Home at last.......

After 60 hours in the same uniform, over 20 hours in the air, Seth and Eli returned to Reagan International Airport yesterday afternoon. A trip home, showers, time with the wives and a family dinner it was time for bed to catch up on much needed sleep. All is right with the world for the next fifteen days!

Jan's Christmas Letter

December 2007
Dear Good Friends and Family,
It’s that time of year and although I am not in the Christmas spirit, I am home sick with some bug (high fever, everything hurts including your hair follicles) and sitting seems to be all I’m capable of doing. The upside is I am writing a Christmas letter and if it actually makes it into the mail I will have been in touch with those near and dear to me.
2007 will go down in the Lovell household as a memorable year. Seth and his love of four years became engaged last Christmas and we began the year planning another wedding. Eli and Katy, his college sweetheart, had tied the knot in 2006 on August 12 and began their senior year in college as newlyweds. Two weddings in two years can be stressful but because we love both girls and think the world of them, the stress was minimal compared to the joy we felt at the addition of two wonderful daughter-in-laws!
The wedding was planned for June 30 and all was progressing well until the best man, Eli, found out in April that he was being deployed to Iraq. A couple weeks later Seth found out that he was also being deployed. I cannot put into words the pain I felt each time I was told a son of mine was going off to war. You’re talking about a woman who cried in the middle of Wal-Mart the Christmas Ed tried to talk me into buying paint-ball guns for the boys. (They didn’t end up getting them that year but after having a year to adjust to the idea I did give in the next year.)
The boys were scheduled to depart for training in Mississippi towards the end of June. The wedding was moved up to June 9 and everyone kicked in to help. The church was available, the bride and groom and wedding party could all be there, and the minister could perform the ceremony. At the last minute, when nothing else panned out, good friends offered their scenic back yard for the rehearsal dinner. The wedding was beautiful and bittersweet. The minister talked about two people planning a wedding and a year’s separation at the same time. He talked about the fact that God does not promise us life will not be hard but he does give us the tools to deal with life’s difficult times.
This year God has given us wonderful family and friends to support us, to give us hugs when there is nothing to say, and to make us laugh when it seems like there is nothing funny left in the world. He has given us the power of personal conversation with him through prayer. He has given us three wonderful sons and two incredible daughter-in-laws who make us proud each and every day. He has given us each other to cling to when the expected call from Iraq is delayed a couple days and your mind goes to the worst places. And funny as it may sound he has given us ballroom dancing!
In the Spring, Ed and I began taking ballroom dance lessons. We found them challenging and fun. Little did we know what a lifeline they would be. Every Thursday evening from 8:00 to 9:00 we work on our ballroom dance steps. Your body and your mind are engaged and for one hour your mind cannot go to the crazy places. We walk out of the class each Thursday night and look at each other and smile. As our friend Betsy Dishman put it, “what better way to spend an hour than staring into the eyes of your spouse?” It truly is a calm in the storm.
Rule of thumb for a Christmas letter is one page but I think considering the year I’ve had you can excuse my ramblings. This will be going into page two.
Joshua is finishing up graduate school at William and Mary. He is studying to become a school counselor like his mother. I can’t think of a higher honor than to have Joshua join me in this profession. Between his internship this fall at an elementary school and this spring at a high school, a full time course load and an assistantship at the college he is one very busy guy. Now add to this the time he spends traveling back and forth on the weekends to Baltimore to visit the love of his life, Lillian, and I wonder how he does it all. In the midst of all this he finds time to call his parents regularly and visit more than he should. He will be glad when this year is over and his brothers are back on American soil and he is finished school and employed somewhere around Baltimore!
Brittany, Seth’s new wife is keeping the home fires burning in their home in Staunton. She is a full time student at James Madison University and works almost full time at our local emergency room as a tech. Whenever time permits she also runs with the local rescue squad and even if time doesn’t permit she visits her in-laws on a regular basis. She was a wonderful support during Seth’s time in Afghanistan and continues to be during this deployment.
Before being deployed Eli managed to graduate from Bridgewater College in May (unlike most of his classmates he didn’t need to worry about finding a job) and he and Katy bought a house in Gibbsonsville, North Carolina. Katy will begin a three-year doctoral program in physical therapy at Elon University on January 7. That is good news and bad. Good news because it will keep her busy while Eli finishes the last of his deployment and bad because she will start her schooling right in the middle of Eli’s two week leave.
Seth and Eli are scheduled to leave Iraq December 25 for a two week leave. We think they will be home sometime around the 27/28 of December but you never know with the Army. It will be great to see them but somewhat bittersweet as they are not home to stay. Seth had an interesting take on it in his last email home:

“… the thing I am looking forward to the most is something that most people would not guess. I am looking forward to saying goodbye to my parents and my beautiful wife when I return to Iraq. I know this sounds odd, but consider my reasoning. Since joining the military in May of 2003 I have had to say goodbye to my family, friends, parents, and wife a total number of seven times, at the end of my two weeks it will be my eighth goodbye. These farewells are not a simple “see you later,” they are painful, and everyone involved knows that it will be a long time before we are reunited. ... One lesson that I have learned in the military is that goodbyes are not something that gets easier with practice. Saying goodbye to my family in Gulfport was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and something I never want to do again. Saying goodbye in the airport when I leave to go back to Iraq will mark the final time in my six-year enlistment that I will have to say a hard goodbye. When I return to the states I will have less than a year left on my contract, and no chance of deployment. I will not reenlist for one simple reason, I can’t say goodbye again. Leave will be an amazing time for my family and me, but like everything in my life since I received word of my deployment, it will be bittersweet. I am looking forward to leave, and I am also looking forward to my final goodbye in the military.”

Ed has found a second therapy in blogging. You can find news about the boys as well as additional musings from Seth and Eli at www.lovellsoldiers.blogspot.com. The picture at the top of the blog and on the Christmas card was taken in Gulfport, Mississippi when we were blessed to spend five days together before they left for Iraq.
Two pages definitely need to be the limit even with my excused ramblings. As I write this letter, two of my sons are in harms way. We hope for a positive outcome but our Lord knew differently with his son. He knows the pain we go through and he truly does give us the tools to go through the tough times. We wish you a joyous holiday, many laughs, good times with family and friends and a true understanding of the meaning of the season.

From the Richmond Times Dispatch....12/26/07

Military brotherhood: Honor spans 2 wars
Twin guardsmen in Iraq win praise for video telling story of decorated Indian Marine

Wednesday, Dec 26, 2007 - 12:08 AM
By PETER BACQUE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Twin brothers serving in Iraq with the Virginia Army National Guard have been honored for a video they produced between convoy security missions in the combat zone.

Spcs. Eli and Seth Lovell were recognized this month for their video portrayal of Pfc. Ira Hayes, an American Indian who was one of the Marines immortalized in the photo of the flag-raising on Iwo Jima during World War II.

The 22-year-old guardsmen from Fishersville in Augusta County earned second place in the annual American Indian Heritage Month contest for their 10-minute program.

The Lovells focused on Hayes, a Pima Indian, to show the legacy of American Indians in the U.S. armed forces.

"It's overwhelming how much they contributed," said Eli Lovell, speaking from Al Asad Air Base in Iraq's Anbar province. "Our military would not be what it is today without the diversity that helps define it.

"It . . . forced us to think about the whole issue on diversity in the military," Eli said.

Hayes was the only American Indian in the six-man group of Marines in Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1945 picture, widely regarded as the most memorable photo of World War II.

With Johnny Cash's version of "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" playing in the background, the Lovells' video tells the story of the highly decorated Marine's life, from his battles with Japanese in the Pacific to his well-documented -- and ultimately losing -- fight with alcoholism.

Hayes died in 1955 at age 32. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

According to the Defense Department, American Indians have historically had the highest proportion of military service of any U.S. ethnic group: 10 percent have served in the armed forces, triple the rate of any other ethnic group.

Eli is a combat medic and recent graduate of Bridgewater College. Seth is a gunner on the unit's armored security vehicles and a student at James Madison University. He also deployed with the Guard to Afghanistan. Both are married.

The Lovells are members of the Virginia Guard's B Company, 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry, from Woodstock and Warrenton. The unit is due to return home this summer.

A program of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, the heritage contest was sponsored in Iraq by the Lovells' parent unit, the 507th Airborne Corps Support Group.

"The observance was conducted to enhance cross-cultural awareness among soldiers and civilian employees," said Sgt. 1st Class Michael James, an equal-opportunity representative in the Lovells' battalion.

Al Asad is a major convoy hub and, with thousands of troops and civilians, the largest U.S. military base in western Iraq.

