I started blogging in October 2004. My blog was titled "American Soldier" and it chronicled my son's experiences while serving in the War on Terror in Afghanistan. Seth and Eli joined the Virginia National Guard in the spring of 2003 - their senior year in high school. Their motivation? A surge of patriotism after 9/11, a firm conviction that giving back to their community was a good thing, a blief in the commercials that you can be a weekend warrior while helping your community, state and nation in times of need. The commercials show citizen/soldiers fighting forest fires, assisting during floods and huricanes. Cool stuff for an 18 year old boy. I still remember my wife telling the boys that, bottom line, you need to be prepared to fight a war. The recruiter countered that the Virginia National Guard hadn't been deployed outside the state of Virginia since World War II. The boys joined against the wishes of their mother, but I have to admit I was proud of their decision.
Long story, short....Seth and Eli enjoyed one semester of college before heading off for basic training - Seth in Infantry and Eli to be a combat medic. Seth returned from basic training in June of 2004 and by September was on his way to Fort Bragg to prepare for deployment to Afghanistan with the 3-116th Infantry of the National Guard. My blog was born - therapy for the soul. When Seth returned from Afghanistan I thought my blogging days were over, but in the spring of 2007 word came that both Seth and Eli would be deploying to Iraq...the blog was revived under the new name, "American Soldiers."
The boys have less than 48 left in Iraq. They will depart sometime this weekend, spend a couple of days in Kuwait then about a week in Mississippi before returning to Woodstock and home. I'll put my blog to bed....hopefully for good. But the question nagging me now is what to do with my blog? It represents a part of the Lovell family history. Can it stay on the internet forever? My oldest son, Joshua, printed out all the pages when Seth returned from Afghanistan and put them in a nice binder - a kind of keepsake for Seth. I tried my hand at self-publishing this past Christmas when I published some of my father-in-laws art into a hard-covered book using a web site called "Blurb." With little effort I turned out a beautiful 40 page book of his art called "A man, a pencil and a piece of paper." Blurb can automatically turn your blog into a book....the problem....my blog would need a 400 page book and would be prohibitively expensive. You can see my problem. As I continue to update my blog covering the return of the 3-116th to Woodstock I'll be thinking about how to put my blog to bed. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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6 comments:
I have found your blog very informative not only in reporting on the boys and their situation, but also on your political views. It would be a shame to not preserve the essence of it in some way. It made the experiences of war more real and pertinent than the daily news reporting; I think the service you provided to those of us who read the blog is immeasurable. It even prompted me to write to my representative about Seth's plight in regards to his education. You probably will never fully know the extent of its effects, but the insight and relavence it provided were eye opening. Susan, and her family also found it very worthwhile as a
personal view of how the war touched and effected you as a family. As you know, education is a core tool to action and understanding. I will pray that God will give you the insight to follow thru and act as the solution is presented to you. Our prayers are with you and Jan regarding the health of her parents; as well as the boys safe travel. Writing should be a perk of your retirement, you have a great gift. Love, Kay and family
My Son is deployed with Eli, he is also a medic. Since finding out about your blog, I have been reading it ever day even when there is nothing new on it. In one of the write ups about the Medics in the Virginia National Guard my son Scott was mentioned. It was nice to here that they are appreciated for what they do. Please keep the blog going,Even thou our sons will be home soon, I hope, there are many sons and daughters that are still there. My prayers are with our sons May they return soon.
Russ
Mr. and Mrs. Lovell,
My name is LTC John Epperly and I am your sons' battalion commander. Several of my Soldiers have blogs that I read when I can to see how things are going for my Soldiers. It’s a great window in daily reality. As you put your blog to bed, please know that I have truly enjoyed reading it. You have given our Nation and Commonwealth two very fine young men. Thank You for your sacrifice in these past months. I know the worry you must have felt. I have two sons myself. I’ve worried over all 810 of my troops for many months and by God's providence we'll ALL be returning home soon. I'll miss you at their homecoming in Woodstock as I still must bring out the last of our companies a couple weeks later. But, I wanted to thank you for your support. May God Bless you and your family!
PS Don't look now, but there will be an airplane coming over the horizon soon...as promised.
John
I was reading your comments about your experience with the boy's signing up. Same thing here; I didn't want Scott to do it because he didn't have to. We would have paid for his education but he did it anyway. And he was also told that the National Guard unit hadn't been sent oversees since WWII. SO much for that. His father was proud and I was nervous and see who was right on this one.
I'm proud of him but I will be prouder when he is home safe and sound and out of that God-forsaken country.
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