Knee Deep in the Hooah!

Today is Mike’s Birthday! I know that for a lot of people today is just another day. It’s not only just another day for many, but is just another Monday kind of a day. Well, for me today is the mark of the one year anniversary of when Mike landed in Kuwait. It also happens to be the one year anniversary of Knee Deep in the Hooah! Today is my one year anniversary of blogging about Mike’s year in Iraq, Bryan’s time in OCS, and about the rest of us schmucks who are at home waiting and living.

Today is Mike’s 23rd birthday. It just so happens that this is also the third birthday in a row that we could not see him or talk with him. His 21st birthday was spent in the field in his AIT Infantry training. He had just turned 21, and the night before his birthday he got no sleep. If I recall right, this would have been the night when a couple of guys in his unit had fallen asleep with out securing their weapons first. Group punishment is the name of the game, so all of the other guys (Mike is included in this lump) got to dance around the camp holding their guns and singing “I’m a little teapot.” The next morning one his favorite Drill Instructors came up behind him and said “No drinky-drinky for you soldier!”

Of course this way his way of saying “Happy Birthday” without sounding too nice, lest he lose face with the men. It kind of reminds me of Sam Elliot’s character in the movie “We Were Soldiers,” when the one soldier passing him on a sidewalk says “Nice day, sir,” to which Elliot replies “What are you a ‘bleep’-ing weatherman now?” That was his warm and fuzzy way of saying “Shut the hell up private, and nice day back at you!. And they say that men have a hard time showing emotion! Poppycock!

His 22nd birthday was spent in Kuwait, and now the 23rd will be in Iraq. The picture above is of he and a buddy in Kuwait celebrating with Bitburger, which is a non-alcoholic beer. I sent him a couple of boxes with gifts, cards and goodies. It all feels like such a small token considering all he has done over the last 365 days. He will come home 15-months chronologically older, but I imagine mentally, emotionally and spiritually speaking, he is older than that. He will come home with a combat badge, an Army Commendation Medal with a “V” device for Valor, and a Purple Heart. I am so grateful that we have hope for a 24th birthday that will be filled with a lot of chatter, a lot of beef stroganoff (his favorite), a lot of cake, and a lot of love.

Happy Birthday Mike! I love you, miss you, and I am eagerly waiting for your homecoming. God speed, and “Illegitimis non carborundum.” That means “don’t let the bastards grind you down.” — General George J. Stilwell

Tags: Army, Army Mom Posts, Iraq, Shack Pack news, deployment, family life, getting old, military, updates, war on terror //