tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127431457525306963.post6181038496261501033..comments2012-05-13T18:05:20.395-07:00Comments on THE SMITH BRIGADE: Letter to My Familyhjsmithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12553086489842221815noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127431457525306963.post-44793032920803299772009-07-15T05:04:14.067-07:002009-07-15T05:04:14.067-07:00I thank God for those whoe provide my freedom. I p...I thank God for those whoe provide my freedom. I pray specifically, daily for Josh, Holly, Adam, Emma, Seth, Michael, and Matthew.Garvin Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15464496937441191610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127431457525306963.post-11709374852756503412009-07-12T04:07:37.613-07:002009-07-12T04:07:37.613-07:00During the Vietnam War...I personally know...of a ...During the Vietnam War...I personally know...of a young wife each week...who would anxiously wait for a letter...from her soldier husband...There wasn't email in those days and there were NO TELEPHONE CALLS that could be made...Their DAILY communications were set aside for a time...Their DAILY embrace...that DAILY kiss...that DAILY hug...could only be imagined or remembered from the past...Vietnam was NOT supported by many Americans at home...Our soldiers were spit upon...ridiculed...and worse...condemned for the work many did NOT choose to do...yet, honorable did their job...In those days, many were "drafted" into the war...However, the experience of this young wife...willing to stay behind...while supporting a CAUSE that was BIGGER than either her husband or herself...AMERICA has always stood for something ALL PEOPLE crave...and that state of being is called "FREEDOM"...a God-given RIGHT...to CHOOSE one's course in life...Very few nations have had that GIFT...yet, AMERICA was the ONE NATION...that gave people from all over the world...that HOPE that one day...they, too, could experience...this FREEDOM...<br /><br />TODAY, the spirit of GOD, FAMILY, and COUNTRY...is being...threatened...and AMERICA is in DEEP TROUBLE...To my SOLDIER SON...You were raised in a home that the spirit of FREEDOM was part of your FAITH...for without FREEDOM...none of us could exercise our rights to CHOOSE our path in LIFE...<br /><br />As a SOLDIER MOM...you are in our family prayers...as we, also, pray for your wife and children...My dream of the CHARACTER you would one day possess...is being realized...No mother could be more "well pleased" in her son...than I....You have grown to become a MAN....of GOD...a MAN of FREEDOM...and now stands along side of many of MY HEREOS...PATRIOTS...who were willing to give the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE...for a CAUSE to PROTECT what our Heavenly Father esteemed MOST IMPORTANT..."AGENCY"...<br /><br />Thank you, son, for choosing to stand by and support this heavenly CAUSE ......."...the LORD has said that: Ye shall defend your families even unto bloodshed. Therefore for this cause were the Nephites contending with the Lamanites, to DEFEND themselves, and their families, and their lands, their country, and their RIGHTS, and their RELIGION." (Alma 43:47) ... "They cried with one voice unto the Lord their God, for their liberty, ye, their freedom from bondage." (verse 49) <br /><br />May we always be willing to LIFT UP THIS BANNER to ALL THE WORLD: "In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children!" (Alma 46:12)Mama Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12957711774124280993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127431457525306963.post-16534977787204344822009-07-11T20:09:54.230-07:002009-07-11T20:09:54.230-07:00Thank you for posting this! Powerful, poignant, an...Thank you for posting this! Powerful, poignant, and so heartfelt. God speed Soldier, fellow servicemen and supportive loving families!<br /><br />Sarah ElliottpcNuthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14778671710565219202noreply@blogger.com