I have nearly completed what I thought would be the post for today, when I got word from a friend that his grandson had been injured in Afghanistan. He is in stable condition, but has lost both legs below the knee, part of a hand, and may lose his arm. There has been no word yet on when this occurred. It could have been yesterday or several days ago.
Jeffrey (I may not even be spelling it right) is a Marine, despite his Grandfather telling him to join the Navy, like his father was. He had served a tour in Afghanistan already, and was not supposed to go back, but someone else died and he was called to go. Before he left he got married. Also before he left he started a prayer group with other Marines in his unit.
As the leader of a team investigating IEDs, he went in first and presumably that is why his injuries are so severe. I have never met Jeffrey, but I know his Grandfather well, and I know his type well also. It was his job to do, it was his mission. By going in first he may well have saved someone with less experience as the may well have died instead of getting out with severe injuries.
This post really is about saying why I didn't post something today. It isn't a post to drill up support for getting our troops home, though I am in favor of that once it is safe and we know the country won't collapse behind them. It also is not about getting support to end the war now. As a disabled vet I wholly support our troops, especially Jeffrey. I am ashamed to call myself a disabled vet compared to those like Jeffrey. My injuries were sustained in the course of a short career served completely stateside. Despite volunteers from my unit being deployed multiple times, and the unit itself being deployed once, I never went. Most would think this lucky or good, but I, like I suppose Jeffrey to be, was ready to go and would have gone in a heartbeat if only they had needed me.
Some may take this to be an ignored prayer, or a sign of God not caring. Instead, I take this as God choosing to use Jeffrey in a way that I do not yet understand. My posts have not yet generated a lot of comments, and it is probably a bad thing to say that I will delete comments. Especially since there are some comments that I have thought very seriously about deleting. However, if anyone comments to this post and says anything against the military or its mission I will not allow it to remain.
Tomorrow the regular blog from the Hole on the End of the Bible Belt will return. Until then, I hope that everyone takes a minute to consider our troops, those deployed, those injured, those killed, and those that will come home changed. Remember them, kiss your own children, or parents. Thank a vet, whether serving or having served. Pray for them and pray for God's will, purpose, and Providence to shine forth.
Update late Wednesday: I did spell Jeffrey correct. He has lost both legs below the knee and some fingers. He must be made stable then he will be transported to Germany. If he continues to stablize, he will be transported to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Remember his family also, he has a wife. They were married just before he shipped out.
- Shrapnel Lands at Home (byrdmouse.com)
- Blast Waves (byrdmouse.com)