Triumph Over Tragedy

Images courtesy: McClung
family

During a phone conversation with the parents of Maj. Megan McClung, I referred to the loss of their daughter in Iraq as a tragedy. The fallen Marine's mother, Dr. Re McClung, offered a prompt, polite correction.

"Nothing about Megan's life was tragic," Maj. McClung's mom, speaking from Coupeville, Wash., told the Unknown Soldiers. "A tragedy does not occur when you have a compelling desire to serve your country in the best possible way."

Long before she fought for freedom, Megan declared her independence.

"When she was about 2 years old, I would try to lay her clothes out on the bed," Re said. "She would take the outfit and say, 'No, mommy, I want to wear this instead.'

"I knew she would go on to do something really important," Megan's mother concluded.

Whether it was learning to climb up the stairs, successfully arguing for admittance to an all-male strength training class, or becoming the first woman to attend the prestigious Admiral Farragut Academy in Toms River, N.J., an unjust "no" was something Megan refused to accept.

"In the military, you often hear about 'command presence,'" said Dr. Mike McClung, who served as an infantry platoon commander in Vietnam. "Megan had command presence as a young child."

As a Marine, Megan impressed her peers by sticking up for them.

"Megan was an interesting little force because she had no qualms about speaking up to a senior officer if she thought something was wrong," her father said.

McClung's military success was no accident. Her mom explained that Megan's laser-like focus on three key areas — mind, body, and spirit — helped her daughter become remarkably well-rounded.

"Megan used to collect quotes, and she'd write them on scraps of paper and stick them in a book," Re said. "One of them says, 'To give anything but your best is to waste the gift.'"

Megan gave her best as a marathon runner, gymnast and diver. She earned a master's degree in criminology from Boston University. And she was one of the most effective public affairs officers the Marine Corps had ever seen.

"She wanted to see first-hand what was going on (in Iraq)," Megan's mother explained. "She wanted people to write about the individual stories of bravery."

Determined that political divisions at home should not overshadow the heroism she witnessed on the ground in Iraq, Megan brought a profound sense of purpose to her job.

"Within a month of Megan being there, the whole attitude and feeling of the base had changed," her mom said. "Megan was focusing on the good things."

Spending almost all of 2006 in Iraq's then-volatile Al Anbar Province, McClung was tasked with helping journalists embed with units on the ground.

"She wanted to make sure the writer got the story he or she was looking for," her dad said.

In dealing with the press, Megan had a motto that rubbed off on fellow Marines: "Be bold. Be brief. Be gone." Today, those six words are engraved on her headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.

Image courtesy: Lisa Sileo

Megan didn't just repeat her mantra. She lived it.

On Dec. 6, 2006, Megan was helping escort Newsweek journalists through Ramadi when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath her vehicle. McClung, 34; Army Capt. Travis Patriquin, 32; and Spc. Vincent Pomante III, 22; were killed in the attack.

For five years, Mike and Re McClung have approached Megan's death with the same passion their daughter displayed in life. They support scholarships, marathons, and charities that embody Megan's focus on mind, body, and spirit. They learn more about Megan the warrior from her fellow Marines. And when they have a bad day, Megan's collection of quotes provides comfort.

"Do something you're passionate about," one quote reads.

That saying is rarely lived to the fullest. Yet Megan spent 34 years doing the things she was passionate about, which included helping some of the Iraq war's most compelling examples of valor end up on our kitchen tables.

After a revealing conversation with her parents, it's clear that the story of the highest-ranking female Marine officer to be killed in Iraq is not tragic. The real tragedy would be for us to forget Maj. Megan McClung's extraordinary life.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

Note: In honor of Maj. Megan McClung, please consider supporting the Semper Fi Fund, Toys for Tots, Be Bold M3, and the 6th Annual Maj. Megan McClung Memorial Run.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Images courtesy: Kristi Pearson

Christmas will never be the same for Kristi Pearson. Instead of a day to rejoice and relax, the holiday is a time to remember and reflect.

