A letter home from the Front

This Soldiers name is Mike, and we will leave it at that. Mike is a Chopper pilot in Iraq.
He starts his return home this Christmas after 15 months of serving not only his country, but his friends, neighbors, and fellow countrymen.
This is his final letter home before his return.

Family and Friends,

In the next week, most of my comrades and I will complete our tour of duty in Baghdad and begin our journey home to those we love and the way of life we battled to preserve. Unfortunately, not all of us will enjoy the homecoming we dreamed of from the moment we arrived. Many are now at rest among the generations of heroes at Arlington. Many more have returned to their home towns across America, covered with the Stars and Stripes of Old Glory, commemorating their devotion to the hopes and dreams of many current and future American generations.

In October of 2006, we were sent to Iraq to hunt Evil and deliver hope in an area of the world where Islamic Extremists desperately feared that Freedom and Democracy might take hold. Street to street and house to house your sons and daughters hunted, fought, built, bled and died. In doing so, Al-Qieda and other extremists were killed or captured on an unprecedented scale, bringing about hope in the day to day lives of the Iraqi people not seen in years. Mothers and daughters are now shopping freely in open markets and toy stores. Fathers and sons are enjoying city wide soccer tournaments and afternoon outings in the many city parks and playgrounds now open without the constant threat of suicide bombs and random sniper fire. By no means am I saying that Baghdad is now the safest place in the world to raise a family, but it is certainly far from the war torn city of chaos and me-hem often portrayed on TV and in the newspapers.

Our achievements have been many and our hard fought progress indisputable. Scores of my comrades made it possible with their lives, their limbs and their peace of mind. As you celebrate this Christmas and New Years with your family, I ask only that you not forget my brothers and sisters in arms, particularly those who remain on the hunt, so that the rest of us might enjoy this holiday season at home with those we love.

Thank You Mike, and those like you!
You may not like War, but our life would cease without Warriors like him.
Merry Christmas Mike.
My thanks to his family for their sacrifice while he was away!