I'm Tired

[Messenger]

I received the following in an email today. It is supposedly written by an Army officer that has served from Vietnam to Iraq. The identity, rank and experiences may or may not be true, I really don’t know nor do I have the energy to track the author down to verify this information.

I am sharing this with you because the author of this letter has managed to place in to words what I have had thoughts about for a long time. I agree whole heartily with the comments that follow in this letter. It is very well written and I think communicates the thoughts of many if not most Military, former and present and most defiantly me.

Disclaimer;
I reserve the right to poke fun at anyone one that was not a Marine regardless how well they write a letter LOL

"I'm Tired"

Two weeks ago, as I was starting my sixth month of
duty in Iraq , I was
forced to return to the USA for surgery for an injury
I sustained prior to
my deployment. With luck, I'll return to Iraq to
finish my tour.

I left Baghdad and a war that has every indication
that we are winning, to
return to a demoralized country much like the one I
returned to in 1971
after my tour in Vietnam . Maybe it's because I'll turn
60 years old in just
four months, but I'm tired:

I'm tired of spineless politicians, both Democrat and
Republican who lack
the courage, fortitude, and character to see these
difficult tasks through.

I'm tired of the hypocrisy of politicians who want to
rewrite history when
the going gets tough.

I'm tired of the disingenuous clamor from those that
claim they 'Support the
Troops' by wanting them to 'Cut and Run' before
victory is achieved.

I'm tired of a mainstream media that can only focus on
car bombs and
casualty reports because they are too afraid to leave
the safety of their
hotels to report on the courage and success our brave
men and women are
having on the battlefield.

I'm tired that so many Americans think you can rebuild
a dictatorship into a
democracy over night.

I'm tired that so many ignore the bravery of the Iraqi
people to go to the
voting booth and freely elect a Constitution and soon
a permanent
Parliament.

I'm tired of the so called 'Elite Left' that prolongs
this war by giving aid
and comfort to our enemy, just as they did during the
Vietnam War.

I'm tired of antiwar protesters showing up at the
funerals of our fallen
soldiers. A family who's loved ones gave their life in
a just and noble
cause, only to be cruelly tormented on the funeral day
by cowardly
protesters is beyond shameful.

I'm tired that my generation, the Baby Boom -- Vietnam
generation, who have
such a weak backbone that they can't stomach seeing
the difficult tasks
through to victory.

I'm tired that some are more concerned about the
treatment of captiv es than
they are the slaughter and beheading of our citizens
and allies.

I'm tired that when we find mass graves it is seldom
reported by the press,
but mistreat a prisoner and it is front page news.

Mostly, I'm tired that the people of this great nation
didn't learn from
history that there is no substitute for Victory.

Sincerely,
Joe Repya,
Lieutenant Colonel , U. S. Army
101st Airborne Division

Please send to all your e-mail friends
This needs to get all over the U S A.

[thedrifter]

:thumbup:

Ellie

[003XXMarineDAD]

I had this put in our local paper last month and took a lot of heat for it but tough Sh**.
This is the one right our armed forces fight for and I'am damn proud of them doing it.

Dear Editor
Our group of Support the Troops participants were glad to have you come over and interview some of us at Tuesdays rally.
The one thing I did want to make sure to be understood is that many of us out on Tuesday were parents of young men serving in the military by choice and are proud of them and what they do.
When your reporter asked what the difference was between how we support the troops and how the antiwar groups did I tried to explain to her.
The anti war groups says they support the troops but not the mission, this is a oxymoron .
The troops have a mission just like we have jobs in our civilian life . Theirs is to protect the country and the constitution of the United States. They go on the orders of the President and no matter which party is in power they do this with out fail. They did it When President Clinton sent them to Bosnia and Somalia.
They now do it for President Bush they have but one commander and chief at a time not all of congress and the senate. This war is not a quick fix to any problem.
These young men and women go into harms way and do a job just as we do here at home. The difference is sometimes they get shot at. They do their jobs and do it well , but it never get recognized here at home in the press. They have help Iraq hold two elections and are helping the country get started up .
This country took many years to get where we are and it did not happen over night. We have had many growing pains and many were painful. A civil war comes to mind.
We need to remember that freedom and liberty are not free and it is the actions of our armed forces that help give us that right to speak as we seem fit .
The one thing that does bother me is that in our age of instant news and reporting is that our enemy does use it against us faster then we can prevent it.
In the second world war the news took longer to get home and put out. Just think if the country had known on June 6 ,1944 we had lost 4,900 young men and women in one day.
We have lost over 3,00 in four years and we will lose more ,but if we do not succeed in this war we might as just be ready to surrender right afterwards. The radical Islam terrorist’s will not just go away and say we won and you can go home. They will be emboldened and will spread their ideas farther and with more violence then we can comprehend.
We are there and our young men and women serving know this and they are still doing the job.
It is ours to stand behind them and let them complete it.
Dale Parrish
LaSalle , CO

[semperfi170]

:thumbup: :thumbup: to the original post of this thread and also to Marine Dad's post!!!:thumbup:

[DevilDog1979]

This does not pass the "smell" test. Nam ended in '73. This person - tho well meaning - would have to have no less then 34 years in the service.

