Happiness . . . an email from our son

[Karlynn]

Very interesting Mary. My daughter's boyfriend just joined the Army and with Special Forces designated as his choice. He got a bigger signing bonus for selecting it (although that's was his first choice anyway, but it commits him to 5 years) and they told him the SF members are given a $100,000 re-up bonus because they have a such a hard time keeping their special forces guys in and it costs so much to train them. Sounds like the military had to get creative to make use of the men that they' already trained so well.

Once again, I pray that John has a very boring tour. I know you must be very proud of him.

 

[pipersmith]

So happy that you had the opportunity to talk with your son. I cannot imagine the worry that you must go through until he returns back home. Thoughts and prayers for your family - and all the others that must deal with this challenge. My heart really goes out to you!!!

 

[BDMc]

I'm Glad

I'm Glad

Mary, I hope he's able to stay in touch with you. I know when my nephew was over there we wouldn't hear anything for months at a time. Hopefully it wil be easier for your son as a civillian. I will keep you all in my prayers. Brian

 

[Guest]

Hey Mary,

Thanks for sharing this with us. You already know you have my thoughts/prayers coming to you, your son, and your entire family.

If you need anything, I'm just a call or Email away .



Cort:33swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker
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"Things get complicated when you get past 18" ... Statler Brothers ... 'Class of '57'

 

[Glenda]

Mary I can't imagine having a son over there at this time. We owe so much to these soldiers that are so brave. I'm so glad that you are able to be in contact with him. Of course you already know he is in my prayers and so are you. Hugs coming your way!

 

[Christina]

Mary,

Glad you got to talk to you son, and isn't the computer a marvelous instrument? I hope you get to talk to him often so you won't worry so much. I'll keep him and all the others in my daily prayers and pray that God will keep them safe and bring them home to their families.
Our son-in-law Trevor leaves for Afghanistan this coming Monday and will be gone for one year. He's already at Ft. Hood, TX but the unit will be shipped out this Monday. He and my daughter Michelle bought whemselves a webcam so they can talk and see eachother every day when time permits. It's also wonderful for the kids to see dad. Little Jarod (16 months) squealed when he saw Daddy yesterday for the first time on the webcam. What a blessing when you think about it. During WWII the men were gone for 3 or more years at times and many times the family didn't get any news at all about their loved ones. At that time we also didn't have TV to keep us informed with what was going on with the war, so when you think about it, times were so much more difficult.
Let us all be thankful for the things we do have.

All the best.

 

[gadgetman]

Mary,

Good to see you got to hear from and talk to your son. During Viet Nam I was stationed in Guam. I worked a Military Affiliated Radio Station (called MARS) and we ran phone patches for fellows from Viet Nam thru Guam to the states. Talk about ?high tech?. They made a collect call to whoever they were calling (I believe the cost was about $9.00 PER MINUTE via land line from Guam) but sometimes it was the only way they could talk to the states.

Our MARS buildings in Nam even had a ?private? phone booth they could go into. Private, yeah right. Of course, it wasn?t really very private because anyone in the world that was tuned to the frequency could hear the entire conversation. The radio operators had to listen to the entire conversation (both parties had to say ?OVER? after they finished what they had to say to hear the other party) and manually switch the send/receive lever. We tried to limit the calls to 3 or 4 minutes and had to ?pull the plug? to end the call, no matter what they were talking about.

Sometimes we got lucky and could contact a Ham Operator in the states and relay the phone conversation thru them, saving a lot in long distance charges. I ran a lot of calls thru Barry Goldwater?s (the United States Senator from Arizona and former presidential candidate) Radio Station.

Boy, times have really changed.

Best I ever had it on my overseas separations was when I was in Alaska and the wife was able to telephone me from her office phone to mine at no costs. Otherwise it was just good old mail call.

Hope he can stay in touch with you on a regular basis.

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[geebee]

In 1970, my then fiance was a Green Beret in Vietnam. I used to wait weeks for letters. How great is it that we can communicate instantly these days?

Mary - glad you got to "talk" to your son and pray he stays safe and is home soon.