Three Heroes

Following are updates from three of our soldier heroes: my grandson Johnny Walton (raising money for college) beginning his second tour of duty in Iraq; our new friend “E” in Guantanamo, Cuba; and PV’s own Brian Weiss back from Djibouti. I saw Brian at the Farmer’s Market and he looked just great. Now his mom needs to fatten him up a bit.

Gramps,
Sorry, I haven't been connected here for the last two days or so but I got the package Thursday. Thank you. The suck though is that my commander was killed Wednesday. Captain Mattingly was shot down while flying a Kiowa. I'll send you some pictures to show you what we did for him here and who he was. He was actually one of my best, top two. Now were back on mission, not forgetting, but doing the mission with him pushing our thoughts, doing what he would want us to do and keeping on fighting the fight. It's finally cooling down; I think it was only 110 degrees today. I’ll let you know when there is more to tell.

Love ya,
Johnny


Hi Bill,
I forgot if I properly thanked you for the package that came in more than two weeks ago. If not, I apologize for the late gratitude. Things are moving along here in Gitmo. I have 8 more weeks or so and then I rotate back to the States.

Things I have learned down here:

1. The media will undoubtedly portray the troops in the worst possible light. We absolutely bend over backwards for the detainees down here. In fact, they are happier than our guys. They know they are manipulating us. All they lack is their freedom to leave their cell. But we jump through hoops for all else.

2. Senior leadership stand by their people. When I was enlisted, I was too far removed from the senior officers to view their leadership. Admiral Harris is a great representative of GTMO. He is a forceful and straight-forward leader. Coming from the pilot community, people were curious as to what he would bring. I got here right after him, and from what I see, he has brought the quality of life up.

3. The hardest job is being a guard here, hands down. God bless those guys. If you are a prayer (as in one who prays) pray for them. They are professional in a very challenging environment. But of course, all onehears about is Abu Gareeb, the immature and dishonorable actions of handful of individuals. We have American heroes (in my book) working hard at GTMO every day for our country with little acknowledgment.

I am sharing the care packages with the above said heroes. The books will undoubtedly be appreciated by them. The beef jerky is all but gone. My guys came by my office and snacked on it. The CDs are great. I gave the golf mags to a guy who is an awesome golfer. He loves them.

Thanks again,Your support is always appreciated,
E

For those of you who haven’t heard, I am back. Please excuse me for not emailing all of you sooner but my email has been down since I got home. After 6 calls to tech support I think I have finally resolved the issue (cross your fingers). I am a little behind on emails but I will try to catch up asap. I have another week or so of active duty left, after that I should be on leave with the Marine Corps for almost a month. Thank you very much for all of the support during my deployment!

Talk to you soon.
Brian

Dori said: “So, when’s the party?”