During the 2006 holiday season, Kristi, at the insistence of her husband, Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson, flew home to central Michigan from Germany, where the soldier trained for his first combat tour. As the 19-year-old warrior spent Christmas fighting during the height of the Iraq war, he wanted his bride surrounded by loved ones.

After a Christmas-morning video chat with her husband and a nice afternoon with her family, the 19-year-old Army wife suddenly panicked.

"I looked at my brother and said, 'Something doesn't feel right ... I feel like something has been taken away, and I don't know what it is,'" Kristi told The Unknown Soldiers.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, military messengers knocked on the door of her family's home in St. Johns, where Kristi and Andrew met in 4th grade. At almost the precise moment that a sense of dread began to consume her, Kristi's husband lost his life on the battlefield.

According to the Pentagon, Pfc. Nelson died when an improvised explosive device blew up near his Army vehicle. The Baghdad terrorist attack also killed Sgt. John Bubeck, 25, and Spc. Aaron Preston, 29.

"All of this was a giant blur to me," Kristi bravely recounted four and a half years later, while admitting that the tragedy still spurs panic attacks. "I don't know how to explain it."

Kristi grew up in a military family. But when Andrew decided to join the Army after high school, she couldn't help but worry.

"It's different when it's your husband instead of a parent," she explained, while emphasizing Andrew's love for the Armed Forces.

Kristi and Andrew married on Nov. 5, 2005, just before the soldier left for Germany. She joined him there in the spring, when they would finally be able to take a honeymoon to London and Paris.

"I am really thankful we were in Germany together," Kristi said. "Whenever I think of our marriage, I think of all the amazing things we got to see and all the places we got to go."

Andrew was a "jokester," but as a soldier, he was intensely prepared. Fellow troops told Kristi that her late husband brought an almost ridiculous variety of tools with him on every mission, earning him the affectionate nickname "Ranger Rick."

"He was a soldier who had everything," Kristi said. "Everyone always joked about that and gave him a tough time."

After Andrew's sudden death, communities throughout central Michigan and the U.S. military embraced the soldier's widow, his loving parents, Alan and Tami, and Andrew's loyal siblings, Jessica and Stephanie. For Kristi, picking up the jagged pieces of her shattered life after the worst Christmas imaginable would not be easy.

In the years to come, Kristi fell in love with another brave American soldier, Staff Sgt. Aaron Pearson.

"I want people to know that it's okay to move on and be happy again," she said.

Sadly, Kristi's grandfather passed away last fall. With the horror of Christmas 2006 still looming, Kristi again flew to Michigan with a husband in a war zone; this time it was Afghanistan.

"I was terrified to go home because I was so scared that if I went there while my husband was deployed, something would happen again," Kristi recalled.

Staff Sgt. Pearson was injured in Afghanistan a few months later, within days of Christmas 2010.

"He called me later and said 'I was medevaced, but I am fine,'" Kristi said, her voice trembling. "There were a lot of coincidences, and it was really scary."

With her second husband home, Kristi feels a fragile sense of ease. But with her first husband departed, a sense of loss still remains.

"It's always there, and I always think about it," she said.

On Dec. 25, Kristi Pearson will observe the five-year anniversary of Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson's tragic passing in Iraq while also reflecting on how fortunate Staff Sgt. Aaron Pearson was to survive Afghanistan. Indeed, Christmas will never be the same.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM


Note: This story was originally posted on Oct. 8.

A Christmas Miracle

Images courtesy: Facebook

The last time this blog updated readers about wounded Army 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, the situation was precarious. One of his sisters, Olivia, had posted an urgent prayer request on the family's Facebook page before another very serious surgery. First Lt. Vogt lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan on Nov. 12.

