Stryker Brigade News

I am attaching a copy of a Thank You letter I sent to a reporter for the Oregonian because she was very supportive and respectful in her dealings with our family after the loss of my nephew. I have since had numerous people ask me for a copy and am deciding if I should allow a newspaper to print the article to show the personal, human side of this war. I thought all of you might be able to relate or gain some comfort in knowing that you are not alone in your "insanity".

THE LETTER:

Thank you for your genuine, heart-felt coverage of the death of my nephew, SGT. Adam J. Plumondore. Your personal interview and contact with our family was compassionate and considerate. The subsequent articles clearly conveyed that you had gained a true understanding of the wonderful person and tremendous soldier that Adam was and all that was lost to our family and the world. Your article highlighting the personal, family web log used by Adam's unit - DeuceFourRecon - was conveyed with the same humanity, professionalism and respect that you display in your personal actions. Your efforts are very much appreciated.

With the decline in media coverage of Operation Iraq Freedom and the somewhat general lack of understanding of how the war personally effects all of us here at home, your articles helped to show the world that the fight for Freedom and Liberty effects the present and the future of the world by what is gained and what is lost. This war is personal to us, as it is to countless other families of Americans who's sons and daughters continue to serve in the Armed Forces.

"The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk about outside of your body."
-Katherine Hadley

In respect, the decision to love a soldier is to accept that your heart is walking about outside of your body patrolling the streets of Iraq, wrapped in body armor, carrying a rifle and putting their life on the line for Freedom and Liberty. For each soldier serving their country, there is a battalion of family and friends from home whose hearts are serving with them. The war is 7000 miles away, but IT IS PERSONAL.

WE WORRY ... We try to live each day with the words that our soldier has told us over and over again ... 'Don't worry. No news is good news '. Anyone with ties to the military knows that bad news travels fast. We worry about hearing the bad news.

WE PRAY ... With every breath we take, every moment of every day, we pray. We pray for their safety, we pray that they are healthy, we pray that they will come home soon, we simply PRAY.

WE WAIT ... We wait for the mail to arrive each day, we wait for an email, we wait for 3 am telephone calls, we wait for anything to reassure us that they are okay. We also wait in fear for all those things that we don't want to hear.

WE SEND LOVE ... We send letters and cards to our soldier so that they can physically hold our love and support in their hands. They can touch and feel something that we have also touched and felt ... for a brief moment ... in a small way, we are physically connected. We send our Hearts to keep them safe, wrapped in the arms of our love, to comfort both them and us.

WE SEND PACKAGES ...A little bit of home, a little bit of comfort, a little bit of necessity, a little bit of fun and all the love that we can pack in. We support our soldier any way we can, without hesitation and with all of our heart.

WE KEEP INFORMED ... We absorb any little bit of news and information that we can get ... from our soldier, from the newspaper, from other families, from emails, from television, from the internet and from milblogs. Every little speck of information that we can absorb, helps us to keep our own personal sanity.

WE LIVE ... We keep the home fires burning. We try to remind ourselves to breathe. We work, go to school, take care of our family, try to continue a daily routine, but purposeful or not, our conscious is always with our soldier, some days all consuming. At the supermarket we pick up household groceries and scan the shelves for items to ship in a care package ... we transfer our home phone to the cell phone when we leave the house so we don't miss their call... we turn up the volume on the computer so that we can hear the instant messaging signal, even in our sleep ...This is the normalcy of our life. To give them normalcy, we convey to our soldier that "all is well" here at home.

WE HOPE .. We try to stay focused on the "light at the end of the tunnel." With Hope we make plans for the future, to remain positive, to remember that our soldier will return home, soon. We Hope that our soldier's light will forever burn. Hope helps us to maintain our own sanity.

WE ARE PROUD ... Proud of their service, Proud of their commitment, Proud of their honor, Proud of their courage, Proud of their character, Proud of their dedication, Proud of their respect, Proud of their belief to make a difference ... each and every day, from the moment a soldier touches our heart, we are Proud.

WE ARE FAMILY .. We are a family of many parts, with no spares, when one part is missing, we are not complete. Not just family with our soldier, but with all soldiers who serve. We are all drawn together and united by circumstance, emotions and understanding. Until ALL of our soldiers come home, we are not complete. The families who suffer the ultimate sacrifice will never again be complete.

WE CRY ...constantly and for many reasons - happiness, stress release, overwhelming feelings and emotions ... and deep pain. We cry the hardest each time a soldier's life is lost. We cry for the soldier's sacrifice and for their family and loved ones left behind. We cry with thankfulness and relief that it wasn't our soldier this time. We cry never ending tears, deep from within our soul, because this time IT WAS OUR SOLDIER.

The tremendous pain and devastating loss of our soldier, SGT Adam Plumondore, is like nothing that we have ever encountered as a family. As we struggle to find our path to move forward, our commitment and support to Adam's unit and his fellow soldiers who carry on the mission remains strong and never ending. Pieces of our broken hearts are still in Iraq with the men who continue to serve. We are all family.

Thank you for giving the world a glimpse of what an incredibly wonderful person Adam was to his family, his friends, his brothers-in-arms, and to everyone that he touched in his short life. How much he is loved, and missed, by all.

It is my hope that your articles, and others like it, will impact the people of America in a positive way. To show that the conflict in Iraq is personal. That those who make the ultimate sacrifice and those who continue to serve are individuals with names, faces and families, who love and miss them very much.

"Patriotism is not an emotional out burst, It is a lifelong Devotion ~ True & Steady, To the Country you call home."
-MW Roen

It is my hope, as people read articles about Adam and others who serve, that all Americans will take a moment to appreciate and contemplate their own Patriotism and its personal effect on their life and the world around them. To understand that "OUR SOLDIERS ARE AMERICA's SOLDIERS", upholding Freedom, Liberty and Justice for All. It is not about politics, religion or any other soap box, it's about Patriotism ~ True and Steady ~ to the Country they call home. Our soldiers give "their best" for America every day by upholding their duty, with respect and honor ~ they should be able to "except the best" from us at home.

Your outstanding personal conduct and morals, as well as your professional character, are projected into your journalism. Your individual attention to the humanity in your writings have made our soldiers a little more personal to everyone. As an individual and a journalist, your efforts are truly appreciated. It is personal. It is family. Thank You.

The Very Proud Aunt of
SGT Adam J. Plumondore
Our Hero ~ Fallen, but Never Forgotten
Always in Our Heart, Mind & Soul