Last week, I was assigned to go to Fort Detrick in Frederick, and my day was scheduled so people could come individually to ask me questions about their benefits. My last person of the day never showed up, so I called to see why she had missed her appointment.
The phone rang, and then an older woman, about 85, picked up.
"Hi," I said, "I'm calling from the Department of Veterans Affairs. You had an appointment today that you missed, is there anything I can help you with?"
"Oh yes," she said, "for 1 year, I wrote to a young man in the Army who was stationed in Iraq. He wrote me the nicest letters and I began to think of him as a son. My husband is deceased and I have no children, so I really looked forward to my letters from this young man. Altogether, I got about 50 letters from him while he was abroad and also while he was being treated for injuries at a military hospital in Texas. I sent him care packages, including homemade cookies, and he would always write thank you notes that said, "we soldiers love cookies." About a month ago, I sent him a letter, and the letter was returned with a stamp on it that just said "DECEASED"."
I could hear her starting to cry over the phone as she explained how harsh that big red stamped word seemed on the front of the hand-written envelope. I felt awful, and my heart broke for this woman.
She wanted to find his family's address so that she could mail them all of the letters he had written over the past year. Unfortunately, with only the man's name, there wasn't much I could do to help her, which made me feel even worse.
On days when I am tired and really don't want to be at work, I remind myself that each and every folder I pick up is someone who fought for this country and was injured in the process. So many people are so wrapped up in their own lives, that they forget about the thousands of men and women in foreign countries serving in the military, whose families and friends sit at home and worry about them. Then, an old woman comes along, who thinks of a man that she has never met like he is her own biological son, loves him when he is alive and mourns him when he is gone and it makes you remember all of those soldiers.
Just a story I thought I would share, since the experience really made me think about the people I work for everyday.
6 comments:
OH, so sad. You are right, I think a lot of us do take soldiers for granted. Thanks for this post.
Oh my gosh! I teared up just reading that story! Thank you so much for sharing that story. I pray that the older lady is able to find the officer's family!
I think I cried for the last half of the post! Veterans have a special place in my heart, and words can never express our gratitude to them for their (and their families') sacrifices.
Thanks for the post - it really puts things into perspective and reminds me just how lucky we are :)
What an incredible story, Rachel. And, an excellent way to put it all down. We are lucky in this country because of these young men and women far from home fighting for freedom around the world. This 85 year old woman was living during WW II and really understands the sacrifices! It reminded me of what Anne Frank wrote in her diary, "In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart."
Wow, that just made me tear up. These days, you could do a lot with a persons name, why dont you google it and see what you can find. Maybe you will come across something that can be passed on to this lady.. kind of above and beyond your job description but its so touching, its almost a must.
That is so touching, Rachel...I feel horrible for that woman and I sincerely hope she is able to find the family of the deceased soldier. I'm sure his family would love to read her letters and know that a stranger went to such great lengths to make his time fighting our country a little bit brighter.
Post a Comment