from Some Soldiers’ Mom.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Gold Star Mother’s Day, 2008
- – - – - – -
by the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
Throughout our history, the men and women of the Armed Forces have put our Nation’s security before their own, doing their duty in the face of grave danger.
On Gold Star Mother’s Day, we pay solemn tribute to the mothers of the patriots lost serving this great Nation.
Gold Star Mothers inspire our Nation with their deep devotion to family and country. These extraordinary women serve their communities, dedicate their time to helping members of our Armed Forces and veterans, and bring comfort and hope to families whose loved ones laid down their lives in the defense of our liberty. Nothing can compensate for their sacrifice and loss, yet Gold Star Mothers demonstrate tremendous courage and resolve while working to preserve the memory and legacy of all our fallen heroes.
On this day, we honor our country’s Gold Star Mothers and remember their sons’ and daughters’ noble service and great sacrifice. We offer them our deepest gratitude and our most profound respect, and we ask for God’s blessings to be upon them and their families.
The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 (49 Stat. 1895 as amended), has designated the last Sunday in September as “Gold Star Mother’s Day” and has authorized and requested the President to issue a proclamation in its observance.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Sunday, September 28, 2008, as Gold Star Mother’s Day. I call upon all Government officials to display the flag of the United States over Government buildings on this special day. I also encourage the American people to display the flag and hold appropriate ceremonies as a public expression of our Nation’s sympathy and respect for our Gold Star Mothers.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-fourth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.
/s/ GEORGE W. BUSH
God Bless Our Gold Star Mothers… and the families of those who have perished in the service of our country.
My son, Cpl. Dark Prince, USMCR, deployed in March of this year. That day of deployment, as many of you have experienced, is the lowest point in a mil parent’s life. It just sucks like a Dyson, doesn’t it? You are right at the beginning of a deployment. The clock has just started but (thank God) it has FINALLY started!! You walk away after saying goodbye to your son or daughter thinking something like “Well..I don’t have to live that moment again.. at least for now.”
But at the other end of the deployment, there be dragons as well….
For starters, you end up playing homecoming date roulette with your Family Readiness Group/Family Readiness Officer. There’s a “window” of homecoming. That window can be as long as 7 days or as small as two but the bottom line is that nobody really knows when EXACTLY your loved one is coming home at the beginning of the homecoming phase.. It wreaks havoc on those who are coming in from out of state and trying to make hotel/flight reservations. For this deployment, we are in that category. It’s frustrating but trust me…everyone else is frustrated as well. If you are dealing with this right now or soon to be dealing with this, you’re in good company. We all are playing on that roulette wheel.
If you are traveling to a homecoming, make sure that you have the FRG/FRO/Battalion contact phone number. This will be your lifeline once you get to where you’re going and awaiting your loved one doing the same. They will have the latest updates/ changes in times and locations, etc. Tattoo that damned number on your arm if need be but make sure you have it.
Be flexible. In the Marine Corps, we refer to this as Semper Gumby. I know that’s an easy thing to type and I also know that’s not an easy thing to do You.still.have.to.do.it. Things change. Quickly. Be ready for that. As sure as the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, things will change. It’s the one thing you can count on.
Between now and the actual homecoming, there are things that you can do to keep busy. Make a welcome home sign for your son or daughter. I’ve seen some very clever signs so I’m a little intimidated as I contemplate what I want to put on a sign to welcome my son home. I’m not very artistic so if you saw a cute sign at a homecoming, comment here and let me know. I don’t mind being a copycat. I just mind not having a cool sign.
Get with your FRG/FRO and see if they need folks to make the beds in the barracks for the guys coming back. Seriously, if you just got off a 30+ hour flight from Kuwait..the last thing you want to do is make your own bed. This is something that we as milparents/families can do to help welcome our guys home. It doesn’t take long but it does help pass the time as you wait for your loved one to come home.
If your child left all of his civilian clothes at home (mine did as well as giving me some clothes that had been cooking in his room for several days before he left..ugghh!!) , you might want to consider bringing some of them down to him/her. They will just love getting out of their utilities/cammies.
Most importantly, savor the moment of homecoming. You have earned this moment too. Don’t dwell on the stuff you didn’t do or the problems that you had with the deployment. Those are things for another day. On the day of homecoming, pat yourself on the back for surviving and hug your child. Hard. Close. Revel in the moment. There are few moments as joyous as this one.
Urrahhh!!! Hooaahhh!!!, etc…..
Gets reported here! we didn’t make the party – which is a good thing, from the pictures I’ve seen!
The actual panel I was on discussed the importance of remembering that the military blog community is NOT just the uniform members, reporting on conditions downrange, or talking about the conditions they are in. The community is held together by the “others”, the parents, the spouses, the volunteers. I won’t be reporting on the other panels, as those are being reported on by the uniform milbloggers – or by other bloggers who could take notes. I find it amusing that most of the uniform bloggers that I have read so far – didn’t report on our panel! But from where I was sitting, on the other panels, there is some debate about our “relevance” (if we have to ask whether we are relevant, I’d say we probably aren’t), some debate about how milblogs should be “used” or whether we need some sort of training.
Secretary Geren was on the phone for a while, on a different panel. I met with his assistant, who told me that one of the authors you have been enjoying here – Some Soldier’s Mom – has been on his Roundtables and informing the Secretary of Army (in her own inimitable and no nonsense fashion) that Parents aren’t being heard, and that single soldiers need more from the Army when they are offduty. The assistant told me that SecArmy is very happy to hear from SSM and she was very kind in allowing me to get put on the list for Roundtables as well. This is where I may be able to bring up what YOU – The Parents and Siblings, Aunts and Uncles, grandparents and friends – want him to hear.
At the Milbloggie awards – SOME SOLDIER’S MOM won the Milbloggie for Parent’s sites. CONGRATULATIONS! As soon as she gets a chance, I’m hoping to get some more posts from her.
We’ll be putting up the survey results soon. I’m still trying to get some rather well known names to answer the survey – if you can think of someone that is in the public eye we should send the survey to, let us know.
LAW
So – how do you like it? the Logo, I mean! up there on the left… Let us know.
LAW
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