Birdstrike
Atlantic City
- Joined
- Jul 2, 2002
- Posts
- 13,334
This letter was written by Mrs. Katie Bell, wife of the GEN B.B. Bell, commanding US Army Europe and 7th Army, commenting on conditions in Germany and their moving visit with American wounded in Landstuhl. These are difficult days for many of you and I'm not minimizing your distress, but this should help put your problems in the perspective. It may even encourage some of you younger guys to consider bearing through this drought by serving your country for a few years before returning to flying. Anyway, consider and appreciate this moving account of heroism and sacrifice. ..
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Family,
We are so grateful for your concern and for your
prayers. Most of our German friends are so puzzled by
their government's decision. The hoards of
demonstrators we have had are, for the most part,
young. The older folks know how we saved Europe some
60 years ago. My opinion is that the younger
generations see us as having everything they want. I
am convinced that their hatred stems from envy, on
several layers.
There have been, lately, instances of Americans being
heckled in towns. These incidents have not been
anything but words. Americans are cautioned to keep a
low profile and we are warned to stay away from some
areas, like Hamburg, but we mainly go about business
as usual. If any of this changes B. B. may have to put
certain places off limits. I believe that we will see
some repositioning of our troops in Europe in the next
year or two or three. There may even come a time when
families won't be allowed to accompany their soldiers
over here and those soldiers will just come for a
short tour, much like we do in Korea. All this is
very sad but was actually in the planning before all
these latest contingencies.
To answer your question, Anne, I feel safe. As I have
told all of you, this house is a fenced (with barbed
wire) compound behind B. B.'s office building. There
are MPs on the gate all the time. And the gate can
only be opened by them or by our remotes. So we are
safe that way. B. B. never drives. He has a driver and
a bodyguard that ride with him and there are what are
called, chase cars in front of him and in back.
I have been pretty much free to come and go as I
pleased until about a week ago. That is when I was
assigned a bodyguard. She drives me everywhere I go
now and though she is just darling and wonderful, it
is a pain to have to plan instead of just going
spontaneously. She is about 5'1' tall, really
adorable, maybe weighs 100 pounds and is, as B.B.
says, tough as woodpecker lips. When she runs with
him her little legs are one solid muscle. She is a
crack shot and attended and was the number one
graduate of the elite British Counter Terrorism
School. She grew up on a farm in Missouri, has hunted
since she was a little girl and told me about helping
butcher hogs. So I feel pretty safe with little, bitty
Angel, which is her name. I dont know how long we
will have this arrangement. I hope it is not for too
long for both our sakes.
I want to tell you all about today. Today was a
defining moment for me; it ranks with my wedding day
and the day Buck was born as a day so meaningful that
I am filled with too much emotion to handle. B. B. and
I went to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, one of
the three Army hospitals left in Germany. As you all
know this hospital is where almost all injured
soldiers are brought from operations in the Middle
East. We arrived there around 1:30, were briefed by
the hospital commander about the patients we would see
and then headed up to the second floor.
The first patient we saw had had his hand crushed. It
was wrapped up in bandages as thick as a pillow but
you could see the black fingers. They are trying to
save it. He faces skin grafts and maybe worse if they
can't save it. He was medivaced from Kuwait a week ago
and two days ago his wife gave birth to their second
child in Weiden, Germany. His was anxious to see her
and the baby, to get well and to head back to the
front. He did not complain at all about his pain and
had such a positive attitude.
The next fellow we saw was a marine who had been run
over by a tank in the desert. Only the softness of the
sand saved his life. His entire pelvic area was
crushed, creating many urology nightmares. He has had
a colostomy and faces months of surgeries. The Docs
believe he can fully recover, a miracle if you think
about the tonnage that rolled over him. He was
absolutely adorable. He was from Kansas and he and B.
B. got into pheasant and deer hunting right away. His
spirits are good and he kept trying to sit up tall in
the bed even though it was apparent he was in pain. He
kept asking about his unit, where are they?, How
close to Baghdad? B. B. asked me to leave the room a
couple of times so that he could talk top-secret stuff
with this soldier.
The next fellow we saw was from Alabama. A bullet
entered his lower abdomen and traveled up and exited
through his back. He was on oxygen but pulled the mask
off and refused to put it back on. He wanted to tell
B. B. that he had met him at Fort Knox when he was
there for his initial training. He was 21 years old
and had been married for one year. He was frantic to
know about his buddies, where they were, how they were
doing. He said he had such guilt about leaving them.