Fifteen days later and just four days before Christmas, the wounded soldier's dad, Steve Vogt, posted this:

"What a great day," he wrote late Tuesday night. "New pain med seems to be working good. Nick seems a little clearer. There were several big smiles from him today. (None were for any of my jokes. Situation normal.)"

Vogt, who turned 24 on Dec. 13, faces a change in lifestyle that few of us could imagine. Yet judging by every Facebook status update and all the wonderful e-mails The Unknown Soldiers has received from the hero's relatives and friends, there is no doubt that Nick will conquer this new challenge.

"He got his new wheelchair today. A powered model," Nick's dad wrote. "They put him in it for a 20 minute trial sit but he wanted to stay in it longer so he went for an hour. What a stud."

Indeed. But another group of studs and angels are the parents and siblings of this wounded Army Ranger. From the very first day of this painful ordeal, the Vogts have invited the public into their lives, shared difficult details about their son's recovery -- even when the situation appeared dire -- and pleaded for prayers, which have been said everywhere from their quaint Ohio hometown, to the cold mountains of Afghanistan, to the candle-lit magnificence of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

"I told Nick about what Fr. Mike said about Nick's current trials and relating it to Jesus falling under His cross during His passion," Nick's father wrote on Monday. "I think it made Nick feel good to believe that his current suffering could somewhat be compared to the pain that Jesus felt. He is being strong. I'm very proud of him."

As the war in Afghanistan continues at this very moment, 1st Lt. Vogt and his parents know that they are not the only ones who have suffered or will face extraordinary new challenges.

"Praise God for more answered prayers," Steve Vogt wrote. "Also please include prayers for a couple more wounded warriors that arrived this evening into ICU."

Vogt's heart briefly stopped after a roadside bomb robbed him of his legs. The amount of donated blood he needed to stay alive is among the highest any wounded service member has ever received. Some Naval Academy buddies even wore Army gear to show their support for the West Point graduate at the Dec. 10 Army-Navy game. In short, the military community and much of this nation have come together to pray for this fine young man's survival.

With Christmas approaching, 1st Lt. Vogt is alive, which is something to be thankful for. But as we spend the holidays with our families, we must continue to pray for Nick and his wounded brothers and sisters in arms, as well as families like the Sharps, who lost their loved one, Sgt. Ryan Sharp, after he was wounded in combat on Nov. 21. Our hearts go out to the Sharps and all families of fallen heroes.

After more than a decade at war, the conflict in Afghanistan is not over. But every once in a while, a reason for hope is revealed through war's dense fog. After witnessing the bravery, tenacity, and faith shown by 1st Lt. Nick Vogt and his family, it is clear that Christmas is still a time for miracles.

Letters From Afghanistan

Image courtesy: Spc. Louis Kernisan

Hours after their fellow soldier stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost his leg, Army 1st Sgt. Edward Mosher saw Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray sitting alone in the war zone's desolate moonlight. Murray, 38, felt responsible for the younger warrior's devastating injury.

"I went and sat with him there in the cold and chatted with him until it started to (reach) daylight," Mosher wrote. "He still felt very badly about (the wounded soldier) and he said that it should have been him that stepped on the IED."

Seeing their breath as they spoke in the frosty southern Afghanistan air, Mosher tried to console his brother in arms.

"I knew he was hurting," Mosher, 40, explained. "And despite my desire to help ease his pain, all I could do was just be there to listen if he needed to talk. It bothers me very much that I could not do more for him that night."

After a quick nap, Murray, from Spring Lake, N.C., with roots in Red Boiling Springs, Tenn., boiled with fury toward the enemy. The soldier bolted to the front of his patrol to clear roadside bombs.

"I had never seen him look like that before," Mosher, first sergeant of the Army's D Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, wrote. "I believe he was even more determined than ever that he was not going to let it be another one of his men that got hurt next time."

Later that night, after spending Nov. 21 finding numerous bombs and saving countless lives, Murray was dead. The previous and subsequent quotes are contained in two powerful letters written by Mosher, who emailed The Unknown Soldiers from the war zone.

