Please take a moment .........

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.

My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,

Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.

In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.

Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite kno w, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.

Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

'What are you doing?' I asked without fear,
'Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!

Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!'

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts.

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said 'Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.'

'It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.

My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,'
Then he sighed, 'That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers.'

My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.

I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..

Who stand at the front against any and all,
To en sure for all time that this flag will not fall.'

'So go back inside,' he said, 'harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right.'

'But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
'Give you money,' I asked, 'or prepare you a feast?

It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son.'

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
'Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.

For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us.'

PLEASE, Would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our U.S.service men and women for our being able to celebrate these festivities. Let 's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum , Iraq.

SPLENDID VALOR

By RALPH PETERS

December 14, 2007 -- FORT SAM HOUSTON,

SAN ANTONIO

AS I wrap up a week of columns dedicated to our wounded veterans, I have one great regret: We could only tell a limited number of stories in these pages, but every one of our wounded warriors deserves to have his or her tale told.

The soldiers and Marines who took a break from their therapy sessions to talk to The Post last week all have compelling histories; here are sketches of just a few more:

Airborne Infantryman Staff Sgt. Nick McCoy was on patrol in Iskandariyah when a roadside bomb took off his legs and left him with severe upper-body injuries. A rigorous soldier who took pride in his physical fitness, he's seen his life change profoundly.

But Nick just won't quit. The Mt. Penn, Pa., native is working on a book with his dad, exploring the personal side of the war from Iraq and from the home front. He's thinking about a journalism degree, too. (I warned him it means a vow of poverty.)

During her second tour in Iraq, Sgt. Lilina Benning was driving her sergeant-major on the "safe" circular road at Camp Victory outside of Baghdad. A random terrorist rocket hit her SUV. Lilina lost her foot, but not her dedication to the Army. She's determined to remain on active duty. Oh, and her brother's in Iraq right now - on his second tour.

On the day I met Lilina, she was ecstatic - she'd just left her wheelchair and walked from the main hospital to the rehab center with only a cane.

Army medic Spec. Greg Dotson was on a bomb-clearing patrol north of Baqubah when an improvised explosive device got the drop on the convoy. He'll never be able to serve as a combat medic again, but he'd like to share his battlefield expertise by teaching at the Army's school for medics at Ft. Sam Houston. If that doesn't work out, Greg's going to finish college, teach school - and coach basketball.

These men and women aren't going to be burdens on their communities. They're going to become community leaders.

Then there's Capt. Jeromie Smith, a former patient himself and now the company commander responsible for the wounded warriors and military staff at the Center for the Intrepid. He shepherds the newly wounded through phases of anger and depression, helping them form a new brotherhood among themselves.

Speaking of the men and women in his care, Capt. Smith summed up everything this week's columns have been about: "They don't want our pity - they want our respect. And they've earned it."

There are so many more: NYPD and National Guard member Spec. Alexander Marner, an immigrant from Ukraine (and a veteran of the old Soviet Air Force) suffered a debilitating illness in Kuwait. He had to undergo a series of complex operations on his arms and legs. Now he's anxious to get back to the NYPD after New Year's.

On a "routine" supply run in Baghdad, West Point grad Capt. Christian Fierro was shot - by a medic who failed to clear her weapon properly. The round tore into his ankle and foot, shredding the artery, severing his Achilles tendon, and ripping out a chunk of meat and bone "the size of a softball."

The new medic panicked. Capt. Fierro credits his gunner with saving his life.

After more than a dozen surgeries to save his foot, Chris still may lose it. But he's determined to remain in the Army, even if he has to leave his beloved Field Artillery and take a desk job. He just wants to stay in uniform.

WE could've run weeks of columns about these magnificent young men and women. But we can all be proud of two things: these selfless wounded warriors themselves - and the generosity of Post readers, who've poured in donations to help make the new Warrior and Family Support Center a reality.

That said, more money needs to be raised. If you haven't given, please consider a donation (see the box at left for how-to details).

Let me tell you a bit more about the organization dedicated to building this new refuge for the gravely wounded and their families. (I refuse to use the word "charity" where these heroes are concerned - helping disabled veterans is our duty.)

In this age of "nonprofit" scams and scoundrel CEOs, you have a right to know where your contributions will go. Well, out of every dollar you donate to this cause, 97.3 cents goes directly to the construction of the new center and our veterans. I doubt that even my lifelong favorite charity, the Salvation Army, can meet that 2.7 percent standard for administrative overhead.

How do those citizen-volunteers down in San Antonio do it? By being citizen-volunteers. The closest thing the effort has to a full-time employee is the woman (paid at an hourly rate) who does the accounting. No member of the oversight board receives a cent; there's no six-figure CEO flying around in a personal jet and throwing lavish parties. In fact, there's no CEO at all - just volunteers who want to help our troops.

(Speaking of volunteers, I have to close this series on a personal note - thanking one of them in particular. Eliza Sonneland, a recently retired Alamo-city talk-show host and an early advocate for this project, told me to stop blathering, get off my butt, come down to San Antonio and help. You were right, Eliza. Thanks. And God bless you.)

Finally, I have to confess that I expected to have a depressing time interviewing veterans who'd suffered massive burns and the loss of multiple limbs. I was wrong. Every single soldier and Marine I met inspired me with his or her determination, valor and positive outlook. Their courage is immeasurable - and beautiful.

