Letters that were turned in at a  Salute To The Keepers of Freedom from a couple of awesome kids.


Dear American Soldier,

Hello. My name is Kathleen. I am in the 10th grade. I am an army brat. Or a retired army brat since Daddy is retired. I'm not quite sure how that works.

Daddy has been retired since 1998. We moved from Thornton Colorado right after he retired. It felt weird because we went from being squished full of neighbors to living in the middle of nowhere with only one neighbor. It worked fine for us because now our dog Huckleberry can run around where ever he wants and not bother people. We have a cute house in the country with several acres of land. We've just finished planting our vegetable garden. Now we get to look forward to weeding it. What fun. We have a small orchard for our fruit trees and blue and blackberry bushes springing up everywhere. We put them in our pancakes, pies and make sauces out of them to put on ice cream....

I really appreciate what you have done for our country. Having men and women who are willing to give up their lives for their country make all of us feel safe and puts our minds at ease knowing that people out there are protecting us. Thank you so much for being there for our country.

Sincerely,
Kathleen

To: Our Soldiers

I want to thank all of our soldiers fighting for the U.S. That means a lot to me. Sometimes I wonder if they ever get into the U.S. but they have not made it yet. Thank you and we are praying for you over here.

Update on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 10:45PM by City On A Hill

Dear Keepers of Freedom, Growing up with a Dad in the Army, I have a lot of respect for the brave soldiers over seas. We had been pretty lucky for a while, stationed in Fort Rucker for 12 years. There were a few times I can remember when I was little that my Dad wasn't there because he had been sent to Korea, or Virginia. I was pretty young so I didn't really understand why he had to leave, I just counted the days until he came back. I used to keep a tape he recorded of himself singing and whenever I missed him, I just blared the music so I could hear his voice. We kept him in our prayers, and he always made it home safely. One day, our stay in Fort Rucker was interrupted by an order to go to New York. I was not pleased. We stayed in guest housing for a very long time, and I complained on a daily basis about wanting to go back to Alabama. Until the day my Dad walked in the room and told us he got orders to go to Iraq. I remember how sick that made me feel. The thought of my Dad leaving, and going to such a dangerous place scared me to death. I didn't want him to go. I prayed and prayed that God's will would be done. Sometime in the next week, we got news that he couldn't go. He had problems with his back that prevented him from leaving. I was really relieved that he wasn't going, but his back wasn't getting better. Our stay in New York was about nine months. We were scheduled to stay for three to four years at first, but it was cut short because of problems my Dad had with his back. We moved back to Alabama and he is out of the Army now. He still works on post, inspecting helicopters and making sure they are fit to fly. I know how scared I was when I heard the news that my Dad would be leaving for Iraq, and I know how the families of soldiers must feel every day. Those soldiers and their families are in my prayers, and I'm sure the rest of my family could say the same thing. Thanks for all of your hard work, and your bravery. Emily Update on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at 10:49PM by City On A Hill

Dear soldier,

My name is Paige Faulk and I am in 5th grade. I have two brothers Kaegan 6 years and Perry 10 months. I am homeschooling this year for the first time. I like it very much. I have made some new friends in our homeschool group. I am in 4-H now. Our club is called the Helping Hands. I was voted in as the reporter. I am excited about that. I am also in the Keepers of the Home youth group at our church. We go to Omega Holiness Church in Echo, Alabama. Our youth group is learning about 1Corinthians chapter 13. When we memorize the whole chapter, we will earn a badge. We have been visiting the nursing home. We sing songs and shake hands with the old people. We met a man that said he was the president of the whole world! I like horses and ponies. I wish I had a horse. If I had a horse I would ride it every day.

Thank you for fighting for our country. I pray that you and the other soldiers are safe from all harm. When ever you get through with your time in the war. I hope you get home safely. I do not want you to get hurt. I think it would be very hot in the desert. It is cold over here in Alabama. The leaves are turning very pretty colors. Yellow, red, green, orange, just like Thanksgiving. We have pine trees and oak trees in our woods. I made a trail through the woods using scissors. My brother, Kaegan, helped me. My Momma was surprised because I broke her scissors cutting thick thorns. We are going to my Mamaw's house for Thanksgiving. She lives in Kentucky. My Uncle Buddy and Aunt Carol live there too, so I will get to see them for the first time since they got back from the war. They were gone for 1 year. My Mamaw kept their youngins. They have 2 kids. Israel is 3 years old and Sarah-Grace is 1 1/2 years old.

Our church is going to have a Christmas Play. I am a little girl that has polio and I die. After I die, my dad gets saved. I will not lay in the casket. I am glad it is not in real life. I hope people get saved.

My uncle and aunt just got back from Iraq last month. I am glad that they got home safely. My Papaw was in a war a long time ago. He flew helicopters. I am glad that you chose to fight in the war for our country. Thank you so much.

I have been praying for you and the other soldiers. God is happy with you and the other soldiers for choosing to protect our country. I am too. When you get afraid, just ask God to help you and He will answer your prayers.

Sincerely,
Paige Faulk