"I cannot begin to say how sorry I am regarding the loss of your loving husband," Mosher wrote to Murray's wife, Shelee. "I would not begin to try to offer words that were intended to ease your pain or soften the blow."

Mosher recounted the moment he learned by radio that Murray had stepped on an improvised explosive device, just as they had discussed the previous night.

"My heart fell into my stomach, and I felt sick," the soldier wrote. "I had a feeling of hopelessness at this moment. I began to feel that no matter what we did now, we were all doomed to be maimed or killed this night."

With no moonlight to guide them, Mosher and his fellow soldiers wandered into the treacherous darkness and found Murray's body. As they carried their departed brother in a blanket, Mosher saw shadows of his own death.

"I saw a bright flash just to my left front, and there was a huge explosion," he wrote.

After being thrown into a wall, Mosher woke up on top of Murray's body. But in that confusing, awful moment, the soldier had a profound realization. Most likely, his fallen friend absorbed much of the explosion and saved his life.

"Had it not been for this, I am sure we all would have been killed or much more severely wounded," the soldier wrote.

In the letter, Mosher said Sgt. Ryan Sharp had suffered the Nov. 21 blast's worst injuries while also shielding his fellow soldiers. On Dec. 3, Sgt. Sharp, 28, died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

A stunned Mosher sat down to write another difficult letter.

"I truly expected he would get better and soon be home in the states before the rest of us," Mosher wrote to the fallen soldier's parents, David and Lynette Sharp of Idaho Falls, Idaho. "I suppose these things are only for God to understand."

First Sgt. Edward Mosher shared these deeply emotional letters to help more of us understand the incredible sacrifices being made for our freedom. Some of the last words he wrote to the widow of Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray, whom Mosher believes saved his life after losing his own, should resonate with every American during this holiday season.

"I will never forget that night. I will never forget your husband," he wrote. "He can never be replaced, and he will live on in all of us as long as we all still draw a breath."

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

"It would seem that even after his death your husband was still making sure he did not let anyone else get hurt if he could."

~1st Sgt. Edward Mosher to Shelee Murray, wife of Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray. The above photo was taken by Mrs. Murray in Verona, Italy.

Saving Lives

Images courtesy: Cpl. Reece Lodder

On Wednesday afternoon, I received an e-mail from Cpl. Reece Lodder, a Marine combat correspondent who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. It was a relief to hear from Cpl. Lodder, who I first spoke with before he left in the fall.

"I hope this message finds you well," the Marine wrote. "Please pray for (my wife) and I during our time apart this Christmas season."

With those prayers said, I began reading the story of heroism the Marine journalist relayed from Afghanistan's Helmand province. On a frigid Dec. 2 evening, an Afghan National Army soldier at the front of a joint patrol with U.S. Marines was hit by a car full of civilians, sending the soldier and eight Afghans in the vehicle plunging into a canal.

Many would be frozen after this shocking accident on a cold Afghanistan night. Marines from 2nd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, however, jumped into the canal's cold water to save as many lives as possible.

"It took a split second to realize what happened," Lance Cpl. Nicholas Dumke, a 20-year-old rifleman from Huron, South Dakota, told Lodder. "We train for firefights, not for a vehicle going into a canal … we just snapped into reacting to a high-stress situation and did what we had to do."

Lance Cpl. Dumke's fellow Marines -- Sgt. Matt Garst, 23, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Lance Cpl. Ryan Gerrity, 21, of Cranford, New Jersey; and Lance Cpl. James Blomstran, 22, of Cortland, Ohio -- used every means at their disposal, including a bamboo pole used to find improvised explosive devices and their trusted explosive device detection dog, Sage, to rescue the Afghans. In the end, eight Afghan civilians and the badly injured Afghan National Army soldier were saved.

"I saw the problem, saw the security we needed and sent everyone else into the canal," Sgt. Garst, who also jumped into the canal, told Lodder.