Those wounded warriors are too humble and decent to ask us for one damned thing. But they need our help. Let's not leave them behind this holiday season.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

You can donate to the Warrior and Family Support Center project via credit card at ReturningHeroesHome.org or by phone at 1-888-343-HERO.

To give by mail, send your donations to:

Returning Heroes Home

P.O. Box 202194

Dallas, TX 75320-2194

Checks should be made out to Returning Heroes Home, Inc. This is a nonprofit 501c3 endeavor; all donations are tax-deductible.

All contributions, in any amount, will help our wounded warriors. Please give to those who gave so much. - RP

Follow up - 12-21-07

THANKS, SOLDIER!

By RALPH PETERS

December 21, 2007 -- POST readers really support our troops: In response to the call to help build the new Warrior and Family Support Center for our severely wounded veterans, more than 2,000 of you stepped forward with donations.

And those donations totaled over a quarter of a million dollars - $263,714 as of midday Wednesday. And the folks at Returning Heroes Home are still counting.

Oh, and that figure doesn't include two significant stock transfers pending from Post readers.

God bless you all! Despite the financial demands we all face in the holiday season, you scraped together what you could to help our wounded warriors and their families.

Our troops know it. And they're grateful. To those who've lost limbs or suffered grievous burns - or both - you've shown that you care.

And their families know it, too.

You've made their Christmas and Hannukah season rich beyond the amount of the donations themselves - you saluted and helped.

Those soldiers and Marines you read about will still celebrate Christmas this year in that one overcrowded room down at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. But next year's wounded warriors should have a wonderful, welcoming facility for the 2008 holiday season - thanks to you and all the others (not least, the patriots of San Antonio) who've given to this worthy cause.

Ground's been broken and construction can now proceed. And that new center won't just serve today's wounded heroes. It's going to be built to last. Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Coast Guard veterans from future conflicts for generations to come will benefit from the gratitude you've shown to today's service members.

And, yes, there will be future wars, no matter how dearly we wish for peace. Our world remains troubled and troubling. Many problems have no easy solutions - and some have no solutions at all.

When tomorrow's American service members answer the call, some inevitably will suffer terrible wounds. But, thanks to you and all the others who've dug deep to help, they'll come home not only to a state-of-the-art medical facility but to a Support Center where they can get to know their families again and begin to rebuild shattered lives - and take those first, most difficult steps back into the society they gave so much to protect and defend.

Or they can just kick back with their buddies and watch TV. Or take college courses in an understanding environment at the new center. Or help an unsure son or daughter ("Is that man still my daddy?") learn to color inside the lines - the reconstruction of those family ties is every bit as important as any reconstructive surgery.

They're very special men and women, our vets. We all know that. But those of you who gave are special, too. Within the fund-raising world, it's an axiom that newspaper columns don't bring in the serious bucks - that takes face-to-face solicitations and mass mailings.

You proved the professionals wrong: You gave.

But there's still more to do. Thanks to your generosity, the building fund is now halfway to its $4 million target. But the 50-yard-line isn't the end zone - so, please: If you've already given, tell your friends about this effort to provide direct, no-nonsense help to our most deserving vets.

And if there are any major donors out there, fortunate individuals or successful firms that have profited from the security these men and women in uniform provide, take that year-end-donation write-off in a truly good cause.

To those who gave to those who've given us all so much, thank you again. To those who might give, think of those gravely wounded soldiers and their families this Christmas.

They're not asking you for much. In fact, they're not asking you for anything. They're just grateful to be alive and reunited with their loved ones.

We're asking. One last time: Help our heroes.

You can donate to the Warrior and Family Support Center project via credit card by phoning 1-888-343-HERO or at ReturningHeroesHome.org.

To give by mail, send your donations to:

Returning Heroes Home

P.O. Box 202194

Dallas, TX 75320-2194

Checks should be made out to Returning Heroes Home Inc. This is a nonprofit 501c3 endeavor; all donations are tax deductible.

NEW YORK POST 

editorial 12-21-07

HELPING AMERICA'S HEROES

December 21, 2007 -- America's wounded heroes are getting a much-needed boost this holiday season - thanks, in no small part, to the overwhelming generosity of New York Post readers.

Last week on these pages, Ralph Peters profiled the incredible warriors at the Center for the Intrepid, on the grounds of the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

These vets - mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan - are enduring serious combat injuries, including severe burns and the loss of limbs, with courage equal to the best on the battlefield.

Though they're getting top-notch medical care, they need a place to reconnect with families, adjust to civilian life or simply relax with fellow vets. For now, all they have is the overcrowded, one-room Warrior and Family Support Center.

Thus, we had Peters put out the call for help.

Workers recently broke ground on a new $4 million facility to replace the center. Folks in San Antonio had thrown their support behind the project, but some $2 million still had to be raised.

And Post readers - as Peters reports on the previous page - stepped up big-time: More than 2,000 donations flooded in to Returning Heroes Home, the nonprofit sponsoring the new center - raising a total of nearly $264,000 - with the cash still being counted.

There's no question: These wounded warriors deserve all the support they can get as they strive to enjoy the freedoms they've given so much to defend.

And they'll be getting it at the new center - thanks in large part to Post readers.

Not that these vets ever asked for anything more than the opportunity to serve. But they certainly deserve Americans' respect - and gratitude.

And, again, based on the response from readers, they're getting it.

From them, and us - thanks.