Brooke's husband, Eric, and an Iraqi boy
I have been pleasantly surprised to discover, through blog comments and emails, how many readers are serving our country as either spouses or enlisted service members. Since 9/11, I stopped taking these people for granted and started being grateful they continue to secure my freedom. I asked one of them to write some thoughts for me and felt it best to share it in her own words:
While most Marines join right out of high school, my husband decided to join at the age of 28. Joining the Marines is something he has always wanted to do, something that has always been in the back of his mind, but the timing just never seemed to fit, until then. He has always wanted to serve his country, to ensure America always will be the “land of the free,” so he joined the United States Marine Corp. The Marine Corp. allows for my husband as well as our family to see the world…literally. We are currently stationed at Camp Lejeune, NC where my husband is assigned to an artillery unit. His job requires him to be gone from home anywhere from a week or a month at a time for training as well as deployments. He loves the Marine Corp and is very proud and honored to be a Marine.
Now, from a Marine wife’s point of view, I will be honest and say the hardest part would have to be when he’s gone. Even just the week field opts are long enough, let alone the 7 month deployment. But at the end of the day I think about what my husband is and what he does for a living and it makes all of the sadness go away. Well, most of it anyways. Yes, there are lots of tears and more emotions than I have ever imagined to go through. We have a 6 yr old daughter and a 4 yr old son who have to live with their daddy being gone too. I remember when Eric first left on his deployment and thinking to myself, “this is only day 1, how am I going to make it 7 months?” And then the day before he was going to come home, I couldn’t believe how fast the days went by. There is hardly anything in the world that comes close to the amazing feeling of waking up at 2 A.M. to go pick up your husband from a 7 month long deployment with a 4 and 6 yr old in tow. There are no words. I am honored and privileged to call myself a Marine wife. I would not have it any other way.
Brooke (Biermann) DeGroote, wife of LCPL Eric DeGroote and mother of two from Shell Rock, Iowa
Posted under Baby Thomas: Month 16
This post was written by tthomas on November 5, 2009
We are so proud of all our military men & women AND their families! THANK YOU for your service to our Great Country and for the freedom you ensure around the globe. We all owe a debt of gratitude to you, and those who have come before you, that we can live in such a place. May God Bless each of you!
Yes, the military service people are our true heros. So many times the media and rag magezines try to hype movie stars and the like as heros to the American puplic, when there is nothing heroic about them. Quite the opposite, really.
Thanks for sharing - brought tears to my eyes! So proud of our military!
This post hits close to home for me. I have three members of my family currently serving in the Air Force. My brother and his wife as well as my husband’s sister are all serving our country. They are VERY proud to serve and my family is VERY proud of them. God bless all our men and women serving. Next time you see a soldier, thank them for everything they do.
On a side note - THANK YOU to Brooke for sharing your story and reminding us our soldiers aren’t the only ones serving our country. There are husbands, wifes, children, parents, brothers, sisters, etc. here serving our country through love and support for all our soldiers.
Thanks Tara for sharing this with us. We need to be reminded often of the sacrifices others have in their lives to put our problems into perspective. I cannot even imagine sending a loved one off to serve his country or what each family member feels watching news reports from IRAQ or other foreign battles and not be able to just reach out and touch their sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, spouses, etc. And the children, do they understand the sacrifice their parents are making? I’m proud to live in a country where freedom reigns supreme and where individuals will sacrifice their lives for a stranger like me. Thanks to all the military families across America and the world–we wouldn’t be here without you!!! God Bless America!! God Bless You!!
Oh, this post hits so close to home. My husband, Mark, is deployed in Afghanistan right now. We have a son 6- and a daughter that is 2. Mark will be gone a year - he left in July. Words can’t describe the feeling of your husband being gone - not only do you miss him incredibly, but also the realization he is in a hostile environment every minute of every day. I work full time, so getting everything accomplished daily is a tough task. However, I do it with love - and by the Grace of God, and help from family and friends - we will endure until he returns. We don’t watch the news in our house, as mostly - it’s bad. Our 6 year old heres the word Afghanistan - and he wants to see everything. I just don’t let him, because he would be horribly scared and worried for his Dad. My husband will be gone 400 days -so when he left, we put 1200 M&M’s in a big jar. Every morning we eat one, and we can see those M&M’s slowly going away. We know that when they are gone - Mark will be home. The joy of that day - well, that’s what keeps us going every day. And of course, having the Lord with us. My duty is to keep the family strong, and I do that with honor every day. Thank you for the post, Tara.
I am so proud of my husband he has been is the waterloo national guard for about 9 years. This will be his 3rd time overseas. I think it gets harder everytime seeing him go over. He misses out on all of his 4 kids doing things in school and a lot of other things.It is very hard to be a military wife. it takes a lot of time to get use too haveing him home and gone too. I thank everyone for helping. Thn=anks tara
My hat is off to all of the military families. They make great sacrifices to keep our nation safe. With what happened at Ft. Hood in Texas yesterday and the worries these families bear on a day-to-day basis they deserve all of the support communities can provide to those who remain behind while their loved ones are on active duty and a big THANK YOU and RECOGNITION upon their return. All are HEROES!!!
Thanks to your husband and all who have served or serve now. I am from a military family and lost my step-mom to the Iraq war (KIA 1/20/07). Each day is precious and we so appreciate all the service men and women do for us. Keep your spirits up and know others appreciate your husband and the sacrifices your family is making.