Soldiers at the huge base, about 100 miles west of Baghdad, have phone and Internet access. "We joke all the time, 'It's not your daddy's war,'" said Seth Lovell, "and that's for sure."

Still, said 2nd Lt. David Leiva, the Lovells' platoon leader, "every time you roll out that gate, anything and everything can happen."

Because they are brothers, the unit tries to keep them widely separated during convoy missions. "We don't want to roll the dice more times than we have to," said Leiva, who comes from Washington.

But when not "outside the wire" in their heavily armored vehicles, "we actually find ourselves with a lot of down time," Eli said.

"One of our biggest enemies over here is boredom," he said, so the brothers welcomed the video project.

"It was kind of funny to be working on homework in a 'quote, unquote' combat zone," Eli said.

"You know," he said, "I find a lot of things weird to be doing in a combat zone."
Contact Peter Bacqué at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com.

Merry Christmas, 2007

I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the kindness and humanity that has been lacking for much of the previous twelve months. We sing of angels and peace on earth, goodwill toward all mankind - but just for this one day. I prefer to take my Christmas in little pieces throughout the entire year. I want "peace on earth" to be more than just a phrase uttered on this one day. Why not peace on earth every day of the year? Why not goodwill toward men....all mankind, every day of every week. A man is at his finest towards the end of the year. He is almost what he should be when Christmas time is being celebrated. At Christmas, we're thinking more of others, less about ourselves. There is laughter and joy. There is less selfishness and more kindness. Why can't we spread that feeling over all twelve months?
May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace. May the gladness of Christmas give you hope. May the warmth of Christmas grant you love......May the joy of Christmas be with you and guide you for the coming year.
As I write, Seth and Eli are on their way home. We don't know anything for sure at this time. We don't really even know that they've left Iraq. We're counting on the magic of Christmas to bring them safely home to us, if even for a short time before they return to Al Asad. I hope my next post is about a joy filled reunion with sons, brothers and husbands. Merry Christmas to all.

Christmas at Al Asad

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and having a great Christmas. This is the last e-mail I will write here at Al Asad before leaving for Kuwait this evening. Eli and I are very excited about coming home, and can not wait to see everyone.
This was my second Christmas spent in a combat zone in a foreign country. It was my second Christmas away from my family and friends. It was my first Christmas as a married man, but instead of enjoying it with my wife I spent it with one hundred other soldiers who are missing their families as much as I am. Our 1SG and CO decided that they did not want everyone staying in their CHU all day long, and wanted to have a party. Their justification was that if everyone just simply had the day off they would just sleep all day and feel miserable. Many of the soldiers were reluctant to spend Christmas morning at the motor pool, and were not excited about this little get together. However, the party turned out to be a real success, and everyone involved had a great time.
It started with the 1SG and some of the officers handing out Santa hats for everyone to enjoy, then we had some snacks and just visited. The leadership had taken two flatbed gun trucks, and backed them together so their beds made a twelve-foot long stage. In front of the stage there were three giant barrels that had fires in them so all the men could keep warm. It was a unique setup. After about an hour of eating snacks and just enjoying spending time together, it was time for the platoons to perform some Christmas skits. Eli and I of course could not pass up the opportunity to take the stage, and along with another 3rd platoon member told some jokes and read some humorous poems. We got a great response from the crowd a s they appreciated our jokes and our little act. After we got done the other platoons performed their acts. They were all very humorous and got the company rolling with laughter. The final act was performed by maintenance, and along with their little skit their Platoon Sergeant sang a song about the true meaning of Christmas. It was a religious song that I had never heard before, but it was very well done. The SGT had an amazing voice, and had the whole company clapping their hands to the rhythm.
After the presentations the XO (the second in command for the company) handed out Christmas presents to everyone sent from the FRG (family readiness group). The gifts were very nice and thoughtful, they included a mug with the B CO logo, along with a B CO t-shirt and a number of other goodies. After the presents were handed out to everyone there was a raffle for some bigger presents, one of which Eli won. Finally the CO and 1SG talked to the whole company, followed by a brief message and prayer from the Chaplain. It was a good time had by all, and a special and memorable way to spend Christmas.
After the party Eli and I went to lunch with thirteen other guys from our squad, and had a great time just eating and visiting with one and other. While I was sitting at the table lost in my thoughts I noticed a number of soldiers sitting at tables by themselves. Eli and I are very lucky to have so many friends from our platoon. This coupled with the fact that we receive so much love and support from back home helps to make this time away from home easier on us. Noticing the soldiers by themselves reminded me that there are so many soldiers who are not handling this as well as Eli and I. For many soldiers who have not made many friends, and do not have much support from home, this is an extremely tough and depressing situation. Every time I see soldiers eating by themselves I feel bad for them, but it upset me even more on Christmas day. The men and women in our military are making many sacrifices, and are f acing many challenges. Please remember all of them this Christmas season, and keep them all in your prayers.
Lots of Love from Iraq,
Seth

What are we fighting for?

According to Little George, our soldiers are in Afghanistan and Iraq to keep us safe from terrorists. Who's keeping us safe from ourselves....looks like we're fighting for the right to be stupid! We've lost over 3,800 soldiers for this? Doesn't it just make you so freakin' mad?

Irony in Iraq

Hanging out with "Frosty". I'm not sure he has a snowball's chance in hell. The ultimate in irony....reading "In Harm's Way" while serving in Iraq......what a coincidence.

From the Virginia National Guard Web Site

By 2nd Lt. David E. Leiva
B Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq – Two Virginia Army National Guard soldiers were recognized here this month for their video portrayal of Ira Hamilton Hayes, one of the Marines immortalized in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of the American flag-raising at Iwo Jima.

Twins Eli and Seth Lovell, of B Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry, earned second place Dec. 1 in the annual American Indian Heritage Month contest, beating out six other entries with a 10-minute long montage of Hayes, the only Native American member of the six-man group captured in Joe Rosenthal’s 1945 award-winning snapshot.

The event, a program of the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute, took place in November. It was sponsored by the 507th Corps Support Group (Airborne), a subordinate unit of the XVIII Airborne Corps. First place went to the 541st Transportation Company, a subordinate unit of the 101st Airborne Division.

“The observance was conducted to enhance cross-cultural awareness among soldiers and civilian employees,” said Sgt. 1st Class Michael James, an equal opportunity representative who oversees these matters for the battalion under which B Company falls. “These observances recognize the achievements and contributions made by members of specific racial, ethnic or gender groups in our society.”

Inspired by the 2000 best-selling book-turned-movie, “Flags of Our Fathers,” the Lovells, of Staunton, Va., chose Hayes as an anecdote to introduce the contributions of Native Americans to the armed forces.

Using the late Johnny Cash’s rendition of “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” as a backdrop, the video went through the highly-decorated Marine’s life, whose battles with Japanese fighters were as well-documented as his fight years later with alcoholism.

“The song was so controversial, we knew it was kind of a bold presentation,” said Eli Lovell, a medic and recent graduate of Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va. “We didn’t how it was going to be received.”

Immediately following their presentation, though, Command Sgt. Maj. Sultan Muhammad, the top enlisted soldier of the 507th, hand-delivered two of his minted coins to the Lovells, a symbol used to improve morale, foster unit esprit de corps and honor their work.

“I don’t know if you’re going to win, but that was excellent,” said Muhammad, one of four judges, which included the 507th commander, Col. James G. Currie Jr.

That excellence was what Sgt. 1st Class Tony Elliott had in mind when he scrolled down his roster to find someone capable of best representing B Company. He settled on the Lovells, both good story tellers and aspiring high school teachers. Especially since the program was to be judged on recognition, presentation, creativity and knowledge of observance.

The twins then spent days collecting and assembling photographs and facts about the flag raiser and the ethnic group’s significance to military history.

“The Ira Hayes story is an American story,” said Seth Lovell, a gunner on the Armored Security Vehicle and student at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. “There was so much information about his life; he was as familiar as Brad Pitt in the 1950s.”

Among interesting details the Lovells culled from the U.S. Census Bureau: Ten percent of American Indians have served in the armed forces – three times the rate of any other ethnic group in the United States.

Hayes, however, wasn’t the initial choice. But with missions providing convoy security throughout Iraq – and some procrastination with their assignment to represent the infantry unit – the twins went with Hayes.

The Lovells had just finished reading about Hayes’ exploits in James Bradley’s book, an account of the six Marines whose photo on Mount Suribachi came to symbolize World War II.

The other Marines shown in the photo included Rene Gagnon, Harlon Block, Franklin Sousley, Mike Strank and Navy corpsman John Bradley. Only Gagnon, Hayes and Bradley survived the war. Sousley, Block and Strank were killed in a later battle. Bradley, the last living man, died in 1994.

