MBVD: Gazing at the Flag

Showing posts with label Gazing at the Flag. Show all posts

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Sgt Eddie Jeffers: Still soaring through the Heavens

[*cross-posted from Assoluta Tranquillita*]

There is a special banquet being held in Florida this evening:

3rd Annual Hope Rides Alone Family Reunion Banquet
Saturday, September 18 · 6:00pm - 11:00pm

Come join us as we celebrate the life of Sergeant Eddie Jeffers on the 3rd anniversary of his death. Debbie Lee of America's Mighty Warriors is the keynote speaker. You will not want to miss this joyous and patriotic event. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Fisher House of the Emerald Coast, Eddie's favorite charity.

As I recently wrote to Eddie's dad, David, there are not many days go by that I do not think about his precious son Eddie. On September 20, 2007, Flag Gazer wrote this:

Thursday, September 20, 2007

SGT Eddie Jeffers ~ Farewell, and Walk with God

"Blessed be the Lord my Strength,

who teaches my hands to war,

and my fingers to fight."

Psalm 144:1

Wednesday evening - I had just popped dinner in the oven and sat down at the computer to check my email. Up pops a message from David Jeffers, Eddie's father. It was titled Hope Rides Eternal. I expected a new essay from Eddie - a follow up to Hope Rides Alone. Sadly, that was not to be. I was not prepared for the sad news. This is what my email read:

It is with great personal sadness but joy in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that I announce the death of my son Eddie Jeffers. Eddie was killed around 7 am Iraqi time from an accidental vehicle roll-over. Although our personal loss is traumatic, we know he is in a better place. All of you have been so wonderful to my son and my family and he was so blessed and humbled by your love for him. He told me this past summer after the wonderful gift you gave his wife and him that he didn't understand why people were so generous and kind to him. You see to Eddie, he was just doing his job and what he believed was his life mission from God....

There was more, including links to three amazing pieces of writing from Eddie as he was deployed. But Flag Gazer ends with this:

I write this tonight with a heavy heart and great sadness for the loss to the spirit of our country. Eddie was so special to so many of us who never had the honor of knowing him, but whose hearts he touched with goodness and honor. He was a hero to so many of us. We felt fortunate to be able to show our appreciation for what he gave to so many of us... honesty, faith, hope and the American spirit...

Go read the rest of Flag Gazer's beautiful tribute to her friend here.

I heard about Eddie's passing through a different route, and the following Monday I wrote a public letter to this new Angel over on Tanker Bros blog:

Monday, September 24, 2007

Dear Eddie,

You didn't know me in the 23 years you were here, but I have been thinking a lot about you the last few days. Really, I have. This is not the first time I have thought of you, been aware of you. I remember back when your piece "Hope Rides Alone" became famous all over the internet. I know that piece of fine writing from the sandbox gave insights to many of how amazing all of you are, who are fighting today. I remember. I remember smiling because your words put the lie, yet again, to the notion that all soldiers are just killing machines, ignorant hick Rambos gone wild. And you kept fighting, and you kept writing, as the rest of us went on about our everyday business, doing whatever it is we all do, that is SO (sarcasm here) important.

And now? This last week has seen your work, again, all over the internet, and there has been much weeping and sorrow. I have read a lot of the stuff written about you and I feel as if I know you. I read with great sadness that you had died in Iraq. This human heart was heavy. But, as I have talked to people, re-read your writing, I have been so grateful to have been given a glimpse of you.

[...]

I came across another comment, on another post about you, these last few days: "words matter." Don't ask me where I found that, but this is a belief I have long held. And I know you have too. These last few days many people have been reading your words.... I know, from all I have read, that you... have been raised, and believe in living a life according to the scriptures. I know that your favourite verse is:

“Blessed be the Lord my Strength, who teaches my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” Psalm 144:1

I know this because I found that on your dad's site. I also know that you believed in what you were doing for the children, the future of Iraq. ...

[...]

And so it is, through the power of the internet, from Freedom Feels Good (here), to The Real Deal in Ramadi (here), you shared your heart with us, and showed us what is really happening for families in a land far, far away from the comforts of your own family and home. I don't know if you were aware then - even as you surely must be by now - how many hearts you opened with your words. Words matter - and your words reach across time and space - will continue to do so - just as those other Words still resonate for a lot of us. Your words remind us all that OUR mission is not over yet, even as you embark on your new mission. Those of us left here get to renew, again, our commitment to this mission which you began. Yes, we do weep that you have gone on ahead, but as your dad says on his blog site:

...Although our personal loss is traumatic, we know he is in a better place....He told me this past summer...You see to Eddie, he was just doing his job and what he believed was his life mission from God....(source)

I also know you are in a far better place, Eddie. I do. And as I have thought about you these last few days, over and over in my mind - unbidden - have come the words:

Do Not Weep For Me
Do not weep for me, for I have lived...
I have joined my hand with my fellow's hands,
to leave the planet better than I found it.

