thedrifter
11-09-08, 07:28 AM
Dallas Veterans Day Parade to honor Waxahachie family with two sons who served in Iraq
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, November 9, 2008
By ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News
rappleton@dallasnews.com
With two sons in Iraq, Kellie Law was never far from the telephone.
"You live on the edge, and you live on your knees," she said. "You never relax when they are over there."
Their son Jesse, a Marine sergeant, served three tours – 22 months – in Iraq. His younger brother, Matt, an Army private, is preparing for his second stint next year.
Ms. Law and her husband, Michael, have been among the fortunate. Their sons remain physically unharmed, though not untouched, by a conflict that has killed or wounded about 22,000 U.S. military personnel since March 2003.
But regardless of whether those in a war zone become casualties, the experience can be transforming and grinding – for survivors and their loved ones.
That's the theme – sacrifices at home and on the battlefield – of this year's Dallas Veterans Day Parade and observance downtown Tuesday. The Waxahachie couple and Jesse will serve as honorary grand marshals.
"I think of their sacrifices more than ours," said Ms. Law of what troops endure. "After someone goes to war, you're never going to have that person back."
Their life will never be the same.
The Laws were selected to represent military families because of their contributions to the nation's latest war and warriors, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Solemene, an organizer of the event.
"There are many families that could have been chosen," Mr. Solemene said. "They have two sons in the military and have done much to support the troops."
Ms. Law helped organize Ellis County Military Moms, a group that collected and mailed clothing, food and other donations to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than two years.
She said they are honored and humbled to be included in the Veterans Day observance, but just did what they could to help.
"I don't see where we've sacrificed anything," said Ms. Law. "The veterans are the ones who give."
'It's the injustices'
Jesse Law joined the Marines in 2002, after graduating from Ovilla Christian School.
"It was a coming-of-age thing, wanting to be a man and prove myself," he said. "I figured it would help me grow up and would be a good learning experience."
In his time with the 1st Marine Division, Sgt. Law, who was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wielded a gun that shoots mortars and patrolled for insurgents in the volatile Anbar province of western Iraq.
He escaped several explosions, including the blast of a land mine that destroyed his Humvee near the Syrian border. He lost a dozen or so friends in the war. And he saved the life of a buddy burned in a convoy bombing, receiving a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his effort.
Sgt. Law, now 24 and subject to recall from the Marines' Individual Ready Reserve, has been home for two years, working at his parents' shop, attending community college, sorting through his recent past.
When he enlisted, he was gung-ho, accepting the government's contention that the tyrant Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and needed to be eliminated. "I thought, 'Let's do it,' " he said.
But when the weapons claim proved false, and as the deaths, destruction and financial costs mounted, he became disillusioned with a war effort that seemed, he said, to have no clear, driving mission.
"It made me question the intentions and motivations of our country," he said. "It made you not sure what you were fighting for."
A tattoo of the Marine Corps' eagle, globe and anchor emblem dominates his upper left arm. He is proud of his patriotism and service, proud to have handed out food and escorted Iraqi children to school, to have helped oust Saddam Hussein and try to stabilize a country torn by war.
"I'm grateful for the experience," he said. "I wish there was more concrete evidence of what good I did. I want to know that what I did mattered."
Through war, Sgt. Law came to "realize the true value of life and how easy it can be over." These days, that awareness can fuel "anger issues," he said.
"I can get irritated by ungratefulness and selfishness and watching people get upset about little things and not being appreciative of what they have," he said.
He also has "issues with God" about "why he took the Marines he did. It's the injustices: why some die and others don't."
Whether he is one of the countless number of U.S. combat veterans suffering from some degree of post-traumatic stress disorder is unclear. Doctors have told him he displays symptoms, he said, but, "I think I'm doing fairly well."
"PTSD is hard to measure and it can't be ignored," he said. "But you can overcome it and it shouldn't be an excuse. My inspiration is World War II veterans who came home and picked up where they left off."
Sgt. Law returned from war to a marriage that ended in divorce. In time, he hopes to have a college degree and someday work in the business end of the music industry.
"I gave up on being a rock star," he said.
Future plans
Pfc. Matt Law, an Army mechanic stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., hopes to make a career of the military and become a doctor.
Inspired by his brother, the younger Law enlisted after his junior year at Ovilla Christian School and entered active duty after graduating in 2004.
His first taste of Iraq was "awesome ... a life-changing experience," he said. And at age 23, he's awaiting his return with the 7th Engineer Battalion, planned for next summer.
"I don't necessarily agree that we should be there," Pfc. Law said, "but I think while we're there, we're doing a good thing."
Such as helping rebuild Iraq. "We did a lot of damage," he said.
His first deployment "made me more of a man," Pfc. Law said. Now married to his high school sweetheart, he said his next stint will "make me grow up a little more."
But his brother's experiences with street patrols and convoy bombings are enough for one family, Pfc. Law said.
"I don't want the same stuff that happened to him to happen to me."