Hayes died in 1955 at the age of 32. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

A Christmas Carol

We took our seventh grade students to the theater today to see an adaptation of Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol." Sometimes I amaze myself by my ability to turn just about any event into a political statement. It's a gift. Three things struck me as I watched the play. First, I decided early on that I liked the Muppett's version better. I'm not taking anything away from the Blackfriar Theater, but they just can't match the acting of all the characters in the Muppett version. It's hard to compete with the depth of feeling portrayed by Kermit as Bob Cratchett. My second and third thoughts turned political. Perhaps I should have stopped with my first thoughts. The play is essentially a morality play about a change of heart. Scrooge turns from his miserly, egocentric ways into a man who loves all and does his best to keep Christmas in his heart, each and every day.
Marley speaks, "Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them?
That line struck me in particular, because that's what I think we've been doing as a society for too long. We have the power for so much good, but we walk with eyes turned down. The purpose then of Marley's appearance as a ghost is, above all, to warn Scrooge and make him open his eyes to the rest of humanity, i.e. change his life. Our society needs a Scrooge-like reawakening. Perhaps that is what our next election will be about. It's time for a change. It's time to lift our eyes and see something other than the divisive trends of our current political landscape.
Anyone know where we can find three good ghosts who are looking for work?

Ken Follett

If you've read my blog before you may have come accross an entry about "The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett. Follett has been a favorite author of Seth's for some time. Seth sent a note to Mr. Follett recently letting him know how much he has enjoyed reading his books. In response, Follett office sent Seth a box full of Follett novels. What a kind gesture from someone who has nothing to gain by that kindness. If you've never read a book by Ken Follett, now would be a good time to run out to the bookstore to buy one....don't borrow it from the library...buy it. Give Follett another dime for his kindness! In addtion to being a good author, he is apparently a good person!

Email from Eli

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, I am not the best about writing these group e-mails, but I figured I would write one before I come home for leave. Seth and I are both back safely at the base and have been officially taken off of missions as we await our flight to Kuwait for leave. Our projected date to fly out is the 25th (could not think of a better Christmas present then that) but it could be a day earlier and it could be a day later….who knows? Leave is sung to the same tune as everything in the military, nothing is definite until it happens.
Seth and I have been in Iraq for 91 days now. I have been keeping a journal and was reading over it the other day and counted up the number of days I have spent away from Al Asad out on missions. Out of 91 days I have spent 31 days out on the road. I thought that was an interesting fact.
I just got back from a three-day mission where we went to Baghdad and then to Al Taqqaddum, and then back to Al Asad. Here is how the mission went:

We left Al Asad in the afternoon at 3:00pm on Sunday and then over 12 hours later made it to Baghdad. It does not usually take this long, but we had some trouble with the trucks we were transporting, and at one point we had a truck slide off the road and get stuck. The roads we drive on are not the best and some are just non-existent.

We got to Baghdad and slept in a tent on cots beside the staging point for our convoy. We all slept late into the day as it had been a very long night. The First Sergeant (the non commissioned officer in charge of our company) had come along on the convoy as he is trying to go on a mission with every squad at least once, and he had not been out with this squad yet. He came and grabbed me at one point as we were two of the only ones up and told me to come grab some pizza with him and that he was buying. How could I turn that down? So, we went to the pizza hut on base and then sat around eating and chatting.

That night we hooked up with some transport vehicles who are stationed at Al Asad and had been outside the wire transporting tanks around Iraq for three weeks straight. We were escorting them on the last leg of their trip as they were dropping off supplies at Al Taqqaddum and then going back to Al Asad for a much deserved rest.
We left at 10:00pm and then after 4 hours we arrived at Al Taqqaddum and racked out immediately.

We spent the next day hanging out around base and then that night (actually the next morning if we’re being specific) at midnight we left Al Taqqaddum and after 5 hours on the road we made it back to Al Asad. When I walked into my can Seth’s alarm was actually going off for him to get up for a mission…perfect timing!

So, for the mission we were gone 62 hours from Al Asad and spent 21 of them riding around in the ASVs. I also got some chai tea at a green bean’s coffee, ate pizza at a pizza hut, watched a couple movies on my portable dvd player, and finshed my book, Ernie Pyle’s War. Its a rough life being in war...let me tell ya!

My wonderful in-laws sent me some WWII books, one of them being about Ernie Pyle. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and really enjoyed reading some of his columns. Ernie Pyle is famous for writing about the common man. He spent his time on the front lines and in the foxholes with the enlisted men rather then in the rear with the high-ranking officers. This won him and his column immense popularity. One of his columns talked about how the war was fought not by career soldiers but by perfectly normal men and women who were asked to put on the uniform and serve their country in a time of need. This war, to me, is much the same as the way Ernie Pyle described it because of the huge number of National Guard and Reserve troops used. I had a lot of good conversations with the guys I just went out on a mission with, and every one of them I asked what they did back home. We now have some Illinois Guardsmen attached to us, and so I was able to talk to them also. Here is just a sample of the diversity of common men and women we have over here serving our country.
A teacher from Illinois
A mailman (this is our first sergeant)
A manager at the Sheetz in Franklin County
An inventory specialist at a factory
A machinist
Two policemen
A manager at an outdoors store in Roanoke
And here’s the big one, 6 different people in that squad are in college and younger then I am!

Ok, enough rambling. If you have made it this far in the e-mail thanks for staying the course (no pun intended). Anyways, I thought you would find some of this stuff interesting; sorry for being so long winded. I can’t wait to be home soon and see many of you during my leave. Take care and have a great Christmas!
Love,
Eli

A Christmas Poem

THE SANDS OF CHRISTMAS - BY MICHAEL MARKS

I had no Christmas spirit when I breathed a weary sigh.
And looked across the table where the bills were piled too high.

The laundry wasn’t finished and the car I had to fix,
My stocks were down another point, the Chargers lost by six.

And so with only minutes till my son got home from school
I gave up on the drudgery and grabbed a wooden stool.

The burdens that I carried were about all I could take,
And so I flipped the TV on to catch a little break.

I came upon a desert scene in shades of tan and rust,
No snowflakes hung upon the wind, just clouds of swirling dust.

And where the reindeer should have stood before a laden sleigh,
Eight Humvees ran a column right behind an M1A.

A group of boys walked past the tank, not one was past his teens
Their eyes were hard as polished flint, their faces drawn and lean.

They walked the street in armor with their rifles shouldered tight,
Their dearest wish for Christmas, just to have a silent night.

Other soldiers gathered, hunkered down against the wind,
To share a scrap of mail and dreams of going home again.

There wasn’t much at all to put their lonely hearts at ease,
They had no Christmas turkey, just a pack of MREs.

They didn’t have a garland or a stocking I could see,
They didn’t need an ornament-they lacked a Christmas tree.

They didn’t have a present even though it was tradition,
The only boxes I could see were labeled “ammunition.”

I felt a little tug and found my son now by my side,
He asked me what it was I feared and why it was I cried.

I swept him up into my arms and held him oh so near,
and kissed him on the forhead as I whispered in his ear.

“There’s nothing wrong, my little son, for safe we sleep tonight,
Our heroes stand on foreign land to give us all the right,

To worry on the things in life that mean nothing at all,
instead of wondering if we will be the next to fall.

He looked at me as children do and said, “it’s always right,
To thank the ones who help us and perhaps that we should write”

And so we pushed aside the bills and sat to draft a note,
To thank the many far from home, and this is what we wrote:

“God bless you all and keep you safe and speed your way back home
Remember that we love you so, and that you’re not alone.

The gift you give you share with all, a present every day,
You give the gift of Liberty and that we can’t repay.”

Anybody who has looked at my blog has no doubt how I feel about George Bush. A teacher at the high school who is notorious for his wicked sense of humor gave us an early Christmas present designed to provoke a little laughter. You can always count on friends to help you through the tough times. I haven't had time to mount it properly, but plan to have it waiting for Seth and Eli when they come home for leave. Thank you, Sandy!

Routine?

Jan and I had a revelation the other evening when we realized we didn't know where our children are! You remember the commercials that were popular on TV for awhile? It's ten o'clock....do you know where your children are? Well, I know they're in Iraq. But, for a little bit, we've lost track of whether they're inside the wire or outside the wire. I had been really good about keeping track of when they're outside the wire on a mission and I'd be in waiting mode to hear when they had returned to their base. We got an email from Eli the other day that said "I'm back on base." I didn't even know he'd gone! It's not that I'm taking a cavalier approach, because I worry....My God how I worry! I think it's a coping mechanism....I'm not allowing myself to keep constant track of what they're doing. I think we're so desperate for "normal" and "routine" that shutting down the mind to my son's comings and goings is the only way to achieve a little peace of mind.
I do know that they're both outside the wire right now......on what we think is their final missions before getting ready to come home for leave. It's going to be so wonderful to hold them, and see them with their wives - if only for a little while.