In an irresponsible front page article on Thursday, the New York Times unsuccessfully tried to paint U.S. Marines as bloodthirsty murderers, based on a disputed incident that occurred in Iraq more than six years ago.

Flying in the face of some ugly media stereotypes, this important, recent story filed by Lodder from the front lines shows that in addition to being highly-skilled warriors, U.S. Marines are also champions of compassion, often risking their own lives to protect the innocent.

While I'm sad that Cpl. Reece Lodder and his wife are apart during the holiday season, thank God someone like him is in Afghanistan to bring the real story home.

"I'm humbled to have had the opportunity to tell it," Lodder wrote in his e-mail to The Unknown Soldiers. "It is another reminder about why service members do what they do. Not for themselves, but for others."

The War on Christmas

Image courtesy: Sgt. Thomas Duval

Is there a war on Christmas? Yes, and that's not just an opinion.

No, I'm not talking about the "war" that traditional and progressive cable news hosts are having over whether the word "Christmas" is "under attack." No, I'm also not talking about the annual post-Thanksgiving midnight shopping "battles" for the best discount deals. (This year, a California woman is accused of assaulting 20 fellow shoppers with pepper spray at a Walmart.)

I'm talking about the real wars being fought by thousands of men and women in uniform in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the latter conflict scheduled to formally end on Dec. 31. In war zones, fending off a crazed woman armed with pepper spray would probably constitute the easiest part of the day.

Thirteen days before Black Friday, a U.S. Army Ranger named 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, 24, of Crestline, Ohio, lost both his legs when a terrorist-planted improvised explosive device blew up beneath him. Despite nearly dying after the devastating attack, the valiant soldier, as of Dec. 7, was hospitalized in Bethesda, Md., where he is fighting for his life after having endured multiple surgeries. His parents have requested our prayers, and they certainly have them.

Two days later, the Pentagon said Army Spc. David Hickman, 23, died in Baghdad, Iraq, after also encountering an IED. The ambitious young warrior was reportedly days away from starting his journey home to Greensboro, N.C., where he was already well-known for his success as a high school football player.

On Nov. 16, two soldiers, Spc. James Burnett Jr., 21, of Wichita, Kan., and Pfc. Matthew Colin, 22, of Navarre, Fla., were killed in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when a bomb detonated near their patrol. According to the Pentagon, they were preceded in death just days earlier by Spc. Johnathan McCain, 38, of Apache Junction, Ariz., and Spc. Calvin Pereda, 21, of Fayetteville, N.C.

All four soldiers were stationed at Alaska's Fort Wainwright, the home of America's arctic warriors. At a memorial service held on post, a grieving fellow soldier told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner what made the departed heroes so extraordinary.

"It takes a certain type of individual to enlist in the infantry," Staff Sgt. Johnathan Hand told the newspaper. "You know that your job is a little bit more dangerous than everyone else's."

As some Americans ate leftover turkey and clogged mall parking lots, a Marine field radio operator named Cpl. Adam Buyes, 21, was making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan on Nov. 26. The proud Marine left behind a long-lasting imprint, from Salem, Ore., where he lived, to Okinawa, Japan, where he was stationed, all the way to the violent sands of Helmand province, where he died in a combat incident that is under investigation.

"Cpl. Adam Buyes was a truly dedicated professional who cared for his Marines as if they were brothers from the beginning," 1st Sgt. Daniel Wilson said. "He was often emulated and adored by many of the Marines he came in contact with."

You can't buy that kind of legacy in a store. You have to earn it.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with giving a holiday gift to someone you care about. There is something wrong, however, with pundits wasting time arguing over the so-called war on Christmas and reporters hyping shopping battles at stores, especially while the overused words are being defined literally by brave Americans on post-9/11 battlefields.

Here's something for civilians like me to keep in mind this holiday season: Not only are our troops risking their lives in faraway lands; they are doing so while separated from their families.

