Stories from frontline families

An emotional unknown
I had to write this to try to vent my feelings after had just talked to my son In Iraq.   The feelings of having  a son, daughter, brother, sister, husband, wife, father, mother, boyfriend, girlfriend or any other loved one in a strange land unknown to you bring feelings you never felt before. The days of worrying from the time you wake up till the time you go to bed. The crying everyday, not knowing, not seeing, not touching, not being able to pick up the phone and call them to make sure they're OK, to tell them how your day went. But when you finally hear there voice and hearing how tired they are, having so much to say but wanting to listen  and listen so intently to grasp all you can cause you know soon their time will be up and will have to say "good-bye" the most hated word since they left. You can't be selfish because the person behind them is ready to hear there voice from home.
--Danny Bates, Sanger, Texas

A different perspective
I don't have a solder or a Marine with the troops, but I have my whole family in the war zone. I'm originally from Iraq and my family is still there. I share one thing with the military families, the worries and the fear of waking up one day to the news that one of my family member has been hurt. Every military family has one or at the most two serving in Iraq but I have my whole family there. I go to bed every night praying that their night will be safe and wake up the next morning praying that they will live through that day. Sometimes I feel like it's a nightmare that never ends. I don't see any light at the end of this tunnel. The only thing that keep me sane for now is my faith and prayers.
--Basha'er, Plainfield, Ind.

Weighing heavily
My husband is a police officer the Washington, D.C. suburbs.  He was an active duty Marine when I met him and has recently been called up from the Marine Reserves to go to Iraq.  Beyond the sadness and frustration this causes, in our house this is a source of conflict.  I was against his resigning with the Reserves because we have 2 very small children.  On top of that, I don't particularly support this war. However, he feels that this mission is important, especially his mission, which is to train Iraqi police so that the country can become self sufficient.  In addition, he feels a special sense of duty that I think no one else in this country, myself included, could possibly understand: Months before the 9/11 attacks, one of the hijackers had the audacity to call the police because he was robbed.  My husband was the responding officer.  He actually had the man who would later fly a plane into the Pentagon in his cruiser.  This happened to be one of the hijackers labeled by Newsweek as "The hijackers we should have caught".  My husband runs a check on everyone he comes into contact with.  If the system had worked like it should have, there would have been a flag and this man may have been stopped.  But it didn't and he wasn't, and I think this strange coincidence haunts my husband still.  I believe that he feels like he must make up for a missed opportunity to dramatically help this country.  I can respect that but I'm not sure I can understand it or support it.  Given our disagreement about this cause and the choices he made to involve himself in it, I'm terrified that when he returns our marriage will be strained. 
--Saleena, Virginia

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