A few weeks ago, I proudly

wrote about a young man in our church, Kyle Bond, who had successfully

graduated from Marine Corps recruit training at Parris Island, S.C. Four

years earlier, again bursting with pride, I wrote about my son, James,

who enlisted in the U. S. Air Force. But there are other young men and

women who are great sources of pride to the friends and families. Kathryn

of Fayetteville writes:

Dear Father Epps,

Your article touched my heart

with renewed pride in my own son's story. I too was a stunned parent who

proudly sat on a parade ground at Ft. Benning, Georgia to watch my son

graduate in 2002.He went on to airborne school and is now stationed at

Ft. Bragg, N.C., in Special Forces (Green Beret) qualifying and training.He

has about 6 more months to go before he will be finished.

Our son, Shawn, was 25 years

old when the devastation of Sept. 11 hit our country.He owned his own

house in Peachtree City as well as his own business which he had recently

started.He had gone to college, and was mapping out a life for himself

and a future.

I will never forget the day

he came to visit us and sat in our kitchen telling us that he has decided

to join the Army.For the first time in my life I was totally speechless.

He was grown and living on his own so all we could do was ask, "Why?"He

told us that he felt it was his duty to his country and his responsibility

as an American.What could we say?We were so proud, stunned, a whole heart

full of emotions.

Shawn had a few projects to

finish out, but on June 5, 2002, we said our good-bys.It was one of the

hardest things I have ever had to do in my life.Shawn had always been

close by and close to his family emotionally; I was not sure how I would

survive the weeks ahead with no phone calls and only letters to sustain

us.I soon discovered that a letter from a young man in the service was

a cherished possession.I have kept them all.I think the real reality and

emotions of life have a way of coming out in this type of situation, or

at least they did for us.

The day our invitation came

for his graduation and the prospect of going to see Shawn again was wonderful.I

counted not only the days but the minutes till I could lay eyes on my

boy again.Only to my surprise the boy was gone. Tall and proud before

me was a man.As he marched with the rest of the young men onto that parade

ground my heart nearly burst with the pride of a parent and an American.The

lump in my throat was more than I could swallow, and the tears flowed

down my cheeks.I have never experienced an emotion such as this in my

life. You have to be a parent to truly understand this, I would think.I

still can not find the words to truly express my feeling of that proud

day.

Shawn has about 6 more months

of training left before he will be assigned a team and an area of the

world to protect.I feel sure with the training he is following it will

most likely be the Middle East and I am trying each and every day to prepare

myself for that devastating good-by.I keep him daily in my prayers and

light candles for him and all who serve our great country.

There was a time I didn't give

the military much thought, except during times of war.Ashamed to say,

I was like many Americans today.However, now it has become a part of my

family and my daily thoughts.I will never take any military person for

granted again.I listen to the news and when it is not good I try to remember

to say a prayer for that young person and their family, because one day

it could be mine.I don't want my son's sacrifice forgotten and I won't

forget someone else's child either.

God bless you for your article

and for bringing a few moments reminder to the readers that each soldier

in the military consists of some mother's child.

Sincerely,

Kathryn

Thank you, Kathryn, for sharing

your story. And thank you Shawn for the sacrifices you are making in the

aftermath of Sept. 11. May God bless and protect you.

[David Epps is rector of Christ

the King Charismatic Episcopal Church, which meets at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Sundays on Ga. Highway 34 between Peachtree City and Newnan. He may be

contacted at [email protected] or at www.CTKCEC.org.]