Saying Goodbye..........one last time

Dear Family and Friends,
It has been awhile since I last wrote, and for that I apologize. Life has been very routine, and there really has not been much to report. We either spend our days out on the road helping to move supplies, or back at the motor pool working on our equipment and trying to stay busy. Eli and I spend our spare time watching movies with friends, reading books, playing games, and just doing anything we can to make the time go faster. Our leave at the end of December is quickly approaching, and it is getting harder every day to contain our excitement. I cannot wait to get home and be able to give my parents and my wife a hug. There are so many things I am looking forward to, it would be to long of an e-mail to try and list everything. To list just a few, I am looking forward to my mom’s cooking, to being able to pet my dog Abby, to drink a beer with dinner, to hold my wife’s hand while driving in my jeep, wearing my Cohort jacket with a flannel shirt underneath, laying on my couch and watching TV with my wife, going to church at Tinkling Springs, watching a Wilson basketball game and wishing I was on the sidelines coaching, being able to hug all four of my grandparents, enjoying time with as many friends and family as I can fit into two weeks, and many other thing as well. The list could go on and on, there are so many things I am looking forward to during my time home.
But the thing I am looking forward to the most is something that most people would not guess. I am looking forward to saying goodbye to my parents and my beautiful wife when I return to Iraq. I know this sounds odd, but consider my reasoning. Since joining the military in May of 2003 I have had to say goodbye to my family, friends, parents, and wife a total number of seven times, at the end of my two weeks it will be my eighth goodbye. These farewells are not a simple “see you later,” they are painful, and everyone involved knows that it will be a long time before we are reunited. Every time I have had to say goodbye it has been at least a month and a half before I see my loved ones again. Typically it has been longer, and sometimes for as long as seven months. One lesson that I have learned in the military is that goodbyes are not something that gets easier with practice. Saying goodbye to my family in Gulfport was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, and something I never want to do again. Saying goodbye in the airport when I leave to go back to Iraq will mark the final time in my six-year enlistment that I will have to say a hard goodbye. When I return to the states I will have less than a year left on my contract, and no chance of deployment. I will not reenlist for one simple reason, I can’t say goodbye again. Leave will be an amazing time for my family and me, but like everything in my life since I received word of my deployment, it will be bittersweet. I am looking forward to leave, and I am also looking forward to my final goodbye in the military. It will be painful like they all have, but it will be the last.
I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and having a good start to your holiday season. Eli and I have been listening to Christmas music to try and get in the mood. Our Christmas present will be a flight out of here on the 25th, the best present we could of asked for. Have a great week, take care, and I look forward to talking to you all soon,

Lots of Love from Iraq,

Pearl Harbor..............

Last year, George W. Bush issued a proclamation remembering the more than 2,400 Americans who lost their lives at Pearl Harbor and all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice during World War II. While I've never hid my feelings about our current President and the harm he has done to our country and our military, I do think it is worthwhile to read the proclamation.


A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America
White House News

Sixty-­five years ago, more than 2,400 Americans lost their lives in a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. On National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, we think of those who died on December 7, 1941, and honor all those who sacrificed for our liberty during World War II.

On that peaceful Sunday morning, our country suffered a vicious, unprovoked attack that changed the course of history. Though our Pacific Fleet was nearly destroyed, our citizens were inspired by the great acts of heroism from those who survived and from those who did not. In the days that followed, our grief turned to resolution, and America embarked on a mission to defeat two of the most ruthless regimes the world has ever known. We pledge to always remember the character and sacrifice of the brave individuals at Pearl Harbor. Their selfless service helped deliver a great victory for the cause of freedom and, ultimately, transformed adversaries into the closest of friends.

After the devastating attacks on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, "We are going to win the war and we are going to win the peace that follows." In the 21st century, freedom is again under attack, and young Americans have stepped forward to serve in a global war on terror that will secure our liberty and determine the destiny of millions around the world. Like generations before, we will answer history's call with confidence, confront threats to our way of life, and build a more peaceful world for our children and grandchildren.

The Congress, by Public Law 103-308, as amended, has designated December 7 of each year as "National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day."

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim December 7, 2006, as National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. I encourage all Americans to observe this solemn occasion with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I urge all Federal agencies, interested organizations, groups, and individuals to fly the flag of the United States at half staff this December 7 in honor of those who died as a result of their service at Pearl Harbor.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of December, in the year of our Lord two thousand six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-first.

GEORGE W. BUSH

If you are a student of history, you know that there is much discussion about whether Pearl Harbor was "unprovoked." We were engaging Japan in an economic war, we shut down the Panama Canal to Japanese shipping, we had embargoed goods and services to Japan. Some historians argue that we placed most of our Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor to provoke Japan into something that would justify our entry into World War II. Whatever your feelings about the politics leading to Pearl Harbor, we honor those men and women who were simply doing their job. There's a terrific parallel to that today. Whatever you think of the politics, we honor our soldiers and thank them and their families for their sacrifices.

On top of the World

What's your pet peeve?

I remember when the boys were young, times were not always very settled around the Lovell household. Putting it nicely, the twins were a little trying at times, full of energy and quite rambunctious. A friend once remarked, that when she felt a little overwhelmed by her life, all she had to do was think of us and her life didn't seem so bad! I always felt it was a kind of service we provided to others....."well, our life sucks, but we could be the Lovell's." Yesterday in Sunday School we were doing a lesson on complaining. We started the lesson by going around the room and listing our pet peeves. It was an interesting list.....
Women driving minivans full of kids while putting on make-up and talking on the cell phone
telemarketers
people who slow you down in the lunch line
rude people
people who talk in the movie theater
George Bush (guess who said that!)

The list went on and on with people having little trouble finding a pet peeve...we all had them, sometimes a whole list of them. As I listened I thought about how blessed we are to be living in this country where our list of pet peeves have nothing to do with survival. Things are so good for us we can waste our energy being ticked off about people slowing us down in the lunch line or talking in the movie theater. What we need is a little perspective. I don't want to be the one providing that perspective like I did for the friend when the twins were little. But I also want to remember this lesson when Seth and Eli are home from Iraq. Right now I can push aside life's little irritants, because I've got bigger things to worry about. But when my children are home, safe and settled will I still have that attitude...will I still count my blessings instead of focusing on my pet peeves? I really feel that God is using this experience to make me a better person....I want to remember these lessons.

Boring and Stressful

We had a Saturday morning phone call from the boys. Life has been a little on the slow side with few missions taking them outside the wire. Seth again spoke of how different this deployment is from his time in Afghanistan. Time on the base can be a little slow and boring, but that contrasts with the stress of going outside the wire. Seth and Eli took second place for their native American presentation. I asked Seth if they were robbed, but he explained that the winning company had a full-blooded Indian and they built a tepee with fire pit and she dressed in traditional garb and led them through a typical day for a Native American in the 1700's. How can two white boys compete with that? The boys continue to sound really good and we're all looking forward to Christmas. Seth did warn us, however, that with the Army nothing is definite until it's done, so leave could still change.

Can Bush walk and Chew Gum?

Little George has spent the first seven years of his presidency spreading death and destruction throughout the middle east, alienating friends and encouraging foes...quite a feat. Now, after hosting a peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland he seems intent on doing what no other president has had much luck with....bringing peace to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Let's face it, he's not very good at this whole peace thing. When asked if this would be the focus of his last year in office, his current press secretary Dana Perino had this response:

MS. PERINO: There are many -- the President has a full plate, from making sure that America keeps safe from terrorists, ensuring that there are the institutional tools in place for the intelligence community and our law enforcement officials to keep us safe; we have 160,000 troops in Iraq; we have tens of thousands of troops in Afghanistan -- I don't have the exact number off the top of my head.

We have a lot of issues that we're working towards. We are dealing with Iran, in terms of a multilateral effort, in order to solve that situation diplomatically. We're trying to solve the situation in North Korea diplomatically, and we're on that track to do that. We're trying to get Pakistan back on a path to democracy. There are a lot of issues that this White House can focus on, and we can walk and chew gum at the same time.

It's comforting to know that Little George can walk and chew gum at the same time....it's good to know that he has some skill to fall back on when he's no longer president.

