OTTUMWA —
Honor, Courage, Patriotism, Faith, SACRIFICE ... these are words that come to mind not only when I think of the National Guard 833rd Engineer Division about to deploy to Afghanistan. They are words that pop into my head when I think of spouses, children, parents, relatives and friends of these brave men and women. How hard must it be to send your loved ones off thousands of miles away into a world unknown and unfathomable to you or me?
I can only imagine the hardship they must face with worry and separation or the pride they must feel every time they see the red, white and blue or hear the “Star Spangled Banner.”
To steal a quote from “My Daddy My Marine” by Tila Jane Solt Lineberry: “To love a hero is one of the single most honorable opportunities one can have, To serve a country through a hero is a feat difficult at best, To support a hero for miles and years of one’s life is granted only to a select few, And to follow a hero and bare the separations are at most times cruel.”
As a veteran myself, I have the utmost respect for these servicemen and women who have answered their call to duty to defend this great United States of America and pray for your safe return. I not only want to thank you for your service, but I want to thank your loved ones here at home for theirs ... you are all true HEROES!
With sincerest gratitude,
Kevin Hatfield
Ottumwa
Letters to the Editor
January 26, 2013
Reminder of who the true heroes are
- Letters to the Editor
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- Pay attention to safety concerns Time to make Ottumwa a quiet zone for trains, it would make for safer crossings that cannot be driven around when the arms are down. Then they can also concentrate on that instead of changing all of the traffic flow at Evans Middle School, opening cl
- Injuries to infants, children can be prevented In the April 25 Courier, there were two stories of very young children who may have been severely harmed by a caretaker. We only know the circumstances revealed by the media, but our community has heard of these tragedies before. Only about 2 percent
- Church extends a heartfelt thanks As I sit here in my office that still smells of smoke from the fire our church suffered this past week, I remind myself how fortunate we are to be in a city where people still watch out for one another, and we, the members of the First Church of God,
- Program helps new parents In light of recent developments, I would like to increase the public's awareness of the NEST Program available through our Wapello County Extension and Outreach at 214 E. Main St. This program is available for parents of newborns through age 5, as we
- One giant mud hole to China Once upon a time, long, long ago, the neighbor kids and I used to like to dig in the ditch after a nice rain and make mud pies. We’d squat beside our hole in the ground with our long-handled spoons and take turns digging and filling our muffin pans
- Superintendent says 'thank you' May is School Board Appreciation Month. Today, the district held its Staff Appreciation and Teacher of the Year Breakfast, and last week was the Faculty Follies program organized by the Education Foundation for Fairfield Public Schools. I am full of
- Address mental health concerns for veterans Memorial Day will soon be here and we will pay tribute to our deceased loved ones. This Memorial Day, let's pay special tribute to our deceased veterans — like my dad — Don Butts, who served in World War II (Battle of the Bulge — one of the worst bat
- It's the death of a republic It's the death of a republic Our first president -- and founding father -- once said during his administration that "at best, government is a fearful master; at worst, it is a consuming fire." During the later 20th century, the number of defenseles
- Judicial system is out of whack
- LWV responds to letter The League of Women Voters — Ottumwa would like to respond to a recent letter to the editor. We will explain more about our forums that we co-host with the Chamber of Commerce every spring, specifically regarding the issue of asking Curt Hanson to
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