Ellie
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, November 9, 2008
By ROY APPLETON / The Dallas Morning News
rappleton@dallasnews.com
With two sons in Iraq, Kellie Law was never far from the telephone.
"You live on the edge, and you live on your knees," she said. "You never relax when they are over there."
Their son Jesse, a Marine sergeant, served three tours – 22 months – in Iraq. His younger brother, Matt, an Army private, is preparing for his second stint next year.
Ms. Law and her husband, Michael, have been among the fortunate. Their sons remain physically unharmed, though not untouched, by a conflict that has killed or wounded about 22,000 U.S. military personnel since March 2003.
But regardless of whether those in a war zone become casualties, the experience can be transforming and grinding – for survivors and their loved ones.
That's the theme – sacrifices at home and on the battlefield – of this year's Dallas Veterans Day Parade and observance downtown Tuesday. The Waxahachie couple and Jesse will serve as honorary grand marshals.
"I think of their sacrifices more than ours," said Ms. Law of what troops endure. "After someone goes to war, you're never going to have that person back."
Their life will never be the same.
The Laws were selected to represent military families because of their contributions to the nation's latest war and warriors, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Bill Solemene, an organizer of the event.
"There are many families that could have been chosen," Mr. Solemene said. "They have two sons in the military and have done much to support the troops."
Ms. Law helped organize Ellis County Military Moms, a group that collected and mailed clothing, food and other donations to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan for more than two years.
She said they are honored and humbled to be included in the Veterans Day observance, but just did what they could to help.
"I don't see where we've sacrificed anything," said Ms. Law. "The veterans are the ones who give."
'It's the injustices'
Jesse Law joined the Marines in 2002, after graduating from Ovilla Christian School.
"It was a coming-of-age thing, wanting to be a man and prove myself," he said. "I figured it would help me grow up and would be a good learning experience."
In his time with the 1st Marine Division, Sgt. Law, who was part of the 2003 invasion of Iraq, wielded a gun that shoots mortars and patrolled for insurgents in the volatile Anbar province of western Iraq.
He escaped several explosions, including the blast of a land mine that destroyed his Humvee near the Syrian border. He lost a dozen or so friends in the war. And he saved the life of a buddy burned in a convoy bombing, receiving a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for his effort.
Sgt. Law, now 24 and subject to recall from the Marines' Individual Ready Reserve, has been home for two years, working at his parents' shop, attending community college, sorting through his recent past.
When he enlisted, he was gung-ho, accepting the government's contention that the tyrant Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and needed to be eliminated. "I thought, 'Let's do it,' " he said.
But when the weapons claim proved false, and as the deaths, destruction and financial costs mounted, he became disillusioned with a war effort that seemed, he said, to have no clear, driving mission.
"It made me question the intentions and motivations of our country," he said. "It made you not sure what you were fighting for."
A tattoo of the Marine Corps' eagle, globe and anchor emblem dominates his upper left arm. He is proud of his patriotism and service, proud to have handed out food and escorted Iraqi children to school, to have helped oust Saddam Hussein and try to stabilize a country torn by war.
"I'm grateful for the experience," he said. "I wish there was more concrete evidence of what good I did. I want to know that what I did mattered."
Through war, Sgt. Law came to "realize the true value of life and how easy it can be over." These days, that awareness can fuel "anger issues," he said.
"I can get irritated by ungratefulness and selfishness and watching people get upset about little things and not being appreciative of what they have," he said.
He also has "issues with God" about "why he took the Marines he did. It's the injustices: why some die and others don't."
Whether he is one of the countless number of U.S. combat veterans suffering from some degree of post-traumatic stress disorder is unclear. Doctors have told him he displays symptoms, he said, but, "I think I'm doing fairly well."
"PTSD is hard to measure and it can't be ignored," he said. "But you can overcome it and it shouldn't be an excuse. My inspiration is World War II veterans who came home and picked up where they left off."
Sgt. Law returned from war to a marriage that ended in divorce. In time, he hopes to have a college degree and someday work in the business end of the music industry.
"I gave up on being a rock star," he said.
Future plans
Pfc. Matt Law, an Army mechanic stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y., hopes to make a career of the military and become a doctor.
Inspired by his brother, the younger Law enlisted after his junior year at Ovilla Christian School and entered active duty after graduating in 2004.
His first taste of Iraq was "awesome ... a life-changing experience," he said. And at age 23, he's awaiting his return with the 7th Engineer Battalion, planned for next summer.
"I don't necessarily agree that we should be there," Pfc. Law said, "but I think while we're there, we're doing a good thing."
Such as helping rebuild Iraq. "We did a lot of damage," he said.
His first deployment "made me more of a man," Pfc. Law said. Now married to his high school sweetheart, he said his next stint will "make me grow up a little more."
But his brother's experiences with street patrols and convoy bombings are enough for one family, Pfc. Law said.
"I don't want the same stuff that happened to him to happen to me."
Ellie