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| Nineteen year old Damian scored very high on his tests. He was promised any schooling and area of training that he wanted. He had been talking to recruiters for three months and chose the Army because they had promised him the education that he needed to go to work for Microsoft with his uncle after his 6 years were up. He was afraid, nervous but the recruiters had said he wouldn't be going into action because of being an only son and the last male child to carry on his father's family name.
Damian didn't tell his mom about his plans. He didn't tell her that he had signed his name on the dotted line after everything was finalized. Three days after the war in Iraq began. Two weeks before he was to be sworn in and to leave for boot camp, Damian went to see his mother to tell her what was happening in his life. The only thing that she could say to Damian was that it would be a good experience for him, for he had chosen to live his life his way . She knew her son was doing what he thought best for himself and was very proud of him even though inwardly she was shaking at the thought of his decision. Damian had never been athletic. He was allergic to almost everything and doctors had told his mother that he had a touch of asthma years earlier. The first week of boot camp the Army almost sent him back home. Damian went into the hospital to be tested and was found to be in good health although on the frail wheezy allergic side. He had to work three or four times as hard as the rest of the privates to make it through basic training. Damian's mother believed that it was the greatest achievement in his life simply because she had always thought that with his health the way it was that he wouldn't be able to make it through basic training in any service. He had been in honors classes and the Gifted and Talented Program since a child in school but he never been in any sports. She had taken Damian to peewee football and baseball practice but Damian couldn't... didn't do well and had become terrified of being hit by the ball. Instead he had become a reader like his mom and older sister. An artist like his mom. After basic training, Damian was sent to a school in Georgia for two months. After those two months with an extended period for extra schooling had passed and Damian had celebrated his twentieth birthday he was given his orders to fly to Germany after his leave was over. From Germany he was being sent to Iraq. Damian left for Iraq in January and is now in Baghdad. Damian and his older sister had friends that was already over there. Randall was in Kuwait... Michelle in Iraq... Randall recently came home on leave safe and sound to spend time with Damian's sister and her husband. One of Damian's good friends, a girl who had a sister, a twin, wasn't lucky enough to see her sister come home. Her sister had another plan for her new life after graduation other than joining the service. She was embarking on a wonderful new career with great plans ahead and had just moved to New York City. She had applied for a job and had gotten it. In the Twin Towers. Damian's mother remembers her father who in WWII was in the Coast Guard, with brothers in the Army, talking about what he believed. "Old Men," My Daddy said, "make wars and send the young people to fight them and die without ever having the chance to have lived. Let the Old Men fight their own wars. Let the Old Men make war, fight and kill each other. If that is what the Old Men want let them have it. Let the young people alone. Let the young people have their chance to live their lives, to be happy, have children and raise their families so they too may grow old." Damian's mother wonders if Damian will ever fill out an application at Microsoft where he wants to go to work with his uncle. Damian's mother wonders if she will ever see her precious son again. |
| Troops? Damian...? War? Necessary? Damian... ? Evil? Why? A Mother's Novelette |
| Oh Denise Shoobee Doo
Aerose Artistry Airbrush Art By Denise Back To Novels www.aeroseartistry.bravepages.com www.imartiste.bravehost.com |