Dear Sgt. Shaft:
My name is Tonia Sargent. I am the wife of a Marine injured in Iraq. My husband is 36 years old. He has been a Marine for 17 years. He had wanted to do 30 years of service.
My husband’s dreams were altered on Aug. 5. He sustained a shrapnel injury to his head from an [improvised explosive device] explosion after volunteering for a mission in Iraq. The Marine Corps rushed me to his bedside at the National Naval Medical Center. We were supported at Bethesda by the Marine Liaison Office with the utmost respect and warmth.
My husband is now at a VA hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., and will be in a rehab program for a year or more. He misses his Marines, but he is humbled that every Sunday they line up in Iraq to call him on the telephone. I am sharing our story with you because you have been instrumental in spreading the word about the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund.
This fund has assisted my family twice with financial assistance. There was no red tape, they just helped. Had it not been for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, I would not have been able to pay my bills for the last three months or stay at my husband’s bedside.
The Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund is the only organization I have found that will assist active-duty families. All others I have researched can only assist if my Marine has been discharged or is dead. I am asking for all of your readers to help. It has been a relief to me that I have had assistance from the Semper Fi fund.
Everyone can make a difference; a contribution to this fund will help other families like mine. I pray that more people will send donations so that the fund can continue to live up to its title. “Semper Fi” is the U.S. Marine Corps motto, and it means “always faithful.”
We can all make a difference, and I’m asking your readers to help me do that by contributing to the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. God bless all of us. Thank you for your prayers and support.
The address for tax-deductible donations is Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd., Suite 102, PMB 609, Oceanside, CA 92057.
Sincerely,
Tonia Sargent
Dear Tonia,
Thank you and your husband for the great sacrifice you have made to our country. I am sure the following poignant words of fellow Nam combat vet, George Skypeck, will give solace to your husband and his fellow warriors.
I was that which others did not want to be.
I went where others feared to go and did what others failed to do.
I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness … should I fail.
I have seen the face of terror, felt the stinging cold of fear, and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment’s love.
I have cried, pained, and hoped … but most of all, I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.
At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was … a soldier.
I urge all my fellow vets, their families, and Shaft readers to get behind our troops and contribute to this wonderful program, the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. And, by the way, reflect on your gift of citizenship; get up and vote.
Shaft Notes
The Sarge was happy to participate in marking the first anniversary of Fran O’Brien’s Stadium Steakhouse, providing free weekly dinners to service members treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and National Naval Medical Center for injuries sustained during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Guest speakers included Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Humaila Akrawyan, an Iraqi citizen representing a group of Iraqis. Attendees included 70-plus troops wounded in the Middle East and their families.
• Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, PO Box 65900, Washington, D.C., 20035-5900; fax 301/622-3330; call 202/257-5446; or e-mail sgtshaft@bavf.org.
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