an excerpt of an e-mail letter I sent to my niece last night

To; Machinist Mate, E-2, Sarah *********
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey niece how are you doing? I worried about you until you called and said you made it back to Diego. That's a long damned drive when you didn't get enough sleep for three days.

I wanted to talk to you over the Holidays about joining the Navy, and how proud of you I am. With the rush and visitors we never really had the chance to talk too much.
Your generation has been called a lot of things, the kinder quotes are ‘uninterested’ and ‘self-centered.’

Yet I see those returning to this tiny town in the middle of the country in uniforms, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. And I know it will be ok. When the time came to pay your dues as an American you stepped up, sacrificing a goodly part of your life to serve as needed.
Each of you signed up for their own reasons, some for a chance at a better education, others because they wanted to ‘see the world’. Some of them are seeing a lot more of it than they bargained for. I talk to a few of you as much as I can, letting you all know that in spite of the press’ constant barrage about how low morale is a lot of us know better. We stand and wait, and we worry about our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews - just as parents and family have for millennia.

When you told me you had been assigned to an H-3 squadron, part of a spec-ops group I knew you had proven yourself. The best and only the best make that cut.

I watched you talk about it, when the subject came up the silly 20 year old girl vanished and a professional emerged. Someone who knew just how important the job you had in supporting the missions you said you couldn’t talk about. Dedicated, with full knowledge of the vital part you play.

I am proud of you Sarah, we all are.

Uncle Richard, 12-2-2003