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TRAIN UP A CHILD – WHY WE ARE IN IRAQ This letter was excerpted from the Washington Post, Sunday, April 27, 2003. My friend at the Washington Times sent me a copy of this letter that a Marine Captain wrote to his parents should he be killed in action. The Marine Captain was Ryan S. Beaupre, age 30, of Bloomington, Illinois. He was killed on March 20, 2003 in a helicopter crash in Kuwait. I’m sure it was his ultimate hope that his parents would never have to read this letter, but they did, and I want to read it to you today. Certainly, it gives a clear understanding of why we are in Iraq and it blesses one’s heart to know that there are those parents who love their children unconditionally and are raising them to be the best our nation has to offer. Here is his letter: Dear Mom and Dad, “Well, if you are reading this, then things didn’t do well for me over in Iraq. I’m sorry for the pain that I have caused you because of this. Please do not be upset with the Marine Corps, the military, the government, or the President. It was my choice to go into the military. The President and my higher commanders were just doing what they thought was best. Realize that I died doing something that I truly love, and for a purpose greater than myself. There is a paragraph that I read from time to time when I lose
focus. “War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things.
The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling,
which thinks that nothing is worth war, is much worse. The person
who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which
is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable
creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so
by the exertion of better men than himself.” “Now there is a little Marine Corps bravado in there, but I do believe in the basic premise. I want you to know that I could not have asked for better parents, nor a better family…I’ll never forget that one of my friends in elementary school said that if he could trade places with one person, he’d trade places with me because of my parents and home life. I truly feel that I’ve had a blessed life thanks to you two.” “Please give my love to Alyse & Ryan, Kari and Matt, and the girls, Chris and Brandy, and everyone else in the family.”
©Copyright
2001 - Family concerns, Inc.
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