Sean Taylor vs Any American Soldier

There's not much disagreement on the matter.....Sean Taylor was a thug. He was in and out of trouble with the law from a young age and continued his bad-boy image at the University of Miami and with the Washington Redskins. If he hadn't been big, strong and able to run fast, he never would have made it to college and beyond. Taylor grew up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it. He isn't the first so-called sports hero to have his life and/or career end prematurely and violently. It's terribly sad, but hardly surprising. I want to point out, before people get upset with me, I said "Sean Taylor was a thug." By all accounts he was getting his life straigtened out. I don't know if this is true or simply people saying nice things about the dead. I don't know Sean Taylor....all I know is what I read in the papers and hear on the news. But I do know he wasn't a hero. I'm sorry he died, and I feel bad for his family and friends and his little girl.
An amazing amount of grief has been demonstrated over Sean Taylor's death....where is the grief over our real fallen hero's. People that only know Sean Taylor as a football player have been holding candlelight vigils and speaking about what a terrible loss it is....
You want to see terrible loss? You want to see the death of real hero's? You want to see unspeakable saddness? Go visit this site of honor...see the names, read the biographies of our hero soldiers. Then lets have a talk about Sean Taylor.

Stepping toward Christmas

Thanksgiving is out of the way and now we're stepping toward Christmas. There's a short story called "The Golden Thread" about a young boy who encounters a witch in the forest one day. As he laments not being allowed to anything and wishing he was older she hands him an egg-shaped ball with a golden thread sticking out the bottom. She tells the boy that the thread is his life. If he wants things to pass quickly by all he needs to do is give the thread a tug and he will find himself down the timeline of his life. Well, predictably enough, the young boy uses the thread to speed past the unpleasant and boring parts of his life. "I wish I were out of school," "I wish it was the weekend....." So on and on! He quickly finds himself at the end of his life realizing that he hadn't really experienced anything. One's life is the sum total of all experiences....good, bad, boring, exciting.
I find myself in the boy's situation. Seth and Eli will depart Iraq on Christmas Day heading home for leave! It's hard not to wish the next five weeks over as quickly as possible and the next 6 months finished! I'm continuing the process of being molded into a more patient, positive individual. I just wish I could hurry up and get there!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but giving thanks continues on a routine basis. Seth and Eli enjoyed Thanksgiving day on the base, but left the next morning for a quick trip outside the wire. We know that they're back inside, so thanksgiving continues. It's always good to know they're back and safe. Katy and Brittany joined us for Thanksgiving dinner and my thoughts throughout the day were primarily in the past and in the future. I remembered holidays past with the boys...and looked forward to future holidays with the entire family. I am constantly reminded to keep my head up and my eyes on the horizon.....

Camp Korea?....email from Eli

Dear friends and family,

Seth and I got back last weekend from spending several days at a place called CKV (Camp Korean Village), which is up by the Syrian border. I thought since we have a strong contingent of South Korean military in the Coalitions Forces that maybe this was where they were based.....nope. Not sure why the name was what it was for this small base....but one of the Marines we asked that was stationed there said it was named by Marines...so who knows?
The drive to CKV was long...for several reasons. The first reason is simply because it is several hundred miles from Al Asad to CKV..and several hundred miles in Iraq is a very very long trip. Usually we spend most our our trips on unimproved roads where it is slow going, but one of the good things about this trip is we were on a four lane highway for most of the way. The other reason it was a long trip was because of the size of our convoy. We were attached to an 82nd Airborne convoy with over 200 vehicles. We were transporting TCN (third country nationals). Most of these men were Arabic and we only had a handful of interpreters, so there was a language barrier. What was impressive and reassuring about rolling with the 82nd and this size of a convoy was we had air support with us the whole way. At one point we came to unexpected stop (it turned out a TCN truck had rolled over) and all the sudden we saw from our vehicle a helicopter from each side of the road come swooping down to see what the problem was. I have no problems going on a convoy with over 200 vehicles if we have air support with us.
The drive took 12 hours. We did not get to CKV until the evening, and we had the next day off before we went back out. The weather was cool at CKV, as the high during the day only got up into the 60s. During our rest day we all huddled around a computer and watched the movie We Are Marshall and we also watched some episodes from Planet Earth, which just shows that infantrymen enjoy an educational experience every now and then. After watching We Are Marshall we were all in the mood for some football, so we went out to where our gun trucks were parked, got ourselves a couple cases of non-alcoholic Coors, put some country music on the speakers we have rigged up to one of the trucks, and just relaxed and threw football. It felt like a perfect fall afternoon......the weather, the company, drinking near-beer, listening to Brooks and Dunn, and throwing football, everything was good except the location.....in Iraq and a matter of miles from the Syrian border.
We were supposed to be going out on a mission tomorrow, Thanksgiving, but our mission got rescheduled, so instead of eating an MRE tomorrow we get to enjoy some turkey. It won't be as good as my mom's thanksgiving spread.....but none of the food over here is as good as home. We still have work tomorrow. I have a briefing at 8:30, am organizing a new shipment of medical supplies we just got in, going to the TMC (troop medical clinic) to pick up an order and drop off an order to the optometrist.......just another day in the life of a medic.
Katy has her last day of work today at Village Grill where she has been waitressing for the past four months, and she is going to spend the month of December babysitting her nephew, Charlie, who was born in September to her brother and sister-in-law, Sam and Elizabeth Herr. She has been very eager to spend some time with her nephew, so this will be great for her. She starts graduate school in January, so she will become a very busy person...hopefully she'll have time to talk to me on the phone as that i the highlight of my days. I will hopefully get to see my lovely wife soon as it looks like Seth and I will be home on leave sometime shortly after Christmas.
I thought I would share some updates from the war front and the home front. I hope you all enjoy a wonderful thanksgiving and know that what I am the most thankful for, over here and when I am at home, is my family and friends. So, enjoy your turkey, go Packers, go Cowboys, and go UVA! Take care!
Love,
Eli

They Did Good!

Got an early morning call from the boys to report that their presentation on Ira Hayes was well received. Alcolades from everyone including the bigwigs....This is a copy of an email Seth sent to his Uncle Tom:
We did a presentation on a Native American named Ira Hayes, who helped to raise the flag at Iwo Jima. We did a power point talking about him and his life, and then we put together a slid show on Windows Movie Maker that showed pictures of his life and the flag raising. The slide show had an old Johnny Cash song as the background music, the song was about Ira Hayes called "The Ballad of Ira Hayes." It was a competition that was actually judged by the Division Commander and the Division Command Seargent Major. There were also a number of other high ranking officers there to watch. There were eleven other companies that were represented and did presentations as well. ! When it was all over the Seargent Major came up to Eli and I and told us it was the best presentation he had ever seen, and that we had his vote for first place. He then gave us each one of his coins, which in the military is a big deal. Eli and I were very pleased with the response we got, and enjoyed doing the presentation. It was nice to have something to work on over here.

Just another day in paradise.........

A couple of myths about Thanksgiving:
1. The Pilgrims celebrated the original Thanksgiving in November....just like we do. That first celebration was probably sometime between September 21 and November 11. It was quite a celebration however as it lasted for three whole days! The Pilgrims probably based their celebration on their old English harvest festival which was usually held on September 29.
2. Thanksgiving was celebrated every year after the original feast. Abaham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863 with his Thanksgiving Proclamation (only slightly less famous than his Emmancipation Proclamation and his Let's Go to the Theater Proclamation!) Franklin D. Roosevelt set the fourth Thursday in Novermber would be celebrated as Thanksgiving.
3. The Pilgrims invented Thanksgiving. Many civilizations have celebrated harvest festivals for hundreds of years. In the Middle East, people offered wheat to the "Mother of Wheat." During the middle ages Europeans celbrated the Feast of Saint Martin on November 11 giving thanks for the harvest. The Aztecs celebrated a corn goddess. Honoring the harvest is a tradition that spans many cultures.
4. The Pilgrims were celebrating a bountiful harvest....actually, NO. The harvest of 1621 was pretty miserable. However, the Pilgrims were thankful to be alive. I once read a quote that said the Pilgrims made seven times more graves than huts. No Americans have been more impoverished than these who, nevertheless, set aside a day of thanksgiving

This will be our second Thanksgiving with a son in a combat zone. When Seth served in Afghanistan we had an empty seat at our table. This year we'll have two empty seats but I'll still be thankful. I'm thankful for my sons..all three of them. They have always made me proud. Not because of accomplishments or anything they have done. I'm proud of them because of what they hold in their hearts. This Thanksgiving I'll be grateful for all my family and friends that support us with thoughts and prayers. I'll be thankful for all the men serving with Seth and Eli and the bonds of trust and friendship that are being formed.
And something to think about on this eve of Thanksgiving.....Grace isn't something to utter or chant before your meal....it's a way to live. I've been challenged lately to live a life full of grace and I thank God for that challenge. I would like to think I'm being molded into a more patient, appreciative person. The work in progress continues. A very Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
Seth and Eli will enjoy Thankgiving at Al Asad before heading outside the wire on a weekend mission.

