A letter from a soldier to his mother and the American people.

[Andrew LB]

Preface from Sgt. Hook: I received an email from a mother whose son is currently fighting in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division. He and his platoon have penned a message to the American public that is a little different from the message we are getting via the MSM. He asked his mom to help get this message out and she asked me. Here it is from the soldiers on the ground…

Mom,

Be my voice. I want this message heard. It is mine and my platoon’s to the country. A man I know lost his legs the other night. He is in another company in our batallion. I can no longer be silent after watching the sacrifices made by Iraqis and Americans everyday. Send it to a congressman if you have to. Send it to FOX news if you have to. Let this message be heard please…

My fellow Americans, I have a task for those with the courage and fortitude to take it. I have a message that needs not fall on deaf ears. A vision the blind need to see. I am not a political man nor one with great wisdom. I am just a soldier who finds himself helping rebuild a country that he helped liberate a couple years ago.

I have watched on television how the American public questions why their mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters are fighting and dying in a country 9000 miles away from their own soil. Take the word of a soldier, for that is all I am, that our cause is a noble one. The reason we are here is one worth fighting for. A cause that has been the most costly and sought after cause in our small span of existence on our little planet. Bought in blood and paid for by those brave enough to give the ultimate sacrifice to obtain it. A right that is given to every man, woman, and child I believe by God. I am talking of freedom.

Freedom. One word but yet countless words could never capture it’s true meaning or power. “For those who have fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know.” I read that once and it couldn’t be more true. It’s not the average American’s fault that he or she is “blind and deaf” to the taste of freedom. Most Americans are born into their God-given right so it is all they ever know. I was once one of them. I would even dare to say that it isn’t surprising that they take for granted what they have had all their life. My experiences in the military however opened my eyes to the truth.

Ironically you will find the biggest outcries of opposition to our cause from those who have had no military experience and haven’t had to fight for freedom. I challenge all of those who are daring enough to question such a noble cause to come here for just a month and see it first hand. I have a feeling that many voices would be silenced.

I watched Cindy Sheehan sit on the President’s lawn and say that America isn’t worth dying for. Later she corrected herself and said Iraq isn’t worth dying for. She badmouthed all that her son had fought and died for. I bet he is rolling over in his grave.

Ladies and gentleman I ask you this. What if you lived in a country that wasn’t free? What if someone told you when you could have heat, electricity, and water? What if you had no sewage systems so human waste flowed into the streets? What if someone would kill you for bad-mouthing your government? What if you weren’t allowed to watch TV, connect to the internet, or have cell phones unless under extreme censorship? What if you couldn’t put shoes on your child’s feet?

You need not have a great understanding of the world but rather common sense to realize that it is our duty as HUMAN BEINGS to free the oppressed. If you lived that way would you not want someone to help you????

The Iraqis pour into the streets to wave at us and when we liberated the cities during the war they gathered in the thousands to cheer, hug and kiss us. It was what the soldiers in WW2 experienced, yet no one questioned their cause!! Saddam was no better than Hitler! He tortured and killed thousands of innocent people. We are heroes over here, yet Americans badmouth our President for having us here.

Every police station here has a dozen or more memorials for officers that were murdered trying to ensure that their people live free. These are husbands, fathers, and sons killed every day. What if it were your country? What would your choice be? Everything we fight for is worth the blood that may be shed. The media never reports the true HEROISM I witness everyday in the Iraqis. Yes, there are bad one’s here, but I assure you they are a minuscule percent. Yet they are a number big enough to cause worry in this country’s future.

I have watched brave souls give their all and lose their lives and limbs for this cause. I will no longer stand silent and let the “deaf and blind” be the only voice shouting. Stonewall Jackson once said, “All that I have, all that I am is at the service of the country.” For these brave souls who gave the ultimate sacrifice, including your son Cindy Sheehan, I will shout till I can no longer. These men and women are heroes. Their spirit lives on in their military and they will never be forgotten. They did not die in vain but rather for a cause that is larger than all of us.

