Satisfaction In Knowing They've Made A Difference

The story that follows caught my attention and truly warmed my heart. Why? Because they made a difference. This is the city where my son died at the hands of insurgents. In August of 2006, the city of Rawah, Iraq was about at it's worst. Adam's Marine unit had just taken the area over from the Army which had been moved to Baghdad. Later Adam's Captain told us when they read the intelligence on Rawah (where their unit would be moving) "we all knew it was bad news." In a three week period Delta Company lost six Marines and a Navy Corpsman, in two large attacks.

Having heard the stories of how bad Rawah was then, and now hearing how the city has rebounded, chased out the enemy and returned to a "normal" life, gives me a deep sense of satisfaction. You see, a piece of my heart is still in Rawah, that's where my son's life ended. Because Adam was there, and because of what the Marines have done in Rawah over the past two years, we read stories like this one..... What's this I hear about "the war is not winnable?"

'Friendship City' Kicks Off Partnership

Tuesday, 14 October 2008
By Lance Cpl. Joshua MurrayRegimental Combat Team 5

An Iraqi girl holds books and school supplies donated to the Al Moaine elementary school in Rawah, Iraq, Oct. 6, 2008. Marines with Fox Company, Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 dropped off the first donation sent to the children of Rawah by citizens of Towamencin, Pa., which is the 'Friendship City' for Rawah. Photo by Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray.

RAWAH — Children at the Al Moaine elementary school scampered down to the entrance to meet the Marines who were visiting to drop off special gifts. They followed the cardboard boxes with their eyes entranced as Marines unloaded them into the schoolyard.
Marines with Fox Company, Task Force 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5 dropped off the first donation sent to the children by citizens of Towamencin, Pa., which is the "Friendship City" for Rawah.

According to www.towamencin.org, the "Friendship City" program traces its roots to the "People-to-People" program that was inaugurated by the President of the United States in 1956 to establish greater friendship and understanding between the people of the United States and other nations.
The plan to become a "Friendship City" was lead by the mother and father of Capt. Aaron Schwartz, the company commander of Fox Co., who reside in Towamencin. Schwartz’s parents coordinated the program with their son to show support for Rawah’s citizens.
"Thank you so much for this visit to our schools," said Adam Hamed Ghthayan, the director of education for the city, to the Marines. "We will hand out everything brought to different schools in Rawah."

The boxes of donated goods contained everything needed to kick off a soccer season, including soccer uniforms in multiple colors. The Marines also brought other donated goods, such as books and writing materials to help the students begin the new school year. "Funding to get these children properly equipped with the things they need for school is a big problem," said Ghthayan. "Without the supplies they need for school, the quality of their education and their lives are deeply affected."

Once Marines opened the boxes and began distributing the gifts, hundreds of children swarmed to the source. Little hands rose up over the crowd and the sound of "mister, mister please," echoed through the schoolyard. The youngsters gasped in surprise and thanks over pencils, pens and books; items that are usually commonplace in the U.S.

"This is all about the children," said Ghthayan. "Schools have improved so much since 2003. We are looking forward to continuing our work with our friendship city." Schwartz assured the people of Rawah that the relationship between the two cities would continue over the years.

"This is just the first shipment of items from your ‘Friendship City,’" said Schwartz, 31, originally from Hatfield, Pa., to the people of Rawah. "[The people of Towamencin] will continue to send things and they are working on getting an Arabic speaker so they can talk to you directly."

CHOSEN FOR A VERY SPECIAL DUTY

On August 20, 2006 my life changed forever. With a visit to Utah from President Bush scheduled in ten days, I was busy sending out emails to encourage people to turn out for a rally to support the troops and our Commander-In-Chief. Seems easy enough, but with Salt Lake City’s mayor Rocky Anderson leading a protest against the President and the war, aided by anti-war, anti-military activist Cindy Sheehan, we had work to do. As it turned out I was the one who would not be present to show my support because in ten days I would be attending my son’s funeral.

As I diligently tried to organize support for the upcoming rally, the Marines at Fort Douglas in Salt Lake City were preparing to pay me a visit. Earlier that day word reached Fox Company that a local Marine had been killed by an IED in Iraq. Now, two casualty officers were on their way to my house. Having hit every website, email group and contact I had that would be supportive of the rally, I was still busy typing when I heard a car door close out front. Without even thinking I reached over to the blinds and peeked through the slats only to see two Marines crossing the street approaching my house. A military mom knows exactly what that means, they don’t have to say a word, you already know.

My son, Marine Cpl. Adam Galvez was with 3rd LAR and had been in Iraq since early March of 2006. We communicated with him often and he was doing well. On July 29, 2006 Adam narrowly escaped death when a suicide bomber detonated a truck laden with explosives outside a building he was in. Four Marines did not survive that attack. After recovering from his injuries and rejecting the offer to come home, Adam returned to camp to resume his duties. On August 20, 2006 in the city of Rawah, a convoy of four Light Armored Vehicles (LAV) started out across town. They left the road to access a knoll from which they could survey the area. The first LAV drove on, the second, the third, then the forth drove across the pressure plate which detonated an IED consisting of multiple artillery shells and a fuel accelerant. They said it was a huge explosion. Miraculously, three of the six man crew survived, the others did not.

A few days later as I sat in my living room with news cameras and reporters, I pleaded with our community to turn out to the rally and show their support for our military men and women who were fighting for us in Iraq. We had to counter the voices that were telling the rest of the world that the U.S. military was killing civilians and destroying Iraqi homes and villages. Unbelievably, these accusations were being spewed by our own government officials and repeated by the media and millions of others who had decided the Americans were the bad guys. The problem is, their words didn’t just play to an American audience. It was repeated world wide and right to the very people who were killing American servicemen, our sons, husbands, fathers…. Yes our own officials as well as American citizens had unwittingly become cheerleaders for the enemy.

August 31st, the day after we buried our son, President Bush sat and visited with our family, my husband and me and our two adult children. It was surreal as we found ourselves discussing world events with the President of the United States, but that was in fact what we were doing. His kindness and sincerity confirmed to me that he made decisions he believed were in the best interest of the United States. There was no personal or political gain, no game playing, just deep beliefs and convictions - there had been no other option. I told the President, the thing that would hurt me the most would be if he brought the troops home before they finish the job. He assured me as long as he was President that would not happen. It is important to me that my son’s death counts, and that it was not wasted.

So much has happened over the last two years, but my beliefs have not changed. I still believe that America must win the war in Iraq and despite the outcry from many to quit because "the war is not winnable," our troops are succeeding. It is becoming more apparent that the hard work and sacrifices have indeed counted. We must have a stable middle east where democracy is alive and well, because that is in America’s best interest. I still believe that we live in a world where evil is present and is set on destroying what is good, yes evil wants to destroy us – America. You don’t have to assume or guess, the radical Islamic extremists have said as much, but somehow in the eyes of some, we’re still the bad guys. Too much is at stake to stand on the sidelines. Yes I have worked in the background, led troop support projects, been part of local and national organizations that promote patriotism and support the military, but I want to do more. As a Gold Star mother I almost feel like I have been chosen for a very special duty. My son has been silenced but I have not. I will carry on where he left off. I won’t face an enemy on the battlefield, but I will work here on the home front supporting our military, getting involved in important issues, and doing all I can to preserve this great nation, the nation for which my son gave his life.

In the weeks that follow, I will share some of my stories and experiences as well as observations on current events -through the eyes of a Gold Star mom.