By
Gary and Joy Lundberg
In a distant land not far from the very place where
Christ was born live a grateful people who are learning
for the first time to sing freedom’s song. They are in the
throes of establishing their own democracy, and it is our
valiant sons and daughters in the performance of their military
duty in Iraq and Afghanistan who are making this glorious
blessing possible. In the process, they are giving each
of us a safer place to live and raise our families.
Words cannot express our gratitude for their sacrifice,
but we must try. They are in desperate need of hearing
from all of us, and there’s no better time than Christmas
— a time when they wish to be with their families more than
ever. It’s the perfect season to show Christ’s love for
each of them through our caring.
They’re getting a little discouraged. We know. Our
son Michael is serving in Baghdad right now in his Army
National Guard infantry unit — he’s been there almost a
year. He patrols the streets in a Humvee with his fellow
soldiers, and when he’s not doing that he’s standing guard
in sandbag-protected base towers, among other duties. It
keeps us and his wife, children and other family members
praying for him constantly.
On some Sundays when he’s lucky he gets to attend a
sacrament meeting on base with his fellow Latter-Day Saint
comrades. In full military gear, with weapons in hand, they
pass and partake of the sacred emblems of the sacrament.
They are striving to stay close to the Lord in the midst
of an unprecedented style of war, a war where the enemy
cannot be easily identified, and yet surrounded by a majority
of people who are grateful beyond words for the new life
they have been given. Because of the uncertainty of who
the enemy is, they and the people they are there to protect
walk in harm’s way constantly.
What Can We Do?
There is something we can do, along with our prayers,
to lighten their load and express our appreciation. It’s
simple. They need to receive a Christmas card or letter
from each one of us. That’s all, just a card or letter
with a message of love and encouragement and a big Merry
Christmas wish. If you have someone in your family, ward
or neighborhood who is serving be sure to write to them.
Beyond that there are thousands of our military men
and women who need to hear from us, too. Please send a
minimum of one card or letter to each of the five addresses
below, addressing it to Defender of our Freedom, in C/O
the address given. If we all do at least this much, thousands
of our military men and women will receive a card or letter
for Christmas.
Why We Must Do It
Our service men and women hear on their limited access
to televised news that most people in the United States
support them, but not the war. It’s a terrible mixed message
and it’s having a negative effect on their morale. It sounds
like “we love you, but hate what you are doing.” Fox News
show host Sean Hannity put it this way, “It’s like a man
coming home to his wife and saying ‘I love you, but I hate
how you keep our house!” He said, “Say that and find out
where you’ll sleep that night.” This kind of support just
doesn’t work.
Personally, we would like to shout from the housetops
of every major city in Iraq and the U.S. that we absolutely
support them and what they are doing. This article
is our way of doing that very thing. We rejoice in the great
work they are accomplishing as they put their lives on the
line every day. What a marvelous thing it is to bring freedom
to a nation and at the same time ensure greater protection
and peace to our own.
Oh, yes! We unequivocally support the mission they are
on! And we are extremely proud of them all, and feel confident
that you are, too, and that you will respond to this request.
We hope you will involve your children and even have them
draw a Christmas or patriotic picture to send along, if
they’d like.
Where to Send Cards and Letters
We contacted the Church Military Relations department
and spoke with Brother Richard Whaley regarding the best
way to send letters to them. He was very pleased with the
idea and emailed us the names of chaplains and group leaders
we could contact for information on where the letters can
be sent. Emails from these chaplains and group leaders
came to us almost immediately. The letters can be sent
to them and they will pass them out to those in their areas
of responsibility. A sample of their appreciation is shown
in this excerpt from Chaplain Randall K. Au’s letter:
How grateful we are for your love and support in bringing
the festive spirit of the holidays to our servicemen and
women serving in the armed forces. It is truly a blessing
unto us that members of the church are anxious to exercise
the pure love of Christ, charity, through their faith and
testimonies, their hope of peace and protection to our soldiers,
airmen, sailors, and marines serving in combat zones, and
to share their holiday traditions with these men and women.
We have many single adults, ages ranging from 19 years
of age to their early 20s, serving throughout this operational
theater. We have a particular concern for this group and
would encourage those branches, wards, and stakes who have
single adults deployed in these areas to write to them expressing
their love and support, their prayers and hope.