My fellow countrymen and women, we are not overseas for our country alone but also another. We are here to spread democracy and freedom to those who KNOW the true taste of it because they fight for it everyday. You can see the desire in their eyes and I am honored to fight alongside them as an Infantryman in the 101st Airborne.

Freedom is not free, but yet it is everyone’s right to have. Ironic, isn’t it? That is why we are here. Though you will always have the skeptics, I know that most of our military will agree with this message. Please, at the request of this soldier spread this message to all you know. We are in Operation Iraqi Freedom and that is our goal. It is a cause that I and thousands of others stand ready to pay the ultimate sacrifice for because, Cindy Sheehan, freedom is worth dying for, no matter what country it is! And after the world is free only then can we hope to have peace.

SGT XXX and 1st Platoon
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

[Aquaholic]

Andrew,

Thank you for posting this, but I can only wonder how long it will take javafiend or the other DU'ers here to question its authenticity because it has no verifiable sig.

It's a shame too. Having lived 2 years in Saudi Arabia I do have an idea of what it's like to lose even a little of the freedom I once took for granted. It is my firm belief that many in this country are being very short-sighted. How could one not see the enormous benefit a free, democratic Iraq will be to that region, and as an ally in the war on terror for decades to come.

If we can't microwave it in under a minute, we don't want it. Pathetic.

[Andrew LB]

Don't worry. I'll counter the leftist wackos before they have a chance to discredit me.

http://sgthook.com/2005/11/17/taste-of-freedom/

His name is:

SGT Walter J. Rausch and 1st Platoon
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)


DUmmies are not looked kindly upon by me. I'm sure they also support "code pink" and their "New Years In Cuba"....

http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=531

Bunch of America hating commie hippies. I hope Bush calls in an airstrike. One on their flight while its arriving in Cuba. And another on Castro's Villa.

[Garand Guy]

I don't mean to sound skeptical, but the soldier's unit is missing a few details.

What regiment is this brave young man in? What Battalion (sp)?
Do you have any idea how many "1st Platoons" there are just in the 101st?

I am very thankful and grateful that there are so many in uniform that are risking so much to keep us free and safe here at home, and I hope this is an authentic letter. However, I am just a skeptical type of person when it comes to letters like this. I hope I'm wrong!

[Andrew LB]

The site i linked said the following:

UPDATE: Some have called for the disclosure of the letter writer’s name to add credibility to the letter. Understanble. I did not enclose his name or unit for OPSEC reasons as we must remember that he and his platoon are in a warzone in a fight for their lives against a very savvy enemy. I emailed the young sergeant to let him know the response his letter is receiving and that many have requested permission to forward it to their representatives in Washington D.C. After checking with his commander regarding OPSEC, you’ll be glad to know that SGT Walter J. Rausch has authorized anyone to send his letter to whomever they see fit in helping to get his word out.

And regardless of people who may doubt the authenticity, every soldier I know who has served in Iraq agrees with this message. I certainly do.

[DAVID NANCARROW]

I sure hope that "Mom" has a way to take this letter to DC and tattoo the message to every politician's head, be they for or against the war. As in many things, the soldier stands to lose the most, yet is heard the least.

As with my son, winding down a year in that hell, he is still a believer in the cause they fight for. The reporters, for the most part, do not venture out of their hotels except when a bomb goes off or an American is killed. Those in the position to really convey the feelings of the soldiers do not. Why this is, I cannot say.

Seems that most of the press will jump all over a disgruntled soldier's opinion and hold it up as if its the ONLY opinion held by the troops. I'm not going to disparage an opposing opinion of a soldier who is there and has to live in the Suck zone, but it seems wrong to me to politicise a situation where people are having to deal with war. I tire quickly of people who use the war as a punch line.

Our soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines and coasties deserve a lot better than what they get from either side.

[Double Naught Spy]

Don't worry. I'll counter the leftist wackos before they have a chance to discredit me.

http://sgthook.com/2005/11/17/taste-of-freedom/

His name is:

SGT Walter J. Rausch and 1st Platoon
101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)


DUmmies are not looked kindly upon by me. I'm sure they also support "code pink" and their "New Years In Cuba"....

http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=531

Bunch of America hating commie hippies. I hope Bush calls in an airstrike. One on their flight while its arriving in Cuba. And another on Castro's Villa.

