Emerson High School flies Over Iraq with Pilot Mike Emerson

Air Force pilot Mike Emerson.

Back when I was teaching school and coaching in rural Wyoming, I met a young man named Mike Emerson. Mike attended Rock River High School, about 17 miles down the road from our own town of Medicine Bow, Wyoming. Rock River was even smaller than Medicine Bow. As a cross-country coach, I got to see all the kids from the other schools run each week during CC and track. Rock River rarely had enough kids to field a 5-man cross-country team, but there was one kid--one tough, smart, scrappy, gutsy kid--named Mike Emerson who made a big impression on me. This was back in the years 1985 to 1989, so obviously Mike is no longer a high schooler but most likely in his late thirties or early forties.

About a month ago through the wonders of the internet I reestablished contact with Mike. He was at that time--and still is---deployed to Iraq as an Air Force pilot, flying some type of huge aircraft, possibly a C-130, to different parts of Iraq. Mike will be coming home in a few weeks, God willing.

Crew Photo.

Big-ass bird! Note the Wyoming National Guard logo on the tail.

Mike was very interested that I taught at a school named Emerson High School. After all, that's his name. He asked if he could buy a couple of shirts with the Emerson name and logo on them. Instead, Principal Wendy Cavan donated the shirts and I put them in a box and mailed them to Iraq via the APO.

Mike sent this picture of the Emerson shirt in the cockpit of his aircraft.
Thanks, Mike, for your service, and come home safely.

Sunset over Baghdad, by Mike Emerson.

Honoring a Fallen Hero--NICK MASON

RIP Nick Mason, 1984-2004

My friend Mike Rhodes sent me this information on his close friend, Nick Mason, who died serving his country in Iraq. I quote Mike's words here, and ask all readers to honor this fine young man.

Nick Mason 1984-2004

"Nick Mason was a soldier who gave his life in the service of his country. He was my friend in elementary school and I maintained that friendship up until graduation of high school. He enlisted in the National Guard and left for basic training only days after graduating. When I was in iraq during my second tour, I found out that my friend Nick had died. It was a horrible shock. Nick had been in a mess hall eating with his comrades when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside of the enclosure, killing nick and and 18 other U.S. Soldiers. This happened on December 21, My birthday is on the 22nd. The only thing worse then finding out that a friend of mine had died around my birthday, is the thought that the family was finding out around Christmas.

Nicholas Conan Mason should never ever be forgotten.This is all that I really have to tell. This is my experience of what happened."

Thanks, Mike. Well-said.

Further information about this fine man is available here: http://www.somegaveall.org/page.php?9

Honoring those Who Have Fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan

As the Iraq War drags on, it is important to remember the sacrifices of America's men and women who have given their lives in service to their country. Though the war may be unpopular in many circles, the young men and women who fight it are serving honorably and with great courage against an often unseen enemy. I am proud of my many friends who have served two, three, four, and even five tours in Iraq or Afghanistan. Each one has told me that they see progress over there on each successive deployment, something you rarely catch on the news. May our efforts in Iraq bring peace and stability to the region and its people.

God bless those who have paid the ultimate price this Memorial Day.

Actors Behaving Well, Part I

A heart-warming story about a man who is not only a tremendous actor, but a genuinely good person.

Subject: Denzel Washington, and Brooks Army Medical Center

Denzel Washington and his family visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas (BAMC) recently. BAMC cares for soldiers who have been evacuated from Germany after tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, and specializes in burn victims.

On-base housing is provided for soldiers being treated at BAMC. These homes, called Fisher Houses, are available to families at little or no charge. BAMC has a number of these houses on base; however, they are usually filled.

While Denzel Washington was visiting BAMC, he toured one of the Fisher Houses, and asked how much each home cost to build.

He then took his check book out and wrote a check for the full amount for one Fisher House on the spot.

Sad, but in this day and age, when Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton make the news daily for behaving badly, the Denzel Washington story did not make any newspaper except the local newspaper in San Antonio.

Remembering Our Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan

Today I'd like to reflect on the heroic job our soldiers are doing over in Iraq and Afghanistan, in a war every bit as nasty and endless as Vietnam. I'm a working class dog, so I know a lot of guys who are serving. Four of my buddies are getting ready to go over to Iraq for the third or forth time this fall. They each have wives and children and all are in their thirties. They do so uncomplainingly, whatever their personal feelings may be. All saw death of comrades in their other tours, so I'm sure that's on their minds.

I got an email from a good friend today that got me thinking hard. It had a photo of his grandson, who served in the First Gulf War, and who has suffered the effects of the chemicals of thousands of burning oil wells and who knows what else after Kuwait was liberated from Saddam. As a country, supporting the troops MUST mean more than slapping a two-dollar yellow ribbon magnet on the bumper our our cars. It must mean making sure our troops get the best care after they return, whether they have been infected with Agent Orange, lost their legs to a roadside bomb, or just need a little assistance getting their lives going again.

The New England Journal of Medicine has a photo essay on wounded vets that is so graphic that I will not reproduce any photos on this blog. However, if you care to see the types of hideous injuries our soldiers are suffering on a daily basis, mainly to explosive devices that they never even see or have a chance to defend themselves against, I highly recommend you go to this site: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/351/24/2476#F9

If it does not sober you and make you reflect on the price our troops are paying for us, then nothing will.

The Spokane (WA) Spokesman-Review has an excellent graphics page on the war in Iraq, and a visit there is worth the trip. http://www.spokesmanreview.com/iraq/database/casualties_search.asp

Want to do something to help support our troops? Go to the Defense Department website for many suggestions. I personally write to several and send things that they need that they can't get over in Iraq or Afghanistan. Here is that site: http://www.usdamilitaryfamilies.org/html/help_our_troops.html

It's easy to forget what our men and women are doing over in Harm's Way from our cushy lifestyle here in the States. Let's all resolve to do more to support the troops--whatever we may feel about the war they are dutifully fighting.