He looked at me as if he were deciding whether he
should say something or not. Then he somehow raised
himself up on an elbow, took B. B' s hand and said,
Sir, when I got hit I want you to know that I took a
couple of the sons of bitches down. His commitment
and his focus were still there and all he can think of
is getting well and rejoining his unit.
The last two guys were in Intensive Care. Their rooms,
by request were side by side. The first one had no
legs. He had stepped out of his track onto a mine. He
does not remember anything but the pain. He choked up
when he told B. B., Sir, what I did was stupid. B.
B. assured him that stupid was thinking that he did
anything wrong in a war where there was so much to
think about and sleep was a rare commodity.
As he lay there in the desert, a medic ran up to him,
stepped on a mine and lost a leg too. These were the
guys who were side by side. The soldier who had lost
both legs said, in response to B. B. asking him what
he could do for him, Sir, I am fine. I have
everything I need. I have nothing to complain about.
Well, that was it for me. I just cried. I left the
room but the soldier asked me to come back.
M'am.don't cry for me. Let's pray for all who are
carrying on. Even now I have to cry. I wear a Hooah
pin that Patty Shinseki gave me and I took it off and
gave it to him.
Today, for the first time ever, I was in the presence
of real heroes, indescribable bravery and I can't tell
you how honored I am to have touched them. I held
their hands and told them all how proud we and the
nation are and that I love them. At the end of the
visit I was totally wrung out and just wanted to get
home and go in my room and be by myself and thank God
for these young men and women who are giving so much.
My blood boils with the protests of the Hollywood
elite whose easy and privileged lives exist because of
these soldiers lying in that hospital. They have no
idea how they hurt these men and women and their
families with their rhetoric. Their shallowness is
sickening after being in the presence of true
character and heroism.
One last thing I want to tell you. B. B. collected the
names and numbers of all their parents and two wives
and came back and called them all. I love that he did
that. There is no one I know who loves soldiers more
than he does and the soldiers are like dogs and
children. You can't fool them. They know who really
has them in their hearts.
Well, sorry for that soapbox soliloquy. It has been
that kind of day. B. B. intends to visit weekly and I
hope I am able to go with him every single time. They
tell me that Katie Couric was there, setting up for
broadcast from Ramstein, where Landstuhl Hospital is
located. Glad I didn't run into her either!
Again, thank all of you for your concern. B. B. and I
are fine. Continue to pray for our military forces.
They are just now beginning to get into the scary part
of this war.
I love and miss you all.
Katie
------------------------------------------------------
Dear Family,
We are so grateful for your concern and for your
prayers. Most of our German friends are so puzzled by
their government's decision. The hoards of
demonstrators we have had are, for the most part,
young. The older folks know how we saved Europe some
60 years ago. My opinion is that the younger
generations see us as having everything they want. I
am convinced that their hatred stems from envy, on
several layers.
There have been, lately, instances of Americans being
heckled in towns. These incidents have not been
anything but words. Americans are cautioned to keep a
low profile and we are warned to stay away from some
areas, like Hamburg, but we mainly go about business
as usual. If any of this changes B. B. may have to put
certain places off limits. I believe that we will see
some repositioning of our troops in Europe in the next
year or two or three. There may even come a time when
families won't be allowed to accompany their soldiers
over here and those soldiers will just come for a
short tour, much like we do in Korea. All this is
very sad but was actually in the planning before all
these latest contingencies.
To answer your question, Anne, I feel safe. As I have
told all of you, this house is a fenced (with barbed
wire) compound behind B. B.'s office building. There
are MPs on the gate all the time. And the gate can
only be opened by them or by our remotes. So we are
safe that way. B. B. never drives. He has a driver and
a bodyguard that ride with him and there are what are
called, chase cars in front of him and in back.
I have been pretty much free to come and go as I
pleased until about a week ago. That is when I was
assigned a bodyguard. She drives me everywhere I go
now and though she is just darling and wonderful, it
is a pain to have to plan instead of just going
spontaneously. She is about 5'1' tall, really
adorable, maybe weighs 100 pounds and is, as B.B.
says, tough as woodpecker lips. When she runs with
him her little legs are one solid muscle. She is a
crack shot and attended and was the number one
graduate of the elite British Counter Terrorism
School. She grew up on a farm in Missouri, has hunted
since she was a little girl and told me about helping
butcher hogs. So I feel pretty safe with little, bitty
Angel, which is her name. I dont know how long we
will have this arrangement. I hope it is not for too
long for both our sakes.
