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| Home Front: WoT |
| Coming Home: What I learned serving in Iraq. |
| 2005-04-12 |
| by Greg Moore, Wall Street Journal EFL. Go read it all, it's heartbreaking. . . . My release from Fort Drum came earlier than expected, so when I pulled into my driveway at noon the house was empty. I dropped my bags inside and walked alone through the rooms, soaking in the images and smells that had been only a memory during ten months in Iraq. My older son's first-grade teacher had been wonderful to me while I was away. She sent school updates and pictures via e-mail almost weekly. So when I popped my head into her classroom she came running and gave me a "welcome home" hug. "Easton is practicing a song. Why don't you surprise him?" My heart was racing. I followed the sound of the piano and the little voices singing, then stood and watched. Trickles of love and pride started involuntarily down my cheeks as I listened to my son. He has gotten so big. The anticipation built as I waited for him to see me. The little girl next to him was the first to notice the uniformed man standing in the doorway. The image she saw and the facts she had been told were doing battle in her brain. Then her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open. "Easton! Easton . . . your Daddy's here!" she said in an electrified whisper. My son's head snapped around. The excitement and disbelief on his face is something I will never forget. I motioned him to me and he ran into my open arms. There was no hiding my tears, and I didn't care to. This was the day I had waited for. . . . |
| Posted by:Mike |
| #5 I live 10 minute's away from a A.F.B. and when the troops come home in the military bus into the base...many line the road, with flag's cheering them all on and a BIG WELCOME home from thsoe who wait hour's along the roadside. There are many more stories like this out there- this one was TOPS. Andrea Jackson |
| Posted by: Andrea 2005-04-12 8:09:09 PM |
| #4 It's more heart-swelling than heartbreaking, I'd say. Well worth reading. Welcome home, Mr. Moore, and thank you for your service. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2005-04-12 2:28:16 PM |
| #3 I have read so many great pieces written by the soldiers, both while they are in-country and after they have come home. This one was hard to read though. My nephew had the same Christmas wish after my brother died (medical issue, he wasn't in the military). I'm glad that Mr. Moore's son's wish came true. |
| Posted by: Remoteman 2005-04-12 1:37:02 PM |
| #2 and kudos to the WSJournal for publishing it |
| Posted by: mhw 2005-04-12 9:37:11 AM |
| #1 He hits every note. Beautifully written. He expresses, perfectly, what every returning soldier should be able to experience - and that quiet resolve that has made them so successful and such role models of honor. Welcome Home, Greg. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-04-12 6:24:11 AM |