“I am thankful that you are alive. I know you have seen many, many horrific deaths in the battle field. Remember this: As you mourn for your dead comrades, so does the “enemy’. And there’s just as much pain on both sides when the corpses are brought home to their grieving mothers.

There is no glory in war, my son! No one dies a “heroic” death or “valiantly” bears permanently maiming battle scars as though they were some flashy medals; gruesome souvenirs of an evil engagement. Stuff like that is what nightmares are all about. It makes one sober up really fast! War is a showing of the depth of degradation the human spirit can be retrograded to!

Nevertheless, I hope you haven't turned into one of those serious, constipated, wrinkle-browed “TYPE-A” Personalities (like Mommy Dearest!). “You don't stop laughing because you grow old; you grow old because you stopped laughing”. So if the laugh’s on me, that’s just fine because I'm my favorite joke, anyway!

War or No War, don't allow anyone to steal that laughter from within your heart - Keep it alive, nurture it, let it blossom! As for me? I'm still enjoying my childhood ... Perhaps one day, in the far distant future, I might become coerced into adulthood. I pray it never happens because a big part of my soul will have died!”

(Excerpts. Letter to my son serving with US army A Co 324th Sig Bn RC in Iraq 2007).