Do not weep for me, for I have loved and been loved by my family, by those I love who loved me back.
For I never knew a stranger, only friends.

Do not weep for me.
When you feel the ocean spray upon your face,
I am there.
When your heart beats faster at the dolphin's leaping grace,
I am there.
When you reach out to touch another's heart,
as now I touch God's face,
I am there.
Do not weep for me. I am not gone.
- Anon
(another prolific writer here)

Oh Eddie, so many hearts you have touched and changed. "Your spirit will live forever/it lives in the laughing eyes of children/ who are free from want and oppression."...

On Wake Up America there was also a column about Eddie:

Thursday, September 20, 2007

In Honor of Sgt, Eddie Jeffers--RIP

This is from an email I received from a frequent reader of Wake up America, Michelle.

I am sending you a link to a letter (if you google Eddie Jeffers you can read all his letters) written by a solider in Iraq. Eddie Jeffers is…..ah, …was a friend of a friend of mine. He died two days ago.

Eddie was an Army Infantryman serving in Ramadi.

Please honor this young man and his undying love of his country. He deserves nothing short of a memorial in his honor, and we are working on one here.

Thanks,

Michelle

Letter from Sgt.Eddie Jeffers:

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.

And to think, I volunteered for this...

And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler....

And there is much more over here, including a beautiful poem in the comments which is a must read.

And then there is this beautiful video tribute I found:

jeffers221 | September 24, 2007

From little boy to mighty warrior, Sergeant Eddie Jeffers lived his 23 1/2 years to its fullest. He emptied himself completely.

Sgt. Eddie Jeffers: ALWAYS remembered and honoured.

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SOLDIER"S ANGELS NEEDS YOUR HELP!

The Veterans Hospital in Tucson needs our help!!! They have contacted Soldiers' Angels with a list of needs for their patients. Soldiers Angels needs your help in making some of these come true.

Below you will find just a small portion of needs that are immediate. You can also find this list posted on the Soldiers Angels Forum at www.soldiersangelsforum.com you will be able to find lots of great information there for our deployed and vets.

If you are sending a monetary donation please follow the link and indicate the State you are in.

Donate here;
Ttp://soldiersangels.org/index.php?page=veterans-support

COMFORT ITEMS- $350/MO
Dry Skin Cream
Slipper Socks-No skid
Catheter bag covers
Shaving Cream
Hand Lotion
Baby Shampoo
Hand Soap
Roll on/Spray Deodorant
Denture Cleaner
Underwear (men and women (all sizes)
Toothbrushes
Denture Grip
Socks (white)
Talcum Powder
Nail Clippers
Toothpaste
Ladies hand and body lotion
Backpacks
Disposable Razors
Comb/Brushes
Shawls
Shaving Cream/small
Knitted Caps
Travel Alarm Clocks
Ball Caps
Tote Bags
Shower Shoes
Pocket Size Needle and Thread Kit
Heart pillows for cardiac patients
Lap Robes (3x5 or 5x7)

GUEST SERVICES
30 cup coffee makers
Coffee supplies (reg. & decaf)
Music CDs
Stamps
Writing Paper and Envelopes
Prepaid Phone Cards for patients’

RECREATION
Puzzle books
Crossword Puzzles
Pencils
Video tapes & DVDs (movies, educational)
DVD Player

Sports equipment (basketball, tennis rackets &
Tickets for entertainment & sporting events
Balls, badminton set, Frisbees, football)

If you can send just one item that would be great!!! If each person sends one thing we will make a difference! They are also needing those who can volunteer time at the hospital just contact the Voluntary Services Dept. For information.

Mail Items to:

Department of Veterans Affairs Southern Arizona VA Health Care System – Voluntary Services 9-135, 3601 S. Sixth Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85723

PLEASE HELP US HELP THOSE WHO FOUGHT FOR OUR FREEDOM!

