Letter to a Peace Protesting Mom from her Military Son.

[lilylangtree]

God bless this young man and all of our military force.

[PhiKapMom]

Corpsman of all the services are some of the most special guys and a lot of times make the difference to a soldier between life and death.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

corpsman

The squid can call himself Ethel Merman if he likes but if he wants to stay healthy he better not call any of those Marines in Charlie Company 1st Battalion 4th Marines a soldier.

[trussell]

it's a shame this boy has to bear the burden of a protesting peacenik mom while he's off trying to make the world a safer place

How can any mother show such disrespect for their child? If my children were old enough to be over there fighting for our country, I would be petrified that something would happen to them, but I darn sure would not be protesting against them!!

[Old Airplane Driver]

Navy corpsmen accompany Marine combat units in battle. He is a "soldier" in every sense of the word. I had the honor of meeting a Navy corpsman last fall who earned a Congressional Medal of Honor in Vietnam. Here is a link if you wish to read further about this brave man: Donald E. Ballard - National Medical War Memorial and Youth Education Center. Donald Ballard and the Marine who's life he saved, Charles Wright, are trying to raise money for a memorial and education project to enlighten people as to what a corpsman does.

[rwfromkansas]

You seem to be making a huge deal out of the word soldier. Who gives a crap what he calls himself if he is fighting for us????

And yes, this is real no matter what he called himself.

[MN_Rightside]

This one has to be true since it stays alive and despite the fact, as an ex-corpsman, I would not have ever called a Marine a soldier. Guess times have changed so now Marines and Army get along.

[jigsaw]

This wonderful poster came from a page full of marvelous art at http://www.911justice.org/nav_pictures.html

It's a MUST SEE!

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

You seem to be making a huge deal out of the word soldier. Who gives a crap what he calls himself if he is fighting for us????

I always find it humorous when an ignorant nonhacker like yourself who hasn't served one day in the FMF demonstrates for all the world to see that their head is planted firmly in their dirt chute. You should be providing commentary for MSNBC, puke.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Times haven't changed at all. Lewis needs an education.

[libertylover]

We are only afraid of Americans not being able to understand why we are here.

I can relate very closely to what this young man is saying even though I didn't even come close to a combat situation during my service. My only other fear was that I'd let my buddies down when they needed me.

BTW, being brave doesn't mean you're not afraid; being brave means you're afraid and you perform the job anyway.

[gcruse]

If my children were old enough to be over there fighting for our country, I would be petrified that something would happen to them

She probably would be the first on her block to hang a yellow ribbon on the fence because her kid is over there, but won't fly the flag because it's, well, it's just too militaristic.  Fly the flag.  Flush the yellow.

[LiteKeeper]

read later

[antaresequity]

It would appear to me that this mother doesn't deserve such a fine son.

How contemptuous and arrogant of you.

First off parents dont "deserve" to get one type of son or another...Secondly, as misguided as she may be...this 'son' loves his mother...and through him she might see the light...and if she doesnt he will still love her and she will still love him

Think about what you just said. Sometimes the self righteousness around here is nauseating.

[rwfromkansas]

Excuse me for caring that he is over there serving his nation, while you care to nitpick about proper titles for him.

I admit I know squat about what his proper title is etc. but it is stupid that you are spending more time caring about that than the fact that he is fighting for the country he loves. Very short-sighted on your part.

[Texas Mom]

United States military besides the Army refer to themselves as a "soldier." When they are encluding everyone they do.. Sort of short rather then going through the whole list, Soldier, Sailor, Airmen, Marines, Seals. My husband is a former marine and I asked that very question once and he should know.

Also this is a Navy Corpsman and not safely tucked away on a ship. He is on the line with the marines, gone through marine training and wearing a marine uniform.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

As you surprisingly admitted, you don't know squat. Until you've actually earned the title, shut your piehole.

[American Soldier]

I'm not claiming he doesn't "deserve" the title if he wants it. This is just kind of odd. Maybe they should call them Marines. Marines really don't react well to be called soldiers (I learned this the hard way!) Before I knew anything about the military, I was once laughed at almost to the point of tears for referring to servicemen collectively as "soldiers" regardless of component. "Warrior" or "serviceman" is more common.

But in the end, as he has his butt on the line over there while my sorry carcass is stateside, I'll gladly call him whatever he wants!

[rwfromkansas]

I hope you will shut yours...unless it will be to salute his bravery.