Well Andy, I think you have already done it for the wackos. You see, apparently any attempt to question the authenticity of the letter makes you feel like people are discrediting you. The only reason you would feel that way is if you penned it or were somehow responsible for its content. Your overly defensive stance and aggressive tone do not add credibility to the letter. In fact, the fact that you are providing the information in this manner would point to something not being right and that you are trying to cover the problem with aggression.

So this soldier penned a letter for his unit that was sent to his mother whom he asked to make it public. She did by sending it to Sgt. Hook.

Okay, that is just precious. The portion about sending the letter to his mother is meant to pull at the heart strings. Apparently, mom didn't know what to do so she recycled the letter back through the military to Hook who made it public as Andrew LB or Andrew LB took the letter form Hook, but will feel discredited if somebody attacks it. Odd.

From the description alone, it is obvious that there is no accountable source. The letter has changed hands several times and at some point has been converted to electronic format where is it no longer in the original form if it was originally handwritten. I figure it must have been handwritten or the soldier would have direct emailed it to several of his friends and relatives, not just one copy to mom. However, the soldier obviously has TV and what not, so I have to think he would have access to email. I can't figure out why he only sent this to his mom. He could have sent it many places himself. If he was as passionate about the topic as claimed, he would have sent it many places himself. Heck, why didn't he just set up his own BLOG like other soldiers?

So did Walt's father die this year? Last year after Thanksgiving, he was apparently writing to his parents. Now he just writes to his mom. Why? http://taemag.com/printVersion/print...rticleID=17810


Because of the chain of transitions, Andrew LB cannot vouch for its actual authenticity or not do so in a credible manner. Even if the letter was provided by a mother, he has no way to know that she did not pen the letter herself.

Of course I do like the added touch of first having the soldier be annymous and then in an apparent attempt to "prove" the letter is real, the name previously not provided is then openly provided. Why the cloak and dagger stuff the first time? It is ironic that the soldier's name would be kept secret, apparently as a way to protect the soldier, and then fearing somebody might doubt the authenticity, disclosing the name so that Andrew LB won't feel discredited. It must be comforting to know for the soldier and his mother that his name would be so freely given up by a compatriot at the first sign of possible conflict. It only took one response hinting at the problem and just 5 hours time before Andrew LB gave up the goods.

No Andy, I am not a wacko. I am just another supporter who has seen too many of these letters with dubious ties to real people to believe yet another superbly patriotic letter home is the real deal. The supposed letter could be 100% valid, but with all the crap circulated on the internet purported to be genuine and the fact that this letter and how it is presented are not inherently any more substantiable than any of the rest, it is tough to believe outright.

Especially here, the way in which the information was brought to light and the fact that you consider any questioning of the letter to be an attempt to discredit you really seems to indicate that either this letter isn't real or that its authenticity takes a back seat to your ego about being discredited. I would not think your credibility would be at issue if the letter was the real deal.

The one thing that gets me about this letter and others that are of this genre is that they appear to be penned by very intelligent and articulate people who are highly patriotic and philosophical. The misquote from Stonewall Jackson is pretty impressive. As near as I can tell, Rausch is calling for a crusade to free all of the world's oppressed people.

Also strange were the news organizaiton references. In the opening, it is noted that the letter isn't the same stuff we are getting from "MSM." Rausch suggests sending the letter to FOX.

You also have to like the fact that the soldier's name matches that of a noted gun instructor.

[1BadF350]

By killing the messenger you're killing the message. Regardless of it's origin it's very well written and has been well recieved by me. I was happy to read it. Instead of spending an hour disecting the message to bits and typing a 15 paragraph reply, I'll take a minute to just copy and paste it in an e-mail to everyone I know. Time well spent in my opinion.

[legacy94]

i just had to share this letter with the folks from my other forum i go to everyday.

