Frances Richey

For my husband with love

You are a Delta Demon I know that is true

It is in your blood and runs infantry blue

I knew that someday you would go again

It is never easy since you are my best friend

It was almost more than my heart could bear

Me driving away and leaving you there

Off to California you left in a hurry

Kissed me goodbye and said not to worry

That is not my nature not to worry you know

But I really will try because you told me so

It was a long month but you came home on pass

I knew time was short but I hoped it would last

But surprised I wasn't when our time was up

It happened...they loaded you up on that bus

With all of your guys, off to Georgia you went

There was no fear in your eyes, not even a glint

You all trained hard and were the best in the class

What's your reward for busting your brass

You get one day off then it is off to Kuwait

Then you'll go to Iraq I bet you can't wait

Wherever you are and whatever you do

Know that your family is here loving you

From this time on, and from here ever after

I will be waiting at home to start the next chapter

To my husband the light is on...come home to me soon.

I have had the privilege of meeting several soldiers from the Oregon National Guard as well as some of their family members in the last few weeks. I was especially moved by Amber Gilley's poem to her husband Dave, who has served three tours in Iraq. I will be posting more about the good people in Oregon who are Guardsmen soon, but for today, enjoy this beautiful poem.

Suzi Gonzales sent me these pictures of her beautiful son, Tyler (Ty) Robinett. He is in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC. Ty has just deployed to Afghanistan.





Here is an excerpt of a poem Suzi sent with these pictures of Ty:

My muse is gone...compromised...headed for the other side of the globe...along with my heart...
I am proud and I am scared...and I am hopeful that his actions will make a difference...that I will endure.

Kathy Hartmann, whose son Tim is a Staff Sergeant serving in Suweyrah, Iraq, sent me these pictures of Tim. He keeps Kathy and his family and friends up to date with a newsletter. I want to say thanks, right here, to Tim for his service, and to Kathy for the great photos.

Julie Schrock sent me this photo of her son Max, a Marine MP-K-9 Unit. Max and Paco are currently serving in Fallujah. From Julie's note, it sounds like they are inseparable. This is Paco's 3rd time in Iraq. I'm sending my gratitude and warmest wishes for a safe return home to Max and Paco, and many, many thanks to Julie for sending these pictures.

All day today I have thought about how profoundly fortunate our family is that Ben returned from two tours in Iraq safe and sound. Many families have not been so lucky, and today I have wept for them and those they have lost. Yesterday there was an exquisite essay in The New York Times Magazine on the Lives page titled "Ferguson: Remembering those you didn't even know." "Ferguson" tells the story of a young marine who the author, Michael Norman, had just met in Vietnam, being killed in an instant before the author's eyes. "So I took Ferguson home with me," Norman concludes 40 years later. "Who else was going to remember him? Who else among us knew him and could carry his good name, his reputation, the memory of him as a marine? Remembering was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another."