Many of our single adults experience many adversarial
challenges that test their faith and testimonies daily.
Letters and/or cards from home (family, friends, community,
church leaders/members, etc) would truly strengthen their
faith and testimonies, giving them the strength and courage
to rise above their challenges. I bear witness that these
letters and/or cards received from church leaders and members
have been uplifting to their spirits, and at times have
provided answers to their prayers.
Excepts from Two Letters Being Sent
Two retired military officers living in our ward, Donald
Andrews (U.S. Army) and Howard “Al” Christy (U.S. Marines),
have written inspiring letters to our son, with copies to
be given to other soldiers. With their permission here
are some excerpts from their letters.
From Brother Andrews:
Let me begin by telling you how proud I am of you and
all of our service personnel who are, in one way or another,
engaged in the war against terrorism. Those who have served
or who are currently serving in Afghanistan or Iraq are
on the front lines of this crucial battle. Our nation is
at war and I regret that much of our media tend to forget
this fact and focus only on the negative.
Those who say they support our military but not the
war are simply naive or misguided at best or have, at worst,
a much more sinister motive with their ‘cut and run’ agenda.
How the lessons of September 11, 2001 can be ignored by
those who favor this poorly thought-out agenda is beyond
my understanding. To leave before the job is done and a
democratic Iraq is firmly established would create chaos
and totally dishonor the memory of our fallen comrades.
Let me reassure you that, despite what our liberal media
may report, many of the people in this wonderful country
of ours understand that you are in harm’s way every day
to protect our freedoms and way of life. The terrorists
are desperately trying to prevent the creation of a free
and democratic Iraq. Yet the Iraqi people are courageously
moving toward that goal. Our cause there is noble and just.
No one in their right mind thinks that Iraq would be better
off with Saddam still in power and his torture chambers
still going full speed ahead.
May God bless you and your effort at bringing stability
to that troubled region of this world. You are in my daily
prayers that your mission will be successful and that you
will return home safely to this country that has been so
richly blessed and to your family who love and support you.
From Brother Christy:
When I was your age the world and our nation were in
a struggle for peace, and I had no other choice than to
serve my country in perilous times, as did so many others.
We did it with the same grim determination to do our share
to protect our nation’s hard-won freedoms. And we did it
without complaint. The times and places have changed but
the same old dilemma is there, which is that freedom is
not free and American men must go in harm’s way to keep
it.
Vietnam and Korea together took the lives of over 100,000
Americans and maimed many tens of thousands more. A lot
of people who think they know everything think that we had
no business going into either of those wars. Heck, a lot
of people who think they know everything thought we had
no business going into World War II!
So, things haven’t changed all that much, nor will things
ever change all that much. Good Americans will continue
to put on the uniform and go in harm’s way to protect our
nation’s freedom.
“So what?” they may ask. The ‘what’ is that our country
remains free. I was very proud of my grandfather, my father,
and several uncles for their service in World Wars One and
Two. My children and many of my friends are proud of my
service in Vietnam. And your children and your
friends will be proud of your service in Iraq. There
it is.
Let me therefore testify that I believe that you will
always know in your heart that you have done your duty,
have done very difficult things to protect your country,
and that it has all been worth it. Not everybody can know
that, can have that feeling, but we can.
God bless you and those with you who are serving in
Iraq. And please ignore all the garbage you hear in the
media by people, most of whom have never gone in harm’s
way to protect their country, who think they know everything.
They’ll never really know, nor will they deserve to feel
what we feel.
Look What They’ve Accomplished!
The media has a way of sending a message that this war
is failing. It is not failing! Marvelous things are being
accomplished that, sadly, the American people don’t hear
in most news reports. Newscasters seem to enjoy reporting
only the tragic, and certainly there is the tragic — even
just one life is a horrible loss. Still we must never forget
that achieving democracy for any nation takes a terrible
toll — remember what it took to bring freedom to America.
In spite of this terrible toll, which in the number
of lives lost in this war is so far less than previous wars
that it’s almost inconceivable, so much good is happening.
Look at just a few of the amazing things made possible by
our military men and women since the war began.
1.
Five million
Iraqi students are back in school (many for the first time),
with 51 million new Ba'ath-free textbooks in circulation.
