"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
This is a post that I wrote in December of 2007. The photo is not one that I "googled" not one that I found. It is of the Memorial Service in Al Asad, Iraq for CLB7, my husbands unit during his second tour to Iraq.
Thinking about Memorial Day and those that have lost their lives for our country is very much on my mind this weekend. Those that have lost their life During the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars are on my mind most days because of what my husband does for a living.
So once again I find myself thinking of Lance Cpl Mathew A. Snyder. I am sharing my thoughts again.
The Moments that Change our Lives
We all have these moments. Some are good and some are not. Some facilitate our growth and some steal our strength.
Yesterday, there was a memorial service for Sgt 1st Class Johnny C. Walls, who died November 2nd fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. I didn't know Sgt 1st Class Johnny C. Walls. But I did read his name when it was released by the DOD that he had died. I read the names of all the fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq every morning and have since 2003. Afghanistan Casualties and Iraq Casualties. Sometimes my friends think that is a little morbid. I don't, I never want to forget who has died to protect my freedom. It is my way of giving my thanks.
Yesterday, here in Port Orchard was his memorial service. I didn't attend. I have attended several memorial services in the last few years and I no longer can hold my self together long enough to get thru one, I don't have the strength. I then heard that some members of the Westboro Baptist Church would be sending protesters. I wanted to go. I couldn't. I have this link thru circumstances that has stolen my strength and prevents me from doing certain things now.
Remember the father that won the law suit against this church last month? He is the father of Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder. I didn't know Lance Cpl Matthew Snyder either, but he is a part of my life. I probably saw him not knowing who he was when my husband left for his second tour to Iraq. My husband was in the same battalion. My husband knew Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder.
I remember the day he died. They had only been in Iraq for not even a month. I received a call from the KVA (family support group) that I would be receiving an email with the precise words I was to use to make the calls to my spouses about an "All Clear". I was a KV (Key Volunteer) and charged with the notification to those that were NOT affected by this casualty. An all clear notice is the Marine Corps way of telling those that the family who has lost has been notified and they themselves will not be getting a notification, hence everything is "All Clear" for them. When we make these calls we do not elaborate and we do not "chat" with our wives. We ask if they understand and then say good-bye. It is very hard. In my most dignified voice I made my calls, tears streaming down my face. I didn't know when I would hear from my husband. There is always a black out.
During the next 6 months we would only have one other day like this but it was a day we would lose several.
Now it was homecoming time. A time where you are happy and thankful but still have to think of those that ARE NOTcoming home. I don't know how but a group of wives decided to make a sign for one of our wives whose husband wasn't coming home. There were only 2 of the 11 that would not be coming home that had families on our base. The others families were living at Camp Pendleton. When I heard this news all I could think about was Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder. I talked to the Family Readiness Officer and we decided that there needed to be a sign for Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder too. Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder was single. So I volunteered. I bought my supplies, and tried to design a very proper and respectful sign. This sign was on my living room floor for 2 weeks. Every time my husband would call I would ask if I was doing the right thing, if I had arranged it properly. I know it was hard for him to talk about too. It would lay there and I would look at it and change it. Adding things like the unit emblem, the Marine Corps emblem then taking them off. Adding flags and then taking them off. Adding a poem and then taking that off. It was very hard but something I was determined to accomplish.
Finally, three days before the homecoming I handed my huge sign over to the FRO. It was a sign that was 3'X4' white with soft blue large letters. It said, In Memory, Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder. It was perfect. These signs were not to be hung like all the other welcome home banners, they were to be held in a room for the returning Marines and sailors to sign and reflect. I never saw that sign again.
These memories lay deep within me and I hadn't thought about this until I read several months ago that Lance Cpl Matthew A. Snyder's father was suing that church. All I could see was that sign in my living room. I followed the story off and on and I remember when the verdict came back. All I could do was cry, Good for Mr. Snyder.
I thought the memories were deep again, until I heard that the church was coming to town. They were coming to protest at Sgt 1st Class Johnny C. Walls memorial. I had some friends that were going to the "Counter Protest" and I so wanted to go, but I just couldn't, this stuff is just too raw for me still. I am preparing for my husband's third tour to Iraq and it is hard.
I am proud of all the citizens that went out that day and did the right thing.
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
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