E-mails from the front lines

OPERATION: IRAQI FREEDOM
E-mails from the front lines
Marine bashes media portrayal of war, urges 'truth' be told

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: April 5, 2003
1:00 a.m. Eastern


By Diana Lynne
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com

As coalition forces move in on Baghdad, anxiety mounts for one California newlywed as she waits for word on the status of her Marine husband.

"I'm very proud. I just want him to come home," Stacey Wicklund told WorldNetDaily from her parents' home in Anoka, Minn., where she has gone to wait out her husband's deployment amid the comfort of both of their families.

Since the war began in Iraq, Wicklund has been glued to the television watching for a glimpse of her husband and to follow the activities of the 1st Marine Regiment, of which he is the headquarters company commander.

"I can't stop watching it. I watch it every spare moment I can. I love having the media coverage, but it's like torture sometimes," Wicklund said. "My heart pounds all day long."

Just days from his 30th birthday, 1st Lt. Jon Wicklund with the 1st Marine division, left Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the Gulf on Jan. 17, a mere three weeks after the couple's wedding.

A dedicated member of the military for three years, he hails from a family that one could argue has made more than its fair share of sacrifice for its country. Wicklund's father, Elroy, is a retired major in the Air Force and served in Vietnam as a navigator in the F-4 Phantom. His mother was a 1st lieutenant in the Air Force and a registered nurse. His younger brother, Chris, is a police officer. The youngest son in the Wicklund family is a 2nd lieutenant in the Army about to be deployed.

"Now I know what my mother went through when I was in Vietnam," Elroy Wicklund remarked to his son Chris.

This time around, the Wicklund clan is benefiting from the proliferation of the Internet. Earlier this week, Stacey Wicklund received a half-dozen e-mails sent from her husband from undisclosed locations on the front lines.

"When I saw them I was like 'Oh, my gosh!'" Stacey Wicklund told WND. "I was so excited. I never expected to get an e-mail."

The first e-mail read (Note: WorldNetDaily has chosen to leave the contents of Wicklund's e-mails largely unedited.):


Hi baby!!
Can you believe it they have internet out here in the field now. This is probably just a one shot deal but reply to me as soon as you can and maybe this will last for a while. I hope you are able to get this email.

First of all I just want you to know that I am safe out here and that there is not to much to worry about. I am mostly in the rear and will be safe baby. So don't worry to much about me okay? Just want you to know that I love you more than anything in the whole wide world and that I can't wait to get back to you and hold you in my arms.

It's starting to rain right now and the computers are outside. Will write again.

Love you so much

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/ar...TICLE_ID=31890


Sempers,

Roger