Thursday, July 10, 2008

Proud of my Soldier

On June 27, our son graduated from Basic Training in the National Guard. We got to spend 2 days with him. The day before graduation is Family Day. There was a demonstration, and then the batallion marched onto the field, through a wall of smoke. Boy, was it a thrill to see the colors coming through the smoke, and then to see the soldiers - approx. 900 of them!! When we were allowed to stream onto the field to get our soldier, it took us a while because there were so many people there. But, sad to say, there were some soldiers whose families were not able to be there. My heart hurt for those young men and women.

We enjoyed our day on the base with our son. He wasn't allowed to leave the base on Family Day, but it was good just to be with him. He enjoyed his first sub in 10 weeks.

The next day was graduation. At the end of it, the batallion does a pass review. That was just really something to see. All of those soldiers marching in step together...and my son amongst them. Wow.

He got an off base pass for the night and was able to come back to our hotel with us. Another day and and evening with him - we truly were grateful. He had to be back by 5:00 a.m., so we dropped him off and said good-bye. His hello hug the day before and his good-bye hug that morning were pretty strong ones! He flew out that day for continued training. Should be home in time for Thanksgiving.

I miss my boy. And now he is gone - my boy has become a man. My prayer for him is that he will put God first in his life, and allow God to lead in the direction He wants him to go. And that he will be the best soldier he can be. Goodness, but I'm proud of him.

My Soldier
Joshua graduation basic

4 comments:

Sandra said...

I can feel your pride in your son in your post, and you have a reason to be proud!! May God bless him and you.
Sandra

LuAnne said...

Thank you, Sandra.

Liz said...

Hi Luane. My son is 17 and he say's he want to join the National Guard. He says he's prayed about it, and he feels peace. I however don't feel peace. I'm afraid they will send him to Iraq. I know the National Guard usually stays in the state, but why do they send some of them to the Middle East. Help. LIZ

LuAnne said...

Liz, I understand and share your fear. I don't want to see my son go over to Iraq or Afghanistan, or even to Iran if it comes to that. But! The one thing I know is that he is doing what he believes God would have him do. I don't know that any parent has peace about their child(ren) joining the military in a time of war. But, Liz, I can tell you that God does help. Please email me at randyandluanne@gmail.com and we can talk about it more.
As far as why the Guard sends them to the Middle East...the Guard (both the National Guard - Army - and the Air National Guard - Air Force) is the only branch that has a dual mission - a domestic one, where they answer to the governor of their state, and an international one, where they answer to the president.
One thing that we have to realize as parents is that we have raised our kids to let them go. And if we have raised them to love and serve God, they have to go where He sends them. Our fear for them can mobilize us to pray for them as we never have before! Liz, do please email me!