Sadly, sometimes people make up stuff to make a good point. Never heard of a 34 year man in the military - ever. Sh!t can this. We don't need fabrications to speak the truth.

[003XXMarineDAD]

I did hear the army was did have some they brought back as old as their late 50's so it could be possible.

[bootlace15]

is'nt it great that we have the privivledge to criticise before we investigate?After all is'nt that what we fought for,freedom to speak and express?

bootlace15 out

[semperfi170]

devildog79,

Officers are never totally retired apparently, if I remember correctly they can be called back after 30 at the pleasure of the government. It isn't usually the case unless they have a particular skill set. The sentiment/feelings behind the post are true. If the individual PEBD was early 1975 they would only have 32 years in service. You would almost expect that this individual would be a minimum of a full bird.

[Dave Coup]

I know of at least one Marine General who retired at 42 yrs. Lt. Gen. Paul Van Riper. Having said that a 37 yr Lt.Col. seems a bit of a stretch, never the less I agree with Bootlace. I also think the letter is well written and certainly expresses my sentiments.

Semper Fidelis
Carry on

Dave

[drumcorpssnare]

Devil Dog1979- Lt. Col. Commandant Archibald Henderson was the Commandant of the Marine Corps for 37 years.
drumcorpssnare:usmc:

[DevilDog1979]

Good point. Officers are never totally retired. And we are talking Army here, which is desperate for warm bodies.

I could understand him only being a Lt Colonel if he began as enlisted. Usually the highest ranks are reserved for the Academy boys. Still ... 'Nam to Iraq?

My point in this is we don't need to embellish when we have the truth on our side. When one of these well-meaning people get caught in a lie, it tarnishes the truth they were seeking to show. I choose to err on the side on caution.

DD



devildog79,

Officers are never totally retired apparently, if I remember correctly they can be called back after 30 at the pleasure of the government. It isn't usually the case unless they have a particular skill set. The sentiment/feelings behind the post are true. If the individual PEBD was early 1975 they would only have 32 years in service. You would almost expect that this individual would be a minimum of a full bird.

[cturner]

From powerlineblog.com:

Col. Repya Reports for Duty
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/4997738.html) tells the extraordinary story of a Minnesota National Guardsman, Lt. Col. Joe Repya, who will soon leave for Iraq, having volunteered to return to active duty at age 58.
Joe commanded a rifle platoon in Vietnam and survived--something of a miracle in itself--and flew helicopters in the first Gulf War. This time around, he's expecting a desk assignment, although he says, somewhat wistfully, that he'd love to fly helicopters again if the Army will let him.

[DevilDog1979]

From powerlineblog.com:

Col. Repya Reports for Duty
The Minneapolis Star Tribune (http://www.startribune.com/stories/1762/4997738.html) tells the extraordinary story of a Minnesota National Guardsman, Lt. Col. Joe Repya, who will soon leave for Iraq, having volunteered to return to active duty at age 58.
Joe commanded a rifle platoon in Vietnam and survived--something of a miracle in itself--and flew helicopters in the first Gulf War. This time around, he's expecting a desk assignment, although he says, somewhat wistfully, that he'd love to fly helicopters again if the Army will let him.

There is a huge difference between one being 58 years old in 101st Airborne (as he signed in his "I'm Tired" article) - and 58 years old and being in the National Guard.

I told you it did not pass the small test. I believe you can be in the National Guard until you are 100 years old or something like that. ;)

DD

[Sgt Leprechaun]

And, the point is what, exactly? His sentiment is right on. He's a LtCol. He's in the army.

This pretty much refutes those who say he's not with the 101st....

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-03-14-boomer-soldiers_x.htm

Note that in the photo, he IS, in fact, wearing a 101st Airborne patch on his left sleeve, indicating that is his current unit of assignment.

It DOES pass the smell test, therefore. This "research" took me about 5 minutes.