I want to tell you all about today. Today was a
defining moment for me; it ranks with my wedding day
and the day Buck was born as a day so meaningful that
I am filled with too much emotion to handle. B. B. and
I went to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, one of
the three Army hospitals left in Germany. As you all
know this hospital is where almost all injured
soldiers are brought from operations in the Middle
East. We arrived there around 1:30, were briefed by
the hospital commander about the patients we would see
and then headed up to the second floor.
The first patient we saw had had his hand crushed. It
was wrapped up in bandages as thick as a pillow but
you could see the black fingers. They are trying to
save it. He faces skin grafts and maybe worse if they
can't save it. He was medivaced from Kuwait a week ago
and two days ago his wife gave birth to their second
child in Weiden, Germany. His was anxious to see her
and the baby, to get well and to head back to the
front. He did not complain at all about his pain and
had such a positive attitude.
The next fellow we saw was a marine who had been run
over by a tank in the desert. Only the softness of the
sand saved his life. His entire pelvic area was
crushed, creating many urology nightmares. He has had
a colostomy and faces months of surgeries. The Docs
believe he can fully recover, a miracle if you think
about the tonnage that rolled over him. He was
absolutely adorable. He was from Kansas and he and B.
B. got into pheasant and deer hunting right away. His
spirits are good and he kept trying to sit up tall in
the bed even though it was apparent he was in pain. He
kept asking about his unit, where are they?, How
close to Baghdad? B. B. asked me to leave the room a
couple of times so that he could talk top-secret stuff
with this soldier.
The next fellow we saw was from Alabama. A bullet
entered his lower abdomen and traveled up and exited
through his back. He was on oxygen but pulled the mask
off and refused to put it back on. He wanted to tell
B. B. that he had met him at Fort Knox when he was
there for his initial training. He was 21 years old
and had been married for one year. He was frantic to
know about his buddies, where they were, how they were
doing. He said he had such guilt about leaving them.
He looked at me as if he were deciding whether he
should say something or not. Then he somehow raised
himself up on an elbow, took B. B' s hand and said,
Sir, when I got hit I want you to know that I took a
couple of the sons of bitches down. His commitment
and his focus were still there and all he can think of
is getting well and rejoining his unit.
The last two guys were in Intensive Care. Their rooms,
by request were side by side. The first one had no
legs. He had stepped out of his track onto a mine. He
does not remember anything but the pain. He choked up
when he told B. B., Sir, what I did was stupid. B.
B. assured him that stupid was thinking that he did
anything wrong in a war where there was so much to
think about and sleep was a rare commodity.
As he lay there in the desert, a medic ran up to him,
stepped on a mine and lost a leg too. These were the
guys who were side by side. The soldier who had lost
both legs said, in response to B. B. asking him what
he could do for him, Sir, I am fine. I have
everything I need. I have nothing to complain about.
Well, that was it for me. I just cried. I left the
room but the soldier asked me to come back.
M'am.don't cry for me. Let's pray for all who are
carrying on. Even now I have to cry. I wear a Hooah
pin that Patty Shinseki gave me and I took it off and
gave it to him.
Today, for the first time ever, I was in the presence
of real heroes, indescribable bravery and I can't tell
you how honored I am to have touched them. I held
their hands and told them all how proud we and the
nation are and that I love them. At the end of the
visit I was totally wrung out and just wanted to get
home and go in my room and be by myself and thank God
for these young men and women who are giving so much.
My blood boils with the protests of the Hollywood
elite whose easy and privileged lives exist because of
these soldiers lying in that hospital. They have no
idea how they hurt these men and women and their
families with their rhetoric. Their shallowness is
sickening after being in the presence of true
character and heroism.
One last thing I want to tell you. B. B. collected the
names and numbers of all their parents and two wives
and came back and called them all. I love that he did
that. There is no one I know who loves soldiers more
than he does and the soldiers are like dogs and
children. You can't fool them. They know who really
has them in their hearts.
Well, sorry for that soapbox soliloquy. It has been
that kind of day. B. B. intends to visit weekly and I
hope I am able to go with him every single time. They
tell me that Katie Couric was there, setting up for
broadcast from Ramstein, where Landstuhl Hospital is
located. Glad I didn't run into her either!
Again, thank all of you for your concern. B. B. and I
are fine. Continue to pray for our military forces.
They are just now beginning to get into the scary part
of this war.
I love and miss you all.
Katie