My Favorite Speeches and Other Items of Interest

George Bush's March 28, 2007 Discusses Economy, War on Terror During Remarks to the National Cattlemen's Beef Association;http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070328-2.html
Mitch McConnell's March 15, 2007 Funding For Troops, Not Timelines for Retreat; http://mcconnell.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=270747&start=1
Ronald Reagan's June 12, 1987 Tear Down This Wall Speech; http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/speeches/wall.asp
Vice President Cheney's March 12, 2007 Remarks at the AIPAC 2007 Policy Conference; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/03/20070312.html

Winston Churchill Quotes

A prisoner of war is a man who tries to kill you and fails, and then asks you not to kill him.
Although personally I am quite content with existing explosives, I feel we must not stand in the path of improvement.
Although prepared for martyrdom, I preferred that it be postponed.
Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.
Battles are won by slaughter and maneuver. The greater the general, the more he contributes in maneuver, the less he demands in slaughter.
Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
I always seem to get inspiration and renewed vitality by contact with this great novel land of yours which sticks up out of the Atlantic.
I am an optimist. It does not seem too much use being anything else.
I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.
I like a man who grins when he fights.
I was only the servant of my country and had I, at any moment, failed to express her unflinching resolve to fight and conquer, I should at once have been rightly cast aside.
If you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time-a tremendous whack.
In war as in life, it is often necessary when some cherished scheme has failed, to take up the best alternative open, and if so, it is folly not to work for it with all your might.
It is no use saying, 'We are doing our best.' You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.
Moral of the Work. In war: resolution. In defeat: defiance. In victory: magnanimity. In peace: goodwill.
Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
Never, never, never give up.
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism.
One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.
The first quality that is needed is audacity.
The nose of the bulldog has been slanted backwards so that he can breathe without letting go.
The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is.
There is no such thing as public opinion. There is only published opinion.
These are not dark days: these are great days - the greatest days our country has ever lived.
They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.
True genius resides in the capacity for evaluation of uncertain, hazardous, and conflicting information.
Victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.
War is a game that is played with a smile. If you can't smile, grin. If you can't grin, keep out of the way till you can.
War is mainly a catalogue of blunders.
We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.
We shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means of inspiration and survival.
When the eagles are silent the parrots begin to jabber.
When you are winning a war almost everything that happens can be claimed to be right and wise.
You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."
Above all, we must realize that no arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is so formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women. It is a weapon our adversaries in today's world do not have.
All the waste in a year from a nuclear power plant can be stored under a desk.
Approximately 80% of our air pollution stems from hydrocarbons released by vegetation, so let's not go overboard in setting and enforcing tough emission standards from man-made sources
Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!
Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.
Double, no triple, our troubles and we'd still be better off than any other people on earth. It is time that we recognized that ours was, in truth, a noble cause.
Facts are stupid things.
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.
Government exists to protect us from each other. Where government has gone beyond its limits is in deciding to protect us from ourselves.
Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.
History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.
How can a president not be an actor?
How do you tell a communist? Well, it's someone who reads Marx and Lenin. And how do you tell an anti-Communist? It's someone who understands Marx and Lenin.
I have wondered at times what the Ten Commandments would have looked like if Moses had run them through the US Congress.
I will stand on, and continue to use, the figures I have used, because I believe they are correct. Now, I'm not going to deny that you don't now and then slip up on something; no one bats a thousand.
In Israel, free men and women are every day demonstrating the power of courage and faith. Back in 1948 when Israel was founded, pundits claimed the new country could never survive. Today, no one questions that. Israel is a land of stability and democracy in a region of tryanny and unrest.
Let us ask ourselves; "What kind of people do we think we are?".
Man is not free unless government is limited.
My philosophy of life is that if we make up our mind what we are going to make of our lives, then work hard toward that goal, we never lose - somehow we win out.
No mother would ever willingly sacrifice her sons for territorial gain, for economic advantage, for ideology.
Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the U.S. was too strong.
Our forbearance should never be misunderstood. Our reluctance for conflict should not be misjudged as a failure of will. When action is required to preserve our national security, we will act.
Protecting the rights of even the least individual among us is basically the only excuse the government has for even existing.
Some people wonder all their lives if they've made a difference. The Marines don't have that problem.
The ultimate determinant in the struggle now going on for the world will not be bombs and rockets but a test of wills and ideas - a trial of spiritual resolve: the values we hold, the beliefs we cherish and the ideals to which we are dedicated.
The United Sates has much to offer the third world war.
There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill, I did not take the oath I have just taken with the intention of presiding over the dissolution of the world's strongest economy.
Today we did what we had to do. They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong.
We are never defeated unless we give up on God.
We have the duty to protect the life of an unborn child.
We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.
We will always remember. We will always be proud. We will always be prepared, so we will always be free.
Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.
You know, if I listened to Michael Dukakis long enough, I would be convinced we're in an economic downturn and people are homeless and going without food and medical attention and that we've got to do something about the unemployed.