2.
Academics
forced into exile under Saddam are coming back to teach
in Iraqi universities.
3.
There are
now over 200,000 trained Iraqi security forces personnel.
4.
The Ministry
of Industry has issued 7,661 licenses for new businesses.
5.
There is
a large boost in economic activity due to tax-cuts.
6.
A complete
rebuilding and renovation of major telecommunications infrastructure
is under way.
7.
A new sewer
system is improving health conditions and stimulating the
Iraqi economy.
8.
Public Health
Centers are bringing family healthcare to Iraqi neighborhoods.
Good news actually outruns bad news in Iraq by a factor
of a thousand to one!
As columnist Rod D. Martin recently wrote:
Literally millions of Iraqis — alone in the Arab world
— have twice stood up to terrorist bullies, voting first
to elect new leaders and just recently to ratify their new
constitution. And that includes 105,000 Iraqis in Fallujah,
once the heart of the insurgency, who turned out last month
to vote on the new constitution.” (From http://rightmarch.com/media/truthiraq2.pdf)
It’s Time to Recognize our Heroes
In a New York Times article a few days ago, journalist
David Brooks was lamenting the realization that most Americans
can’t name even one hero of this war, when there are, in
fact, many. In an effort to remedy that he told of the heroic
deeds of Marine Capt. Christopher Leva and his unit’s highly
successful attack on the so-called insurgent-safe-haven
town of Ubaydi, along the Iraqi-Syrian border where he and
his fellow Marines killed about 75 insurgents and captured
17 others.
The acts of courage described in this report were mind
boggling. Only one Marine lost his life in this heroic
effort. And why wasn’t this and other numerous victories
reported? According to Brooks “That’s partly because some
people don’t want this war to seem like a heroic enterprise.”
He went on to say that the U.S. has become “a culture that
knows how to honor the casualties and the dead but not the
strength and prowess of its warriors.”
We can change that. Let’s honor all our warriors, not
only those who have given there lives, but those who continue
on with valor day in and day out — for us!. Let’s say Thank
you and Merry Christmas in overwhelming numbers.
Send Your Cards and Letters to:
To: A Defender of Our Freedom
℅ CW4 Randall K. Au
HQ, 29 BCT
Bldg 4130, LSAA
APO AE 09391
To: A Defender of Our Freedom
℅ Chaplain Gaylan Springer
HHB 2/222 FA 2-28 BCT
APO AE 09362-9997
(FYI: Soldiers in Ch. Springer’s unit are from Richfield,
Beaver, Cedar City, and St. George, UT)
To: A Defender of Our Freedom
℅ Chaplain Harms
HHC 4-64 Armor
FOB Prosperity
APO AE 09348
To: A Defender of Our Freedom
℅ Chaplain Anthony Horton
HHC, 40th Engineer Battalion
APOAE 09330
To: A Defender of Our Freedom
℅ Scott J. Halverson
HHT/2-6 CAV
APO AE 09354
A Message from the President
Our U.S. military’s Commander in Chief, President George
W. Bush, recently said as he spoke to veterans regarding
this war, “We don't know the course our own struggle will
take, or the sacrifices that might lie ahead. We do know,
however, that the defense of freedom is worth our sacrifice.
We know that the love of freedom is the mightiest force
in history. And we do know the cause of freedom will once
again prevail. May God bless you all.”
How thankful we are for a President who knows how to
stand for the right in the face of so much opposition.
We stand with him in support of all of our beloved service
men and women and the vitally important work they are doing.
(For more information see National Strategy for Victory
in Iraq at http://www.gop.com/News/Read.aspx?ID=5956.)
Church DVD for Military
If you want to find out how our Church leaders feel
about our military men and women and the mission they are
performing you will enjoy viewing the new DVD Let Not
Your Hearts Be Troubled, created especially for Latter-Day
Saints serving in the military. It’s available at Church
Distribution, item # 54616000. We’re sending a copy to our
son and each of our children so they can know of our Church
leaders’ support for those in military service.
Now it’s up to all of us to let these courageous brothers
and sisters know of our support. Thank you for joining
us in this important project of Christmas love.
[Visit Gary and Joy Lundberg at www.garyjoylundberg.com
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