Hope Rides Alone...

As I continue to feel my way around my day to day tasks, at home and at work, letters such as this one help me get over the feeling of guilt that I deal with each and every day.

God Bless America and her Troops!

Please read on and take care.

I ask you PLEASE READ the below letter from one of our fallen in Iraqand take stock. Please disseminate as you feel prudent.JimmyHope Rides Alone - Letter from a fallen soldier. It is worth your time. Oct 19, 2007 *************************************************************************** SGT. Edmund John Jeffer's last few words were some of the mosttouching, inspiring and most truthful words spoken since the tragedy of9/11 - and since our nation went to war. SGT. Jeffers was a strong soldier and talented writer. He died inIraq on September 19, 2007. He was a loving husband, brother and son.His service was more than this country could ever grasp - but the leastyou can do for the man who sacrificed his life for you ... is listen towhat he had to say. *************************************************************************** Hope Rides Alone By Eddie Jeffers : I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burnto the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiarrubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down thestreets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands aresteady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others. I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. YoungAmerican boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will somedayallow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just aboy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. Iam stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death iseverywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street cornersand windows, and it is always there. There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts andactions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I'vemade compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Milesfrom me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the samestreets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not. And to think, I volunteered for this... And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought. But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi , Iraq , the cries andscreams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will bethrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit youraverage man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down thestreets of America , and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars ofthe same people who compare our President to Hitler. I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the AlFrankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off theirmouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right,however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands ofboys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the wordboys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the averageage of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank ofsoldiers killed in action is Private First Class. People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but tothe results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are.They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are noGeneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not sparedfrom the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can onlyimagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands ofthe enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's waragainst us. It is effective though, as many men and women have diedsince the start of this war. And the memory of their service to Americais tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets.And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becomingsomething new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists toAmericans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with ourlives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing thewar we live and fight, they are isolating the military fromsociety...and they are becoming our enemy. Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" aroundand compare this war to Vietnam . In a way they are right, this war isbecoming like Vietnam . Not the actual war, but in the isolation ofcountry and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nationwith its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us forour second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on.Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interferingwith our war. Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on theInternet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills anIraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, andsometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job. It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come tothis. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop atnothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the goodwe've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBCor CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq ? Or theleaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening,but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore thegood news, because it just might show people that Bush was right. America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defendwhat is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is thatthe American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a singlething. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, andturned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people havenot been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military orthe family member of a service member, its life as usual...the wardoesn't affect you. But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come home, andthey try to piece together what's left of them after theirservice...where will the detractors be then? Where will the CindySheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out thelast couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodgingdeath and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be wherethey always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the worldcan't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things theywill never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men andwomen of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders. We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone elsewants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want acountry that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where theirchildren will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not complywith the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper.And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true tothe cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in thisendeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must allstand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is morethan sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting ourPresident, our troops and our cause. Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, HopeRides Alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is onlyfailure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if itdoesn't. Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering,let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight! *************************************************************************** Eddie's father, David Jeffers, writes: I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from thegenre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've everread, including all of America's wars. As I was reading this, I forgotthat it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from greatpride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) hasbecome this man. He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needsthem now more than ever. God bless. Though Eddie is no longer with us, you can help to let his voice beheard.