Posted on 11/19/2004 8:23:25 PM PST by Dubya
Gary Qualls had put the letter from Louis down and tried to busy himself.
It had been hard to read the letter from his son, and he couldn't reply, not right then.
There's a lot going on here, Louis wrote. The next month will be some of the most serious combat the war has yet to see. Well, I'm right in the middle of it. I think I'm truly scared.
Dad, I need your prayers and your advice more than ever.
It was Tuesday, and Gary Qualls had returned to his house in Temple after a long weekend of hunting with an old Army friend. The trip had been a temporary distraction from worrying about his 20-year-old son, a Marine lance corporal from a reserve unit in Grand Prairie.
But distractions were always temporary. Reminders of Louis were everywhere - on CNN, on the front porch where his 1979 Harley-Davidson was parked, in the photos of Louis wearing his Temple High football uniform.
I know you've always been there for me. I just can't wait to come home. I want you to know that whatever happens in the next weeks, I have always looked up to you and I always will.
I love you and look forward to seeing you soon.
Your son,
Louis.
Louis joined the Marines after graduating from Temple High in 2001. It was hardly a surprise. He was all-boy, learning to shoot a rifle at a tender age, competing in martial arts, riding his Harley with his dad.
In high school, he wore the Air Force blue uniform of the Junior ROTC, carried the flag in the JROTC color guard, played linebacker for the Wildcats, ran track and made good grades too.
"He had a good pair of hands and he was quick on his feet," his dad said. "He played defense very well."
He was a squared-away kid in high school, quiet and attentive, according to his JROTC instructor, retired Lt. Col. Sid Thurston.
Mostly, he wanted to be like his dad. Gary had served in the Army and the National Guard for years and raised two sons almost entirely by himself.
"He had the vision that he wanted to serve in the military," Thurston said. "He looked up to his dad as an influence in his life."
In July, Louis got orders to mobilize with 85 Marines from Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines. They said their goodbyes to family and friends on a hot morning outside the reserve center in Grand Prairie, then boarded buses.
"As soon as the mission came up, his hand came up," said Lt. Col. Roger Garay, the battalion's inspector. "His heart was in it."
Gary proudly told Louis' commander that day, "Sir, you give that boy half a chance and he'll give you everything he's got."
Those in Louis' unit were sent to Iraq to drive the heavy trucks for the infantry, but they did a lot more. In letters and e-mails, Louis told his father of house-to-house searches and how humbling they were.
"He told me, 'I thought I had a few problems when I left here,' " Gary said. "These people were so poor, they had dirt floors and a sheet hanging in the corner with a can for a toilet.
"He realized how lucky he truly was. He gained a lot more respect for life."
With less than three months of a seven-month tour behind him, Louis sent his dad an e-mail recently in which he said, cryptically, that he would be tied up for three or four weeks and wouldn't be in contact for a while.
"I knew where he was," his dad said. "Fallujah."
That was why the letter that came on Tuesday meant so much, a surprise card that Louis had picked up in a store on post, the kind with heartfelt words about sons and fathers.
About an hour after Gary read the letter inside the card came a knock on the door. Louis' younger brother, David, answered it. He came into the kitchen, where Gary had the refrigerator open.
"Dad, there's three Marines on our front porch and they want to talk to you," he said.
Gary knew why they were there. Fallujah.
"All I could do was stand at my door and say, 'No, not my baby.' "
There was a long silence as he remembered.
"Then I let them in."
Texans in Iraq
• Marine Lance Cpl. Louis Qualls, 20, of Temple died Tuesday as a result of enemy action in Fallujah, the Defense Department announced Thursday.
• Qualls was assigned to the Marine Corps Reserve's Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 14th Marines, in Grand Prairie.
• Qualls was at least the 110th Texan to die in the war in Iraq. Chris Vaughn, (817) 390-7547 cvaughn@star-telegram.com
© 2004 Star-Telegram and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.dfw.com
"I wonder why Micheal Moore and Kevin Sites are still alive"--
Because they have sold their souls to Satan and God has allowed Satan to rule the world until Judgement Day---please, keep the Faith and know that God does rule over All---there will be a day of His retribution for all the evil that has been done over the ages--
Amen!
Lord bless this fallen Marine and his family and friends. Take him home where there is no fear or pain. Amen.
Prayers to the Qualls.
May God comfort all who this brave young man's life touched!!
BUMP for a hero.
God Bless him and keep him always.
A true hero.
Semper Fi
This is so hard to read. I'm just so proud of him and his family. My prayers are certainly with them because no matter what, He still knows what's happening down here, and yet, in so many ways I feel so guilty that my own Marine son is no longer in Iraq. Then I just get so angry when I hear most of the news via MSM.
5.56mm
I had the same reaction.
May I encourage you to send your post as a letter to the editor of a local paper in Temple?
It communicates the true cost of freedom, and it may be a balm to Qualls family.
I have two sons of miltary age, not in service. To lose one would be an extreme test of my faith.
When John Donne answered the question of for whom the bell tolls, replying, "It tolls for thee", we all feel the pain of this father, but we can never feel it as deeply as he does.
Fallujah is not worth one of these fine young men.
Where do we get such men?
Better yet, why do we deserve them?
Semper Fi.
"Dammit. I hate this. That such good men are killed by such parasites."
That bothers me, that really bothers me and makes me cry every time I read an account like that.
My emotions say to hell with it all - just bomb the s**t out of all Arabs and be done with it but, that would betray our brave soldiers who are working so hard trying to teach Arabs compassion and the meaning of freedom.
Prayers Done
Just up the road from Us ping
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young or old alike,
And today may be the last chance
you get to hold your loved one tight.
So if you're waiting for tomorrow, why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day,
My prayers going up for this family. Lord, we pray for comfort for this family in their loss. Please hold this father in your arms and give him peace. In Jesus' precious name. Amen
Blessings,
trussell
If you want on/off my prayer ping list, please let me know. All requests happily honored.
Thank you for the ping.
God Bless the Qualls family.
"We sleep safely at night because rough men stand ready to visit violence on those who would harm us."
May he rest in peace. It's really sad to see our young and brave die so soon. May forever God bless him.
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