I just came from the post office where I mailed some 200 tee shirts to Ramstein AFB for distribution to the injured soldiers at Landstuhl Military Hospital. I had written the sizes and the note "for injured soliers at Landstuhl" on the box. The clerk at the post office saw that and asked if I was donating all of the shirts and I said yes, that I had heard (from
Muddy Paws Diary ) that the injured were arriving at Landstuhl with just the bloody clothes on their back. For conversation sake, she said it wasn't tax deductible and I said, "Oh, I know." She whispered that she couldn't believe how the government officials would just eat expensive meals out and charge it to their constituents without blinking an eye while these people were there without bullet-proof vests.
I started to speak about the troops and their minimal protection. Still whispering she told me that women came in to send body armor to their children. I started to tell her other things they weren't getting - In fact, I was just about on my soap box and she shushed me and her eyes darted around because she was afraid a co-worker might hear. She gave me a wide-eyed look and almost imperceptibly shook her head. It startled me. I'm not accustomed to worrying about getting in trouble for what I think or say. But interestingly enough, this clerk was formerly of a communist country.
This was the prelude to arriving home and checking my email to find a poignant story from Mother Jones about those who were not so lucky to escape with their injuries and those who mourned their passing. I was reduced to tears. So I'd like to share with you these pictures and story called Coming Home.
The flag-draped coffins arrive at Dover Air Force Base prior to being shipped to their burial locations. If a military burial is chosen, soldiers from a local unit will perform the ceremony. It is unlikely that the dead soldier would have known these people. His friends are back in Iraq.