One of those troops is a talented Marine journalist named Cpl. Reece Lodder, 22, whom you may have previously read about in this column. The Everson, Wash., native's wife is spending this holiday season in Hawaii, which is no vacation. She's worrying about her husband's safety.

For loved ones of the aforementioned fallen and wounded service members, there is grief, confusion, and devastation during this holiday season. Their brave sons died or lost limbs in battles that only 1 percent of Americans have volunteered to fight.

Is there a war on Christmas? You bet there is.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

Image courtesy: Cpl. Katherine Keleher

A Sister's Request

Image courtesy: Facebook

Late Monday night, Olivia Hoffman, the sister of seriously wounded Army 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, posted an urgent status update on the "Family of Nick Vogt" Facebook page:

"If you are reading this please say a prayer for my brother."

The current condition of the wounded warrior, who lost both legs in Afghanistan on Nov. 12, is unknown. The Vogt family's privacy must be respected. Sensing urgency, though, more than 200 responses from all over the country 1st Lt. Vogt fought so hard to defend have poured in since his sister's request.

"Praying from Saginaw, Michigan...that God will continue his healing of Nick, guidance & wisdom for the medical staff, and that your entire family will feel God's presence in a might way!" Joan Cline posted.

"Praying for you Nick from Snohomish, WA," James Kellet wrote.

Several hours after the initial plea, the responses were coming in so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up.

"Praying in Colorado," Linda Shoemate wrote from the Rocky Mountains.

"Praying in Hawaii," Maureen Prather posted seconds later from the palm tree paradise.

Even as this weekend's Army-Navy football game approaches, the West Point and Naval Academy communities are united as one behind Vogt, who graduated from the former and was an academy exchange student at the latter.

"I am a parishioner at Most Holy Trinity at West Point," Nancy Belmont wrote. "The Military Council of Catholic Women meets tomorrow morning---we will be specifically praying for Nick and your entire family."

"Prayers from your USNA family in Philadelphia!" Carol McGowan wrote.

Before his sister's plea for prayers, the last public update had been from the soldier's mother, Sheila Vogt, on Sunday night.

"Quiet day for Nick today. He is resting up for another trip to surgery tomorrow morning," she wrote. "We met a soldier today that was with him in Kandahar. He mentioned how hard the medical staff worked there to keep him alive. We are so blessed to be with him now."

While I can't imagine what 1st Lt. Vogt and his family are going through right now in a Bethesda, Maryland, hospital room, I hope they know that tens of thousands of caring, loving, and praying Americans are there with them. Many of us -- including folks like me who have never served in the military or even met Nick -- say a prayer for him before we go to sleep and wonder how he's doing when we wake up.

Olivia Hoffman's request has been answered. Now we all have to hope that God hears our prayers, and that 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, who has fought so hard before and after his devastating injury, will continue down the bright, sunlit road to recovery.

"May God heal Nick physically and bless him beyond measure," Lisa Hadley-Kimbrell wrote. "Thank the Lord for courageous men and women like him."

Guitar Hero

Image courtesy: United States Forces-Iraq

Since making it home from the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle in Somalia, Keni Thomas has become a successful country music singer, motivational speaker and author.

"I came out of the military with a pretty good skill set, and there were jobs I could have taken," Thomas told the Unknown Soldiers. "But music is a disease. It's incurable."

Of all his endeavors, there is nothing more important to this ex-Army Ranger than visiting with wounded heroes of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. He thinks every day about his conversations with combat veterans at various hospitals, including a female military truck driver who lost her leg when her vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

"I told her it was okay to be upset about what happened to her, and she started crying," Thomas said. "She said, 'I just don't know if anybody will ever love me.' It was so basic and human."

