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'Dear Soldier ...'An innocent understanding of combat ... nothing is ever certain
Editor's note: In our Behind the Scenes series, CNN correspondents share their experiences in covering news around the world. By
Martin Savidge KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (CNN) -- Have you ever written to a soldier? Not someone you know in the military, someone you don't. One of those "Dear Soldier" letters mailed to some far-off person in uniform and in harm's way. And have you ever wondered if they got it? Did they read it? Did it matter? Let me tell you what I've seen. Not long after I got here, I was on the front line of the perimeter that surrounds the Kandahar Airport, where our media coverage is based. I was with Charlie Company 2187, 101st Airborne, Rakkasan. The platoon leader was Sgt. Kelly-Jack Luman from Texas. These were Luman's men.
A soldier showed me a card he got from someone. He didn't know from whom. He carefully unfolded the worn missive made of yellow and pink paper. Inside was a photograph of the 9-year-old author. It was written with the crystal clear simplicity children seem to have a gift for. It said, "Jesus loves you … and so do I." He gently placed the letter back in his pocket, the one nearest his heart. "If I should die here," he said, "I may not be able to take the card, but I will take her words with me, wherever it is I go." In other fighting holes, I find more photos of strangers. They are faces that the soldiers say remind them why they're here. What it's all about. It keeps them focused during long bitter cold nights on the line. 'Do it for Tommy'Elsewhere, outside a command tent, placed on a stand and encased in plastic is another letter. "Dear Hero", it begins. "Thank you for making our country safe. You are some of the bravest people in the world. Because of you the children of today will live tomorrow." It's signed, "Sincerely, Tommy." No one knows much about Tommy. Except that he lives in New York. But officers come and go at this tent. All have seen the letter. And if their soldiers have to do something, they say, "Do it for Tommy." I know that sounds like some sappy dialogue from a black-and-white World War II movie, but here in the real-war world it has true meaning and is said with true feeling. Inside the airport terminal, reams of white paper are stuck to the walls, adorned with the drawings and words of more children. They were sent for the Marines at Christmas. The paper is weathered and showing the effects of dust and time. The Marines are gone. No one takes these letters down. Eight-year-olds scrawl in marker, "Thank you," "God Bless you." Some get more wordy: "I love you very much to my hart" (sic). Others, less accustomed to the catch phrases of war write, "Good luck, do the best you can." "Hope you win." I like these best of all because they suggest an innocent understanding of combat in which, despite the words of leaders, nothing is ever certain. They adorn their words with pictures of themselves, of soldiers with flags. Paper stars and stripes that billow on the breeze blowing through the terminal. So back to where I started. The answer is yes: The cards, the photos, the posters matter. They matter more than I can find the words to write -- and more than you will ever know. |
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