The underlying reason

Many of you may wonder where my involvement with Soldier's Angels came from. You may wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing. Praying, mailing cards and packages are ways that I make a difference for one or a few of the hundreds of thousands over there. It's been in my heart for a couple of years now and I'm just recently figuring out what to do about it.

It all started in the craziest of ways. Tracy and I were in San Diego (@2006?)visiting our friends, Rick and Tisa. We were just going out the door to meet others at a restaurant when I overheard on the television behind me, "Coming up next on the 6oclock evening news: When Sgt. Nathan //// of Blah, Blah Blah was hit by an IED in Iraq, he made it home and didn't let it keep him down, he just fought harder..." The anchor then went to break and I was left standing in the floor yelling to Tracy, "That's Nathan! Nathan and Ginger! My roommates from college!" I hadn't heard from them since we lost touch around 2003 due to address changes.

I was stunned and I Googled into the night and the next day. I found them and found out that they were at Walter Reed. We had a few visits while they were there and then they moved back out west. They are never far from my mind. They were wonderful friends (and family) in college when I really needed that, being so far from home. We were at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. I lived with them for about 2 years. At that time, Ginger was already a veteran. She had been in the Army and then out before college. Nathan enlisted afterward, as I found out later.

They struggle daily with the injuries Nathan sustained in Iraq. He lost a leg, a finger, has shrapnel everywhere and had a rod put where his other femur was. His remaining leg gives him trouble because the hip socket and rod don't quite jive, to put it in my terms. His prosthetic leg is considered his good leg and it's very painful at the joint (stump). He has to have more surgery on his abdomen. This is following exploratory surgery that was performed to stabilize him in Germany before he was transported back to the States. He now has five hernias in there that have to be removed. He goes back to the VA hospital in Okla. City for his consult at the end of June to get the surgery date.

He's a very humble man and would probably fuss at me for posting all of this about him but I felt that I needed to tell his story. He's like all of the others over there, still here, or just back. They do their job without hesitation, they lean into danger when it's needed. His dedication is not forgotten. His comrades are not forgotten. I just hope he knows how inspiring he is and realizes it enough to care for himself so that he can continue to spread the hope that's in him; the hope that didn't die that day near that dreaded flower bed.

Nathan and Ginger are both awesome patriots and this has been simmering in me since our reconnection after Nathan's accident. I talked with her this morning and that conversation just adds fuel to the flames that are burning in me. These men and women sacrifice now and their futures for us, our country. So, in honor of them and the many other veterans, I have become dedicated to making deployment a little better for some of those in the military.

Wanna know how you can too? Go to http://www.soldiersangels.com/ or http://www.somegaveall.org/ The 2008 Some Gave All Rallly is June 7. That would be a good place to start.

Some Gave All, All Gave Some