Thomas will never forget the chaotic battle he and his fellow troops fought on the war-torn streets of Mogadishu more than 18 years ago. One reason he's so touched by his encounters with wounded veterans is because he knows he could have easily ended up in a hospital bed, wheelchair or cemetery.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it in some sort of way," Thomas said. "I don't mean it in a 'Rambo' flashback sort of way; I know by the grace of God is the only reason I'm still around."

Thomas has a special talent for bringing the 99 percent of Americans who have never experienced combat into the minds of the one percent who have.

"It took me a long time to figure it out, Tom, but when you make it home from something like that, there's this weird sense of guilt," he explained. "Why did I survive when other people deserved to live?"

The Army Ranger lost several friends in the brutal urban battle. Even though Thomas threw himself into his music career soon after coming home, feeling content during the past two decades has been difficult. Instead of enjoying his success, he has often agonized over his fallen buddies who didn't get the same opportunity.

"They had families. They had kids. They were twice the soldier I was," Thomas said. "Whenever something good happens in your life, it's like you don't let it happen, because that little voice reminds you of your friends who didn't make it.

"It sabotages everything that's good in your life," he concluded.

In his songs, Thomas sometimes sings directly to fellow combat veterans.

"It's what I do," the singer-songwriter said. "I love to tell stories."

Another challenge recently conquered by the guitar hero was writing a book. In "Get It On: What It Means to Lead the Way," Thomas recounts the chaos of "Black Hawk Down" while using the battle's painful lessons to convey principles of leadership.

Thomas candidly admits that at the Mogadishu battle's outset, when U.S. troops set out to confront a murderous warlord, the highly trained Ranger did not expect the bloodiest American firefight since Vietnam.

"When you set a goal, it always takes longer than you think it's going to take," he said. "It's a good lesson for us."

Whether it's in a book, song, or conversation with a wounded veteran, Thomas tries to convey the same powerful message. Without faith, Thomas believes, he wouldn't be in a position to help others.

"That's one of the beauties of putting some mileage on your life," he said. "You can see with clarity that there's no way you ended up where you ended up on your own accord."

Thomas still thinks about the weeping young amputee who thought she'd never find love.

"Hopefully, she'll find that if she doesn't let the guilt, the wounds and the anger consume her, she'll get back into life and she'll do just fine," he said. "I hope someone will love her, and I hope everybody finds a sense of purpose."

Keni Thomas thinks he's found his.

"When I can't sing anymore, I think my life is going to be dedicated to teaching Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that it's OK to be happy," he said.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

When You Wish

Images courtesy: HN Samantha Paulson

When I spoke with Hospitalman Samantha Paulson over the summer, she repeatedly made a wish. She wanted her husband, Hospital Corpsman Second Class Chris Paulson, a fellow Navy Corpsman, home from Afghanistan. At the time, he was in the middle of a very tough deployment that included the tragic loss of a brave Marine he was caring for on the battlefield.

Last week, I got an e-mail from HN Paulson. She got her wish -- her husband came home safely in September -- but she was actually e-mailing The Unknown Soldiers to relay another wish from U.S. troops on the front lines.

As a July column about the Paulsons explained, the first year of their wartime marriage has been filled with sacrifice and uncertainty, with one rarely knowing where the other will be ordered to go on a given day. But instead of asking for gifts during this holiday season, HN Paulson wants to give them, and is asking us to do the same.

"I'm sure that you are well aware of the (Wishbook) that the USO has created online for deployed troops," she wrote. "Of course it is a charity incredibly close to my heart along with Toys for Tots but I was hoping that you could mention to your readers that for as little as $15 they could make a service member overseas smile while they are away from their family during this holiday season."

I worked as Director of Story Development at the USO before joining the Travis Manion Foundation as Communications Director. The USO is a wonderful organization that does a stellar job of connecting deployed troops with family members, friends, and supporters on the home front. The USO Wishbook program is just the latest example of the forward-thinking organization's efforts to lift the spirits of our troops and their families.

