Westside News Inc. publications (Suburban News and The Herald) printed an article regarding Tickets for Troops August 29, 2004. The men made it home and the funds raised were very helpful. The following is a letter written by my son, 2nd Lt. Stephen Warren from Iraq to the church school he attended from K-8th grade. Christ Community Church School in Brockport sent packages and cards to Stephen and his men and school supplies for Iraqi children. Michael Warren (Steve's Dad) I want to personally thank each and every student and teacher at Christ Community Church School for all of the prayers and cards. Twelve years ago I was in the same school you are in now preparing to graduate and move on to high school. During my time spent at Christ Community Church School, a foundation of the Lord's principles was instilled in me and has kept me in each place the Army has sent me over the past several years. Do not let go of what is taught to you during your time at school. It will preserve you and guide you in the choices that life brings. I am thankful for all of the sacrifice and love given by all of your teachers and administration at the school. It was good to see Psalm 91 in some of the cards because it is a daily scripture recited before missions and it has been a source of strength. I am currently spending twenty-hour days, slightly north of Baghdad, hunting for men that have evil intentions and do not want American soldiers to go home to see their families. The local people live in constant fear from terrorists and it is difficult for them to give us information. There are several schools in our area of operation with 300 to 500 students in them. The classrooms are no bigger than a 10 ft. by 12 ft. room. The schools are overcrowded with no electricity, running water, sewer system and supplies. The children of Iraq live in very poor conditions. However, the children always have smiles on their faces when we drive by, because they know we will either give them candy or soccer balls. Your prayers are not going unheard because The Lord has been watching over my men and me. On Veterans Day, the Lord saved one of my teams in the platoon. We were traveling along the outskirts of the city when there was a loud explosion sending one of my trucks almost off the road. An IED (improvised explosive device) had gone off on the side of the road and fragments of the artillery shell were lodged in the door of one of my trucks. It shattered the bulletproof glass and smashed in the doors. Thankfully, Sgt. Gilmore, who was in the passenger seat that got hit, was able to walk away. We have still been unable to catch the man that did it, but we will. (Note: These men ended up blowing themselves up while placing another bomb.) Last night on our way out the gate, one of my trucks got caught up in concertina wire and we were held up from going on our mission. Minutes later, another convoy passed our location and traveled down the same road we would have been on. We heard a deafening explosion from the direction we would have been traveling in if our vehicle had not got caught in the concertina wire. Immediately the atheist in my platoon said we had some amazing karma. I told him, "No, we do not have amazing karma, the Lord was watching out for us." After I made that comment he looked up and smiled. I will share your cards with my men. I have twenty-two men in my platoon and they range from 19 years old to 46 years old. I am sure they will appreciate the cards you sent. A special hello to Mrs. LaRock, Ms. "D", and of course Mrs. Warren (Mommy). Take care everyone. And finally Mrs. LaRock, I am sure you will be picking out all the grammatical errors in this letter. Rest assured that if it wasn't 3 a.m. the grammar might be a little better. Sincerely, |
