finally got to meet the guys I've heard him talk about so often......a bunch of really great guys from all over the country. For some of them, it's their second deployment to Iraq, and for some, it's even more than that. I took pictures of him with his friends, and of course, a picture of him with his weapon to send to my Dad, the WWII vet. There were also pictures taken of him with Katie and me, the formation, and of the loading of the buses and such.
I did really well, I didn't shed a tear until I got in the car to leave, but I knew I had to be strong for Seth and for Katie. Truthfully, after watching him with his brothers-in-arms, it was hard to be sad. He's just begun an adventure that will change his life, with a family that I know will protect his life with their own, and vice versa. For those of you who haven't ever experienced that, it's an incredible thing. It doesn't get much better than that...
Oh yeah, today is Seth's birthday...he was 24 as of about 0030 this morning. Happy birthday, baby boy!! I love you with all my heart......
posted by kbug at 6:41 AM
1 Comments:
hang in there
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