Correcting the old man

What follows is an email from Eli, correcting a few of my mistakes....

Since I love reading your blog and I check it almost daily I noticed a few errors in your thing about Ira Hayes....first of all this was mine and Seth's idea to do the presentation on Ira Hayes inspired by both reading the book, Flags of our Fathers. We were told to do something creative talking about Native Americans and their contributions to our military, and we decided to just talk about this story. Now, John Bradley did not take the picture, it was Joe Rosenthal who was an AP photographer and just happened in a 1/40th of a second capture that picture. When he sent the film off he didn't even know if he had taken any shots. John Bradley was a navy corpsman who was one of the six, not five, flag raisers. The first flagraising was done ceremoniously with the men posing and what not. Then, one of the marine commanders decided he wanted that flag to hold on to, so they sent another group to put a second flag up. They hoisted the second flag up the same time they took the first one down, and Joe Rosenthal just happened to capture that frame. He actually thought he had missed the kodak moment. Most people did not even realize that the six men who were in the photograph were part of the second flag raising, none of them were a part of the first. However, its images and not deeds sometimes that capture the public and that was surely the case here. I am sending you the slide show we did, a frustrating process with our internet connection and trying to download pictures and movies to put in here (none of the movie clips worked out) but I ended up learning how to use movie maker and had a lot of fun with it. Let me know if you got it and were able to open it. By the way, I have and always will think of you as my hero. I am very lucky to have both you and mom in my life and look up to the two of you very much. I love you.
Eli

Still helping with homework.....from 8,000 miles away

The Army likes to celebrate diversity.......at least that's how it appears. Seth and Eli's company celebrates diversity by focusing on a different person, race, culture, gender - whatever - every so often. Different soldiers are asked to make some kind of presentation to help highlight the accomplishments of different people or groups of people. Seth and Eli were asked to do a presentation on Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona whose claim to fame was helping raise the American flag on Iwo Jima. As they've prepared a power point presentation I've had numerous phone calls:
Can you help us find some pictures?
Can you download this song for us and email to us?
How do you insert a song into power point?
Would it be better to use Movie Maker?
8,000 miles from home and I'm still helping them with their homework! Actually it's been kind of interesting learning about Ira Hayes and thinking about what makes someone a hero. Ira's story is truly a tragic one. You can tell it's a tragic story because they made a country music song out of it sung by Johnny Cash.
Born Ira Hamilton Hayes in 1923 on the Pima Indian Reservation in Arizona, he dropped out of school and joined the marines in 1942. Life on the reservation was tough by any description and Ira saw the marines and the war as a way to better himself and help his family. On February 19, 1945 Ira took part in the landing on Iwo Jima and the assult on Mount Suribachi. On February 23, Ira helped raise the American flag on the top of Mount Suribachi. Two days later the same group of five men raised the flag a second time so photographer John Bradley could capture the event. Of the five men that raised the flag, Ira and two others survived the battle for Iwo Jima. The three men were hailed as hero's and brought back to the United States to help sell war bonds.
Ira was wined and dined, toasted as a hero when in fact he felt nothing like a hero. He was only a guy who helped raise a flag and watched his comrades die. He was just lucky to be alive when so many had died. Ira turned to alcohol to dull the pain. After the war he tried to lead a normal life, but didn't have much luck. People continued to seek him out as the hero who raised the flag. He appeared in the John Wayne movie "Sands of Iwo Jima" playing himself raising the flag. An interesting aside...the movie used the flag that was actually raised on Mount Suribachi. Referring to his alcoholism, he once said: "I was sick. I guess I was about to crack up thinking about all my good buddies. They were better men than me and they're not coming back. Much less back to the White House, like me." After the war, Hayes accumulated a record of some fifty arrests for drunkenness. On January 24, 1955, Hayes was found dead, face down and lying in his own vomit and blood, near an abandoned hut close to his home on the Gila River Indian Reservation.

The story of Ira Hayes got me thinking about what a hero is. Ira was hailed as a hero for simply raising a flag. If it hadn't been for that photograph nobody would have noticed this Indian from Arizona....he never would have been called a hero. But he was a hero. Not because he raised a flag, but because he served his country. Seth and Eli are my hero's....they chose to do something to help their community. What does it take to be a hero....it's a larger view of the world than simply what's happening to me and what's important to me. I'm proud to say that I'm surrounded by hero's. Friends and family that care about and for others. Don't talk to me about football hero's or celebrities. I really don't care what Brittany what's her-name is up to. I have a different definition of who is important and what is important.

The Ballad Of Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Gather round me people there's a story I would tell
About a brave young Indian you should remember well
From the land of the Pima Indian
A proud and noble band
Who farmed the Phoenix valley in Arizona land

Down the ditches for a thousand years
The water grew Ira's peoples' crops
'Till the white man stole the water rights
And the sparklin' water stopped

Now Ira's folks were hungry
And their land grew crops of weeds
When war came, Ira volunteered
And forgot the white man's greed

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

There they battled up Iwo Jima's hill,
Two hundred and fifty men
But only twenty-seven lived to walk back down again

And when the fight was over
And when Old Glory raised
Among the men who held it high
Was the Indian, Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Ira returned a hero
Celebrated through the land
He was wined and speeched and honored; Everybody shook his hand

But he was just a Pima Indian
No water, no crops, no chance
At home nobody cared what Ira'd done
And when did the Indians dance

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Then Ira started drinkin' hard;
Jail was often his home
They'd let him raise the flag and lower it
like you'd throw a dog a bone!

He died drunk one mornin'
Alone in the land he fought to save
Two inches of water in a lonely ditch
Was a grave for Ira Hayes

[CHORUS:]
Call him drunken Ira Hayes
He won't answer anymore
Not the whiskey drinkin' Indian
Nor the Marine that went to war

Yeah, call him drunken Ira Hayes
But his land is just as dry
And his ghost is lyin' thirsty
In the ditch where Ira died

Guarding the potty

I've had a number of people ask me about the picture of soldiers guarding the Portapotties..........really happened! Someone wrote something in a portapotty that the commanding officer took offense at. His punishment....make Seth and Eli's platoon stand guard 24/7 until everybody had a chance at this shitty assignment. All he wants is a little RESPECT.

Good News, Bad News, Maybe No News....

It's been kind of a slow week at Lovellsoldiers. Not much news to report. I do know that Seth and Eli are running around somewhere outside the wire (up North is the word I get) and hopefully will return to Al Asad this weekend. We live for those phone calls when we know they've been on a sightseeing trip. It's always a relief to know that they're safe and sound. In a previous post I noted that plans seem to be underway for leave in December...well hold on now...you know that in the Army nothing is definite until its over and done with. There seems to be some indication that their replacements are ahead of schedule and may be arriving in March. At least that's the word from the battalion commander. If replacements do indeed arrive in March nobody really knows what that means. Do our boys come home early? Your guess is as good as mine. The big "IF".....if their orders are changed to come home earlier than expected then there won't be any leaves granted. Of course, I don't put it past the Army to not give leave AND keep them in Iraq until July.
Now here's the kicker. If Seth and Eli came home in June or July they would be out of the National Guard before they would be eligible for another deployment, BUT if they come home in March or April they could conceivably be deployed again before getting out in May 2008.
My advice....pay no attention to the man behind the curtain pulling all those levers and making all that noise. What will happen will happen. Right now we've got bigger things to worry about - like just getting the hell out of Iraq with all limbs and emotional stability intact.

Guarding the Potty and other pics

What's a commanding officer to do when someone disses you by writing on the portapotty wall that you're bipolar? Apparently it calls for a command decision....guard the portapotty.

All the comforts of home....if your home is the top of an ASV!

Eli with Haditha Dam in the background

Most recent email from Seth

Dear Family and Friends,

Just a few random thoughts from Al Anbar:

Today Eli and I both received combat patches for serving in a combat zone for
over thirty days. It is my second combat patch, but it is still meaningful. Our
Battalion Commander and Battalion Sergeant Major came to talk with us about the
importance of this day and our service. They also wanted to wish up a happy
veteran’s day, a holiday that will carry significance for us for the rest of our
lives.

Yesterday was the Marine Corps Birthday, they were founded in 1775. Every year
they have a big to do when their birthday comes around. They had steak, lobster
tails, Cornish hen, and all kinds of other treats in the chow hall. Not to
mention music being played, a huge display of carved fruits, and the statue of
the flag raising at Iwo Jima. But to top it all off they had beer at dinner for
everyone… except for us. Our group Battalion Commander (who is a Muslim) did not
believe that we should be drinking alcohol, so forbade us to do it. Some of the senior leadership here really knows how to crash a party and stomp
out morale.

