| To Iraq And Back Posted: Ms. Scott:
I wanted to write to you and thank you for having allowed me the pleasure of reading your book. My husband and I are former military ourselves (USAF) although we served a little before your time. We were stationed at Rhein Main AB in a Mobile Aerial Port Squadron. Our squadron was quite small, only 60-65 people. Of that number only 6 of us were women, and two of those only came a couple of months before I left. I experienced first hand the trials and challenges of being a woman in a primarily male environment. We proved ourselves. Some of us were umm, as you put it, "queen for a year" and spread it around, I myself had a squadron full of big brothers and one man that became my husand and the father of my children. Twenty three years later we are still going strong.
While it may seem cliched to say "I laughed, I cried" it is certainly true of my emotional reaction to your book. I don't read a lot of non-fiction. To be honest other than my Guideposts or Reader's Digest magazines I don't ever read non-fiction. For that reason, I didn't start on your book right away. I read a couple of other books today (I read fast) and then started on yours after dinner tonight. I truly cried while reading this. I don't mean one solitary tear; I mean actualy sniffling, bawling, family looking at me like I had lost my mind, crying. When I read about the feeling you get when listening to Taps, it gave me the chills. Not just because of the emotions that you described, but because I feel the same way. I don't guess that I grew up particularly patriotic. I always took my freedoms for granted. The first time that I stood for Parade and then Retreat during basic training I truly began to feel what it was to be an American. Suffice to say that it was difficult to keep my Military Bearing. To this day I get chills and tear up when I hear the National Anthem or Taps playing. I felt somehow linked to you by this deep sentiment.
I absolutely loved reading this and am just so thankful to have been given the opportunity to have done so. In printing this you have provided a brief glimpse of what our (all volunteer) military experiences. To make the choice to serve and leave your family, your home and everything that you know is something so few understand. It is my hope that with the insight given by your book perhaps people will be able to understand that military members do not make these choices lightly. Every person in the military, whether they are on the front lines, in a fighter jet, or working in the base exchange, has made the choice to serve. They make sacrifices every day that most people would never even consider or begin to understand.
I absolutely love that you don't hold yourself up as some shining example of perfection in your description of you military self. Not one among us is perfect and you not only acknowledge that, you embrace that. You are completely up front with your shortcomings, but are clearly willing to learn from them.
Towards the end of your story you talk about how women are not as acknowledged for their service. I have often wondered if I was the only one that felt this way. There have been so many instances that I have had to clarify that BOTH my husband and I served. When I say "my husband and I were in the Air Force" people assume that I mean that he was in and I was a dependent. As I read, I found myself wishing that I could meet you in person, shake your hand and thank you for your service. We did not have children when we were in and I am in awe of you and your husband for sacrificing so much for love of country. It was somewhat ironic to me that you expressed your feeling of invisibility being in a military town, and how much you would appreciate someone thanking you for your service. So, from the bottom of my heart: Thank you for your service. Thank you for the birthdays, first days of school, inches grown, lost teeth, skyped conversations, snuggles missed and so much more.
With respect
MamieJ |
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