Food for thought

A little while ago I received a newsletter from my son's base. In this newsletter I get the updates of the ongoings on base and the deployed units. This last one focused on the ceremony that was held for the 3 fallen soldiers and their families. One of the now Gold Star Mothers wrote a letter specifically talking about how greatful she was of the outpouring of support she received. She did make one comment that I agree with whole heartedly. She expressed that she wished that she had known some of the mothers prior to the death of her son, because at the funeral it was discovered that some of these mothers whose sons were serving with her son only lived about 2 to 3 hours away. It would have been nice to have been in touch with these mothers all along. I agree, too bad the military couldn't have provided a list perhaps more specifically a sign-up sheet that would allow us mothers to join to know the whereabouts of other mothers. A way that we could volunteer to be allowed to be contacted by other mothers nearby. Our sons didn't have to know each other for the moms to form our own bond and support system. Yes, we do have the Blue Star Mothers but that usually only covers our local area. For me, I would have never have known her if it wasn't for the fact her son was KIA. The parents don't live on base and for many if not all, we don't even live in the same state as the duty station of our soldiers. We can't form the bonds that some of the spouses can for no other reason than location. Not to mention we aren't necessarily looked at as "Family" within the military. Most of the services offered are for families which really means, spouses and children of military personnel. This is no criticism, just an observation. I would have liked to have met this mother sooner and would have liked to have met more prior to this deployment.

On a lighter note, for the mothers I did meet, I loved it when we called one another to have messages passed on when our sons/daughters hadn't contacted us yet and another mother had been in contact. I told my son once, never underestimate the powers of a "Mother". Afterall, we do have a type of underground railroad system if given the right tools.

Army Mom Out