While the USO Wishbook is billed as "an alternative giving catalog," it is much more valuable than the dozens of catalogs filling your mailbox from department stores this holiday season. This catalog sells dreams that money usually can't buy, like a phone call home for a deployed service member, bedtime stories for children who will spend the holidays without a mom or dad to read to them at night, or sports equipment for forward operating bases, so troops can play football together while the NFL playoffs and college bowl games are going on back home.

HN Samantha Paulson is trained to care for the sick, injured, and wounded. This holiday season, as she feels thankful for her husband being home but worries about troops still deployed overseas, she is unfortunately facing some serious health challenges of her own.

"On a lighter note, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my husband, our roommate (whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan), as well as some co-workers who did not have anywhere else to go," she wrote. "I hope that your Thanksgiving was as equally as wonderful and full of family and good food!"

My wish is that this Navy Hospital Corpsman feels better, and that her New Year is just as happy as last week's holiday. To demonstrate that, I plan to support the cause that is so close to her heart: sending happiness to troops serving overseas.

As my family celebrates Christmas, we will send our wishes to men and women in uniform serving in Afghanistan and around the world through the USO Wishbook program. I hope you will join The Unknown Soldiers -- and HN Samantha Paulson -- in supporting this noble endeavor.

Hanging Tough

Images courtesy: Facebook

Two recent posts about wounded Army 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt -- Why We Pray and In the Name of Love -- received an overwhelming response. During another holiday season at war, it is clear that the bravery, tenacity, and faith displayed by 2nd Lt. Vogt and his family in the two-plus weeks since the soldier lost his legs in Afghanistan is inspiring thousands around the world.

While every comment, e-mail, Facebook message, and tweet is appreciated, it was most meaningful to hear from some of the soldier's relatives and friends, who are still praying hard for their loved one.

"I have always felt that I have been blessed to have the family that I do - both immediate and relatives," a female cousin of the soldier wrote to The Unknown Soldiers. "But seeing the love and support that has surrounded Nick this past week has been like nothing I have seen before. There is no love quite like that of your family and I am fairly certain that is what helped him fight to live."

Ever since the Vogt family asked for our prayers, they have been echoing from Afghanistan all the way to Crestline, Ohio, where the family lives. As you can see in the below picture, originally posted on the Nick Vogt family Facebook page, prayers have also been said at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, just a few miles from where America was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Inside the historic Manhattan church, an unidentified supporter lit a candle for the wounded warrior.

On Wednesday, the soldier's mom, Sheila Vogt, updated Facebook followers on the condition of her son, who is being cared for in Bethesda, Maryland.

"Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support and prayers. These updates are not only for you but they help Steve & I too. It is a nice way to get a 'hug' from all of Nick and our friends," the post began. "Nick was in a long surgery again today. More work on his wounds. The General Surgeon gave us a very good report after the surgery was done. He was smiling a lot during this report."

A previous post made clear just how serious the soldier's condition has been since the terrorist attack in Afghanistan took both of his legs. The amount of donated blood that's purportedly been needed to save the soldier's life is startling.

"Before he was even sent from Afghanistan he received over 400 units of blood (the average body has 15), although not needing blood ever day he is approaching 500 units now," the post said. "For everyone who doesn't give blood because they think it just sits in a warehouse and goes bad, that may be true every once and a while but in many cases you could be saving a life like Nick's."

In addition to donating blood to help wounded troops and hospital patients in your communities, there is something else you can do to lift the spirits of this wounded warrior and his family. You can send him a card for his 25th birthday, which is Dec. 13, for Christmas, or both.

According to the family Facebook page, cards and messages of support can be sent to:

The Fisher House
Attn: Steve & Sheila Vogt
24 Stokes Road
Bethesda, MD 20814-5078

As 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt and fellow wounded troops in hospital beds all around him fight for their lives, we must keep sending cards, lighting candles, thinking, and praying. As this devastating, yet also inspiring post-9/11 saga has revealed, showing our troops that they have our undying support really does make a difference.