I enjoy talking politics with random people in our unit because it is nice to
hear the opinions of other people. Some times I say things just to hear what
kind of response I get. I recently asked one of my fellow soldiers from the
101st airborne what he thought about the possibility of Hillary Clinton and
Barrack Obama being president and vice president, his exact response was, “I
don’t think a woman and a black Muslim should be allowed to rule the United
States of America.” I hope this soldier does not represent the majority of
Americans, especially since Obama is a Christian. A little disturbing to think
about how uninformed some voters truly are.

Our last patrol was the longest that I have had to drive an ASV in one day. We
spent eleven hours straight driving. By the end of the trip I was extremely sore
and tired. After eleven hours you would think that we would of ended up in some
distant region near Iraq’s border. The truth is eleven hours of driving took us approximately ten miles from
Al Asad. Where we were sleeping we could see the lights of the base. We had to
cross the Euphrates, and the only accessible route that wasn’t damaged was all
the way up north at the Haditha damn. The bridge that should have given us
access to the outpost we were heading to had been destroyed sometime last year.
There is no doubt when driving around Iraq that this is a country at war.

I miss home everyday, but some days are worse then others. Days with
significance make me think of home the most, days such as birthdays, holidays,
anniversaries, and other special occasions. This past Friday was mine and
Brittany’s five-year anniversary since our first date. I would of loved to have
been at home taking my beautiful wife out for a celebration of our time
together, instead I just sent her flowers. Five years ago, when I was seventeen
and Brittany was fifteen, we went out to Scotto’s for a pizza, and what would be
the start of a wonderful relationship. We were joking on the phone about how the next five years
will be so much better, because I will actually be home for more than half of
them. I’m a lucky man to have such a wonderful wife.

I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and enjoying your weekend. Take care
and I look forward to talking to you all soon,

Lots of Love from Iraq,
Seth

Feel good story.......not so feel good story

Here's two related stories. First I watched a story on Good Morning America the other day about the money that is being donated by people to help our veterans and our military. Bottom line in the story is that there are a lot of good organizations soliciting money and doing good work. Unfortunately there are a number of organizations and people who are taking money primarily for themselves. Here's a link to the story and the list of national organizations that get a grade of "F" for failing to earn our trust. A not so feel good story if there ever was one.
Now to the Feel Good. I am constantly amazed and uplifted by the generosity of people. People who just want to help and just want our servicemen and women know that they are appreciated. Meredith is the wife of a soldier in Seth and Eli's platoon. She and Brittany have become friends through this shared ordeal. Meredith was concerned about the sleeping conditions for our soldiers.....lumpy mattresses that have already been heavily used, no pillows unless you brought one with you...things we take for granted, but mean something to a weary soldier. Meredith made up some posters and along with Brittany posted them around Harrisonburg and the hospital where Brittany works....they asked for help sending mattress toppers, mattress pad covers and pillows to our soldiers. The upshot of all this is this week Meredith and Brittany sent 40 boxes to Meredith's husband...one box for each soldier in the platoon. The boxes contain things to make their sleep just a little more comfortable..not just physically comfortable, but emotionally comfortable knowing that so many people are caring about them and loving them - sometimes total strangers, but caring for them. Sweet Dreams indeed!

A Subway is a Subway is a Subway.....NOT

I spent enjoyable half hour or so yesterday afternoon talking with Seth. That conversation was followed by an early morning call this morning from Eli. The boys had been out on a mission and when Seth called yesterday they had just returned. They had delivered supplies to a distant FOB (Forward Operating Base) spending the night there before returning. It is a small FOB and Eli spent the night in the ASV while Seth slept on top of his ASV. Today, after sleeping in until 10 AM they ran some errands going to the PX to pick up some things and Seth went to get a haircut. Apparently he's tired of Eli cutting his his hair and wanted something different....how different can you get when you have no hair? He wanted to get a fade, which is different from a high and tight which is different from Eli's buzz cut.
They enjoyed lunch at the Subway today. Maybe "enjoyed" is too strong a word. Subway in Iraq is a little different from Subway in Fishersville! What good is teriyaki chicken without teriyaki sauce? And how can you not have pork products? One kind of cheese, eight different subs.....a lack of choices, but it's still Subway and a nice change of pace. A day off today, light duty tomorrow, off on Sunday except for attending a ceremony to receive Combat Infantry Badges then a probable mission next week.

The morality police take aim at the Pentagon

Every time I stray from my goal of being news and politics free I feel the need to apologize. I know some of my reader's are devout Republicans...heck some of you may even be card carrying members of the morality police. But I've always believed that even Republicans like a little porn now and then....especially in the privacy of your own bedroom. Anyway, sometimes I come across a little tidbit of news that just too good not to comment on. This piece of news strikes home because here in Staunton we're dealing with our own "Porn" issue.
According to an article in USA Today, dozens of religious and anti-pornography groups have complained to Congress and Defense Secretary Robert Gates that military bases are selling adult fare such as Penthouse and Playboy. Now this is a problem because ten years ago, our Republican majority in Congress banned the sale of sexually explicit material on military bases. Believe it or not, the Pentagon has a committee to review material to see if it is sexually explicit. They say they use appropriate guidelines to review materials for sale. What we have is a difference of opinion. The pentagon's Resale Activities Board of Review says Pentahouse and Playboy are not sexually explicit.....I don't know about you, but in the days when I read Playboy (taken from under my father's bed) I was reading the articles, not looking at pictures. Based on my experiences I would have to agree with the Board of Review.....However, Donald Wildmon, head of the American Family Association, thinks otherwise....he's supporting our troops by watching out for their moral failings.
Now this is interesting stuff to me because Staunton just got its first porn store a couple of weeks ago. It's a huge deal, with the local Republican party making this into a campaign issue and some straight-laced, tight-lipped local women hosting protests. Our Commonwealth Attorney is indicting the store owner and vows to run this store out of town. I'm just glad to know that we have no other pressing issues so our Commonwealth's Attorney has time to devote to this important issue. It's almost as if we don't have any shootings, rapes, drug or gang activity to worry about.
What's wrong with people when the only thing they have to worry about is what someone else is watching or reading behind closed doors.

Seth's ASV Buddies

Dear Family and Friends,
One of the great things about the military is the fact that it is a microcosm of American society. You meet people with very diverse backgrounds, from very different parts of the country. When I was in Basic Training my best friend was a guy named Vince Navaro. He was an African American from the Bronx. He joined the military because he had just had twin boys, and didn’t have the money to provide for them. He confided in me that he had sold drugs for some time, but he needed to do something good for his family. I had a lot of respect for Vince, and appreciated his honesty with me. My other friends included a firefighter from Washington State, a student from Illinois, a Haitian immigrant who was trying to become a citizen, and a carpenter whose parents were both from Puerto Rico. These are just some of the many interesting people that accompanied m e through Basic Training. While the National Guard is not as diverse because it represents one specific State and an exact region in that state, you still encounter people from all different walks of life. We are serving with an active duty battalion from the 101st Airborne Division, so our unit has recently become more diverse. Since one of the most important aspects of my life over here is the two other soldiers that I ride with in the ASV I figured I would briefly fill you all in on their stories.

SGT Neil Wood (Truck Commander) – SGT Wood is in his mid thirties, and has been in the National Guard for fourteen years. He has been to Cuba, and the Sinai on previous deployments. He lives in Waynesboro and works at the Target distribution center. His father owns a hunting club in Nelson County, which is where SGT Wood spends most of his free time. He is a very straightforward guy, who is not big on talking. He is quiet, yet assertive when he wants to be. He is a diehard Republican, and gets all riled up when I start talking about Hilary Clinton. He is married and has two young children. He is a good guy and a good sergeant who takes care of his soldiers.

