Wishing you all a meaningful 4th of July.  Freedom is priceless, but it isn't free.If you would like to email Eva, please send it to me and I will forward to her.

Thank Marine mom Eva Savage for freedom that endures

BY TIM CHAVEZ

To honor this country and celebrate its freedoms today, don't just watch fireworks or make vacation plans to visit a national monument.

Send an e-mail to Eva Savage.

No matter how many times we've read the Declaration of Independence or have pledged allegiance to the flag and its ideals, the freedom this country embodies is merely a concept to most of us. Freedom is like the air we breathe - it is what we've always known; it's what we've always had.

Eva Savage, however, lives it. She knows it. She bears its burden and cherishes its value each and every day.

And on this Fourth of July, Eva Savage is one of freedom's newest mothers - another in a long line of heroic Americans who endure the continuing sacrifice that our liberty demands.

"Freedom isn't free, and unfortunately most people don't understand that," the Livingston, Tenn., woman says.

"My family and I have paid the ultimate price for freedom. My son died for what he believed in. He died with honor. The only thing I can say is red, white and blue, those are colors worth fighting for. Stand up and be counted."

Lance Cpl. Jeremiah E. Savage, 21, was killed in May in Iraq. And last Fourth of July was the final time Eva Savage held her son, during his 21-day leave.

Some people would dispute Eva Savage's contentions or her place in this nation's history. They believe her son died for nothing. They argue that the Iraq war is not about freedom and honor at all, or anything good for that matter.

They're wrong - by the most basic measure of what it means to be an American and to live in America. And today is the proper time to reiterate the lesson.

Here is how Ellen Garrison explains it. She is an associate professor of history at Middle Tennessee State University. She also is the mother of Army Capt. John Neal, who leads an artillery unit in Iraq.

"When we were going through the 2000 election controversy, I asked one of my classes, 'How many of you guys are asking what is the Army going to do?'"

Her point: Americans didn't have to worry. Just like the freedom we take for granted, the belief in the people of this nation remaining in control came naturally despite the controversy. Everything was going to be all right.

"There are very few countries where you can say that our Army is not a factor in our country," Garrison said. "So when people ask 'Do you support the war?', I say that's an irrelevant question. My son is there because civilian control of our military is the cornerstone of our country."

The Declaration of Independence echoes Garrison's interpretation: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness - That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, - that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government ... ."

The Army didn't make the decision to go to Iraq. Our elected leaders did - from the White House to Congress, from George Bush to John Kerry. The war in Iraq is emblematic of our way of governance, that power or force can only be exerted through our consent. And that principle preserves our freedom - as long as there are Eva Savages willing to live with the ultimate sacrifice often required.

Read her story about freedom's cost, then send her an e-mail at eva@twlakes.net.

"Hi, my name is Eva Savage.

"My Marine, my hero was Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Savage. He was my oldest child, my best friend. As a child, all he ever wanted to be was a Marine. He grew up playing G.I. Joe with tanks, guns. That was who he was. At age 11, he knew what he wanted to be. The last three things on a school paper telling about himself were:

"8. I like the B-2 Bomber

"9. I like to blow things up (he was mortar man in the Marines)

"10. I wanna be a MARINE!

"My son lived his dream. He joined the Marines his junior year on the delayed entry program. Graduated high school in May and three days later was on his way to Parris Island for boot camp. For three months he questioned his decision, as I am sure all Marines do. But graduation at Parris Island on Aug. 19, 2001, changed our lives forever.

"Then Sept. 11 happened. Once again our country was changed. The red, white and blue was proudly displayed. In November 2001, Jeremiah was sent to his duty station 2,000 miles from home - Camp Pendleton, Calif.

"He received his first tour orders for Japan and would be leaving in July 2002. In June 2002, I flew out to spend a week with him in California. Japan was supposed to be a six-month duty, which turned into 11 and a half months.

"His daughter Madison was born in October while he was in Japan.

"Jer and I talked often while he was overseas. Sharing many stories, concerns, fears, thoughts. In June 2003, he returned home to Camp Pendleton. Then came home to Tennessee for 21 days. We went as a family back home to Illinois for the Fourth and celebrated being together. This year on the Fourth will be very hard for me as I remember the last time we were together, with joy and love and watching him hug his dad bye and with tears in his eyes as he left.

"Who knew that was the last time we would see him, hold him?

"In November it was announced that Marines from CampP were going to Iraq. I cannot explain the feelings at that time. I remembered Jer and my conversations:

" 'Mom, they are my brothers. I need to be there with them, not sitting here.'

"I asked Jer if he was one of the Marine units going.

" 'No, Mom. We are going to Japan.'

"No matter what he told me, I knew he would be going to Iraq. The week before Christmas when he called, he was talking about night-vision goggles and a different type of gun than what he normally carried. It was then that I asked him why he had that gear?

"He says: 'I'm going to Iraq, Mom. Don't worry, just going to rebuild. My skills in welding will come in handy.'

"In January(2004), I wanted to go see him before he left. This, too, I can't explain, the need. But it was not to be. February, he went to Iraq. Many calls from the airport in Jersey. E-mails.

"He was having some problems that only Mom was able to help him with. We talked as often as possible. It seems every time something would happen, I would be sitting at the computer searching for information and the phone would ring.

" 'Hey mom, what's up?'

"Then my world was right once again.

"He would call us when he had the chance on Friday nights and Saturdays, and everyone would have to talk to him. Then along came Internet. Yeah! We were able to talk to him via Yahoo Messenger, and I even turned on the Web cam, and he was able to see us.

"On a Monday, I talked to him for two hours, went to practice with the Praise Band at church, came home and talked to him for two more hours. Those were the last conversations we had, filled with joking and lots of laughter.

"Now I try to fill my days spending time with his brother Jonathan, who is 19 and was married on April 3, the same day as Jer's son, Wyatt, was born. Jonathan, before the trip to Arlington (National Cemetery), went and had an eagle, globe and anchor tattoo put on his back in loving memory of his brother.

"Chelsea is 15 and going on 35. Her faith is such a blessing to me as she has professed that until God tells her otherwise, she is going to be a minister.

"Me, I am a Marine Mom learning to live without my Marine. Between the immense pride and the pain, my love is unfailing."

May our gratitude to this mother of our freedom also be unfailing. Please send an e-mail today - the Fourth of July - to Eva Savage.