LONG HAUL: One reader’s son was among the first Marine to enter
Iraq during the so-called “Shock and Awe” part of our ongoing war
and, as such, she was touched by a recent series of AP stories
called “The Long Haul.”

Neena Hallock of Bradford writes, “Your stories have brought
back my personal memories of the start of what has become a very
long ordeal for many families.” Her son, Gunnie Sgt. Jamie Hassek,
now lives in Erie where he is in charge of the USMC recruiting
office.

Neena passed along a story she had written four years ago, but
modified for 2008:

“February 15th, two thousand three, has been an ominous date
looming in my mind for nearly six years. Looming as a day whose
haunting reality I felt I might not survive.

“My son departed to a country hundreds of miles from home, to
what has become a war that seemingly has no end.

“Recognizing the preciousness of limited days, my mind was
racing with thoughts of things I wanted to say. Instead I sat
speechless watching him prepare his gear. I had no wisdom to offer.
Instead I wanted to ask more of him.

“I wanted to ask him to stay focused. I wanted to ask him to not
let his guard down – ever.

“I wanted to ask him to do what he was trained to do. I wanted
to ask him to do what he needed to do to survive, and yet maintain
his moral compass in the middle of it all.

“I wanted to ask my son to do all of that.

“And now I want to apologize, as a mother, for being so asleep.
For being so cynical and complacent that I let this country send
him to this war. In what might have been my last hug, I left my
tears on his shoulder.

“I have kept his pair of boots from the days of ‘Shock &
Awe.’ They are a remarkably poignant reminder of all of this. But
mostly, they remind me of my son and his journey. And I have made a
deal with those boots. Because they brought my son home safely, I
will work relentlessly to stop the hate and the destruction of this
nowhere-near-worth-it war. So my son and all our brave troops can
untie their boots in peace.”