A Mother’s Day Note - Updated
One more note about Mother’s Day. One of the JK blogging community, aRoseforJK, pointed out a story that appeared in The Berkshire Eagle.
It seems that someone chose to steal a flag that honored a Marine from his mother’s property. The Berkshire Eagle reported the theft in their story, “Theft of patriotism”.
There are some people who chose to do something to try to put it right. And The Berkshire Eagle followed up on that part of the story a couple days later in “Marine mom comforted”. <!When Jessica Swail’s son, Pfc. Mitchell Keil, left for boot camp last year, she hung a Marine Corps flag next to the U.S. flag in front of her house.
Next to it, she mounted a metal plaque that proclaimed, “This property protected by the U.S. Marines.”
Last Friday, she discovered that both the Marine flag and plaque had been stolen.
“That is something I look at every time I come in the driveway,” Swail said. “It’s a reminder of him. I just cannot believe someone took it.”
Keil, 19, a 2006 Wahconah Regional High School graduate, is based at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. He’ll soon be leaving for desert training, with an assignment to Iraq expected to follow, Swail said.
“I don’t believe in the war, but I have to support my Marine — I’m so proud of him,” Swail said.
She reported the theft to the police right away. "There's nothing they can do, I know that," she said. "I just wanted it on the record."
Later in the day, Louis Robesch, commander of the Marine Corps League of Pittsfield, gave her a new Marine Corps flag — a gesture Swail said proved most meaningful to her.And yesterday afternoon, Brigid M. O’Rourke, press secretary for U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry, paid Swail a visit. At Kerry’s request, O’Rourke presented Swail with another Marine Corps flag, one that had flown over the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., as well as a new plaque.
A short time later, Kerry telephoned Swail.
“He said he read the story in The Berkshire Eagle and he was outraged,” she said tearfully after their conversation. “I didn’t expect people to give me things. I just wanted people to know someone stole my flag.”
Swail said she was honored by the senator’s gesture and would rehang the flag — although higher in the tree this time. “It’s been an emotional day,” she said.
The plaque Kerry sent was worded slightly differently from the original: “This property is protected by the U.S. Marines, in honor of PFC. Mitchell Keil’s service to our country and a Mother’s Love.”
To those who took the time to set matters right for Ms. Swail, thanks.
But even more heartfelt thanks go to all our troops and their moms. Printed words seem so inadequate but they’re what we have. Thank you all.
UPDATE: And here’s an update from a Marine’s mom that I quoted in “The Reasons Why” last Wednesday. In short, while she and her daughter-in-law were preparing to go to the memorial services for members of her son’s unit last Friday, she got word that there had been another IED explosion and her son was injured. She tells us about the call in her post “And the Beat Goes On”. But then she went on to write one of the most powerful pieces on Mothers Day that I’ve read, “Toughest Love of All”.
It’s time to bring our troops home.
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Remembering all the hand-wringing in 2004 about Democrats and “values”, I read about these many good deeds by Sen. Kerry, some publicized, but many more not, and I think, “You want to know about values? Here are REAL values, in action.”
Whenever Sen. Kerry has talked about the meaning of his religion to his life, he has returned time and again to a passage in the New Testament that says that the measure of a man’s faith is not in his words but in his deeds. Sen. Kerry is all about deeds, about walking the walk. All too rare, especially for a politician. I hope that Massachusetts votes understand how lucky they are to have a man of such integrity representing them.
Yes. Considering John Kerry was named the most honest member of the U.S. Congress in the last year, Massachusetts voters would have Plymouth rock in their heads not to re-elect him to continue serving their little state and the nation.
Sen. Kerry can bring us alll together to resolve Iraq. He can speak to lessons of a misguided war and how have to have stength to change course to make our Country stronger. It is not a sign of weakness to change. Get that message to the Administrtion and to those people who don’t already know it.
Thanks Sen. Kerry
I’m glad that “aRoseforJK” noticed this piece and pointed it out.