PFC Bill Docherty (Gunner) - Bill is an interesting story. He is a member of the active duty 101st who have been assigned to help support our group. He is thirty-eight years old, and just joined the National Guard last year. He joined after congress authorized moving the minimum age up from thirty-five. He had previously worked in carpeting and flooring for twenty years, and said he needed a break. He jointed the army because it was something he always wanted to do, and he needed a change in his life. He is very intelligent, and is very handy when dealing with the ASV. He is from PA just north of Pittsburgh. He now lives at Ft Campbell in Kentucky with his wife and two teenage children.
And of course there is me, SPC Lovell, the driver.
For me the best thing about the military is the men that you serve with. You go through so much that it is impossible not to grow close. We have sat in our ASV for hours on end during convoys and talked about just about everything. While we are all very different people, there is one main thing we share in common. We love the military and our country, but we are ready to see this war end and get home to our loved ones. For SGT Wood and I that day will hopefully come some day at the beginning of this summer. Bill is here for fifteen months since he is Active Duty, so his time here will continue once SGT Wood and I leave.
I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well and enjoying the start of November. I will continue to keep you all updated as to how things are going over here in the beautiful country of Iraq. I have recently added a number of names to my e-mail list, so I wanted to mention that if you haven’t already, you can see pictures and news about Eli and I on my Dad’s blog at www.lovellsoldiers.blogspot.com. Take care and I look forward to talking to you all soon,

Lots of Love from Iraq,

Seth

A couple of pics from the boys.....

Going shopping

I continue to post emails from the boys even though I know most of you get these....I do know that I get random readers every once in a while and I want to keep a good record of the boy's experience...something for prosperity I guess. Here's Eli's latest email:

Dear friends and family,

Seth and I just returned from spending the past four days in Baghdad. While driving there I once again witnessed very normal scenes which is still a weird sight for me as I roll past this normalcy in a heavily armored and heavily armed military vehicle. While driving down the highway past Ramadi we saw a soccer (or football depending on who you ask) game taking place. There was a crowd of people watching the game and nobody except a few young boys even turned around to pay our convoy any attention. Once again it was like we were not there.
One of the days while we were in Baghdad we went to an Iraqi Bazaar on the base. They had all types of vendors set up with a wide variety of merchandise for sale. Seth bought a copy of the Koran which had both the Arabic and English translations, and I, going along with the theme of football (soccer), bought an authentic Iraqi football (soccer) jersey. The vendor, Amir was his name, and I got into a long conversation about Iraq's soccer team which recently won the Asian Cup. Amir spoke decent English and so we were able to carry on a pretty good conversation. He told me their football team was the proudest thing for their country. He said he would give me any jersey I wanted, whatever number I like. I asked for #10, Katy's number in basketball, and so he went digging through the jerseys he had, but no luck. I then told him to pick his favorite player and that is the one I would get. So, not only did I get Amir's favorite player's jersey, I also got a nice little run down of all Amir's favorite players. The jersey I got was #7, Emad Mohammed, who leads the team in goals scored. Iraq's last match was against Pakistan on October 28 in Damascus, Syria. The game ended at 0-0 and was a world cup qualifier. All of the Iraqi football players are natives of Iraq, but none of the players currently reside here. They practice and play all of their games outside of Iraq, for obvious reasons.
I know Christmas decorations start showing up earlier and earlier every year, and the same goes for the bases in Iraq. The PX at Al Asad and at BIAP (Baghdad International Airport) are already displaying all of their Christmas decorations and sales. Crazy! Also, along with the Christmas decorations, the start of a new month (which is always something to celebrate), we had another sign that winter is approaching the desert....cold weather! The other night we were up and at it around midnight to stage our vehicles, we had a 2am mission brief, and our mission started at 3am, and it was in the 50s....which to us was frigid.Even though we were cold, it was a great feeling!
I hope you all are doing well. Thanks for all the support and encouragement you are sending this way...it is greatly appreciated. Take care!
Love,
Eli

Books for Soldiers

When Seth was in Afghanistan, he participated in a wonderful program called Books for Soldiers. He received many books and notes from people all over the United States. Soldiers can log into this site and request specific books. People who have joined Books for Soldiers can peruse the requests and respond by sending requested books. We talked with Eli this morning and he told us about receiving The Winds of War by Herman Wouk from a woman in Arizona. In addition she sent him magazines and note cards. What a wonderful person! I don't know her, but she has to be a terrific person. I looked at the web site for Books for Soldiers. It takes some effort to volunteer to send books....You have to print and complete the application, have it notarized and send it back to BFS. You have to shop for the soldier you choose to provide a book for and you mail it at your own expense. This isn't just give us some money and we'll get the books to the soldiers. This is an intimate, work hard to do good kind of thing.....that's how I know the woman in Arizona is a wonderful person. I thank her from the bottom of my heart for taking care of my son! In this cynical world we live in, I am constantly uplifted by the kindness of people. Support the war or not.....people support the soldiers. Hate the War....Love the Soldiers.
Seth and Eli are back at Al Asad after a delayed return due to sand storms. It looks like things are falling into place for a December leave for both Seth and Eli. Details to follow!

Water Volleyball.....postponed trip.....Our favorite book....

A favorite Lovell family book is Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth. Written in 1989 it is a huge, sweeping tale of twelfth century England and the building of a cathedral. You fall in love with the characters and when the book ends after 1100 or so pages, you feel a strong sense of loss. You want the book to go on forever. Everybody in the family has read it, but Josh (and it's on his to-do list once he gets out of school and actually has time for pleasure reading.) In addition we've passed it on to numerous friends and relatives as a book you have to read before you die! Seth learned the other day that Follett had released a sequel...World Without End. His new story picks up the same location, two hundred years later and is set against the backdrop of the black plague. Seth was so excited when he learned this, he called immediately from Iraq to spread the good news! Talk about surreal...talking to your son in Iraq about a newly released book. You would think he would have more pressing matters on his mind, but this is what excited him - and me! I can hardly wait to get my hands on the new book!
Seth and Eli were supposed to be leaving on a mission this weekend, but a phone call on Sunday revealed they had never left the base. Jan and I had a wonderful walk with Seth as he called during our Sunday afternoon walk. We put him on speakerphone and just walked and talked. It was a surprise call since we thought they were out on a mission. Apparently you just can't go driving around in Iraq without first contacting every outpost and sector that you'll be driving through and around. They need to know you're coming.....kind of like "we'll leave the light on for you." Anyway, they hadn't contacted all of the outposts so the trip was postponed. Since they were on base over the weekend they decided to look for a little recreation. Seth and Eli organized a water volleyball game with some of their friends after locating an indoor pool on the grounds of the air base. Leave it to Seth and Eli to find all the recreational outlets available. If I had to be in Iraq, I think I'd like to be with them!

Bigger is not better....an email from Seth

Jan and I had the pleasure of an early morning phone call with the boys. We did a conference call with Seth and Eli on seperate computers so we could all talk. Always a nice way to start the day! According to the boys they've developed a nice routine when they are on the base. They're working out in the gym each evening after supper, showering, shaving and then returning to their room for a movie before retiring. They're back on the base until this weekend when they will head out again. I'm sure most of you have seen Seth's most recent email, but here it is:

Dear Family and Friends,
I just got back from another patrol, this one to a place down south called Al Taqquaddum. This was my first trip down South, and it was my first patrol with Eli. This convoy was also the largest that I have been a part of. I am sure you all are all familiar with the saying, "Bigger is Better," well when it comes to convoys it is not the case. The convoy consisted of about fifty vehicles, which is probably the largest convoy we will be a part of. There are numerous problems that can occur in a convoy that size, and it seemed that we had to deal with all of them. The trip was supposed to take around three hours, but it instead took about seven hours. Some of the problems that come with large convoys are communication issues, slow speeds, and large distances between the element. At one point we estimated that the convoy stretched for about three and a half miles. One of the biggest problems that usually occurs has nothing to do with the size of the convoy, but with the size of the trucks we are escorting. These large trucks hauling full loads are not made to travel on the rough roads that Iraq has to offer. We frequently have to stop for breakdowns, blown tires, and for the truck drivers to make sure their load is still secured. The truck drivers that we escort are a combination of military drivers, and KBR workers. It is interesting to consider that the KBR workers and the military drivers do the exact same job, expose themselves to the same dangers, but there is about a $75,000 pay discrepancy between the two groups. The KBR drivers are typically older, ex-military, and male. They are good guys, but their main motivation is money. The military drivers that we escort are predominantly younger, and are mainly males with a few females mixed in. While money is a factor, it is not the primary reason they are serving. They are serving because it is an opportunity to better themselves, and because they believe in what they are doing. While I do not believe in the reasons for being here in Iraq, and I think our administration has let our military and our country down, I do feel like our armed forces are doing good things over here. I don't believe in this war, but I believe in our military. I respect the KBR drivers for what they do, but I respect and admire the military drivers even more for what they do.
I hope this e-mail finds you all doing well, and having a good week. I am glad to hear that rain has finally graced the valley with its presence, I do not look forward to the day when rain appears here in Iraq. Eli and I are doing well, and have settled into a routine. We think about you all and about home often, and know that it won't be long before we are back in good ole Virginia. Take care and I look forward to talking to you all soon,
Love from Iraq,
Seth