[Eghad]

And regardless of people who may doubt the authenticity, every soldier I know who has served in Iraq agrees with this message. I certainly do.

There are some who have served in Iraq who disagree.... but that is what America is about.

While you may disagree with the war....support the troops. Part of my job at one time was assisting the families of service members who were in Iraq. I even helped the family support groups with some activities on my own time.
supporting the troops does not go hand in hand with supporting politicians points of view.

[Rivers]

I don't question the authenticity of the letter. I'm certainly no left-wing wacko, but I am a parent of three sons. I agree that freedom is worth fighting for. I don't think Iraqi freedom is worth one finger, let alone the legs of one of my sons. The Prez needs to articulate a better reason for our being in Iraq than simply to bring freedom to Iraq and to educate little Iraqi children. I don't give a big damn about Iraq's freedom or the education of little Iraqi children.

If, however, the Prez can authoritatively make the case that a stable Iraq is a large step in assuring and preserving American peace and freedom, then that's good enough for me. I'm just not getting that message very clearly right now, and the opinion of a 20-yr-old sergeant just doesn't carry a lot of weight with me.

[Andrew LB]

I wonder where the world would be these days if FDR thought the same way as you and never began policies like the Lend Lease act and other policies which brought us into WW2 and freed europe from Fascism.

If their freedom was not worth any sacrifice... I wonder who's actually is. Or does this only apply when your own freedom is put at risk? Like the day terrorists took airplanes and struck the WTC, Pentagon, and crashed into that field in Pennsylvania.

Saddam is part of the war which began on 9/11. He has funded, supported, and armed terrorist groups for years. Remember what Bush said after the attacks on September 11th, 2001? It had to do with anyone who supports and harbors terrorists is to be treated the same as the terrorists themselves. Or do you not support that either?

[Aquaholic]

Andrew: +1

[Andrew LB]

Here is plenty of evidence of my claims btw. http://www.husseinandterror.com/

[Eghad]

Andrew LB prior to the 9/11 attacks where was the safest place in the world to recruit, train and get funding for terrorist activities and still serves as a place for some of this?

[Leif]

As per the letter and its authenticity, who knows? If the writer truly is a soldier serving overseas, than I hope he stays safe and returns home soon.

Saddam is part of the war which began on 9/11. He has funded, supported, and armed terrorist groups for years. Remember what Bush said after the attacks on September 11th, 2001? It had to do with anyone who supports and harbors terrorists is to be treated the same as the terrorists themselves. Or do you not support that either?

Yes, I do remember ... I'm still waiting for Bush to catch Bin Laden as promised!

Let's get done with one job/conflict before jumping into every other one in the world.

[BreacherUp!]

Andrew LB prior to the 9/11 attacks where was the safest place in the world to recruit, train and get funding for terrorist activities and still serves as a place for some of this?

Answer(s): Iran & Syria.
Iraq's involvement in funding, training and hiding terrorists has long been documented. No need to go into that any further.

[Eghad]

Answer(s): Iran & Syria.
Iraq's involvement in funding, training and hiding terrorists has long been documented. No need to go into that any further.

good answer

but the Untited States would have been better. Would it suprise you to know that some Jihadists have trained at ranges in Conneticut? and others around the country. That Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists have attended Jihad confrences in the US. Wonder how many millions of dollars were donated to front organization by US citizens that went directly to terrorists?

Use your enemies weaknesses as your strengths.

[BreacherUp!]

Eghad, the difference is that we are not a state sponsor of terrorism, nor run camps for every group out there. If they train here, it is covertly. Huge difference.

[Eghad]

so are the terrorists trained here less deadly than the state sponsored ones here?

Iraq is a start but not the solution to terrorism.

The jihadists already have one victory over what was once a world superpower.

[BreacherUp!]

I was stating the difference between a state sponsor of terrorism (i.e Iran, Syria, former regime of Iraq) and the US. It matters not where they are trained.
However, having ample funding, training and recruits in a country that not only permits these activities, but uses them as an arm of their foreign policy, makes terrorist more determined and more effective.