Maria, not even for MY cousins??? :(

W, I hope your cousins like to read because I couldn't go to sleep the other night and I wrote like there was no tomorrow! It's funny what insomnia does to you!

The letters to the cousins and to Sarah's friend Eric are going out first thing tomorrow!

W., I have the addresses that you mailed me. I will definitely send them something, don't worry!

I wrote, too, W! ;)

I am having another one of those bad days- I can't keep crying like this, he would be so mad at me if he knew!

I hear ya
 

I've had days like those too. My dad wouldn't be too happy to know I was up till 2 am last Thrusday crying my eyes out. At the same time, it's just as hard on us as it is on them. We're all feeling a separation and the same anxiety.

Hope so!
 

AGD4me - I hope you wrote them, you are dating one of them!!! hee hee

Should I have not said anything!?!

a good guy friend of mine (who is actually engaged to my best friend since 4th grade) is in the 101st Airborne :( Another buddy of mine is in Korea right now waiting to be shipped home, only to be deployed to the Persian Gulf

I can't watch the news - I wasn't sleeping because I was so stressed....when I heard about the grenade being thrown into a tent over there I bawled for days

I'm glad I'm not the only AGD going through this

I agree with MereMere...I too am glad to know that I'm not the only AGD going through this (having the trials of war hit so personally). I am the only one in my chapter (Alpha Upsilon) but not the only one in the whole GLO.

Hey MereMere, a high school buddy of mine (i went to his West point Grad last year) is in the 101st also. I haven't heard from his since before the war started but he sent a list of requests. They are asking for baby wipes and AT&T phone cards. Some friends from hs and i are going to send one box. I think since it is a us base, shipping is same as if we were mailing it with in the country.

I also know the feeling, when I found out that he was in the same group as the granaid tosser, it really started to bother me. But my boyfriend said that it was a high ranking officers tent and not a 2nd leut.

Well, got a test, got to run, life goes on!
Arin

Thank you!
 

Thank you to those of you who sent my cousins letters! :) My aunt and uncle (their parents) wanted to express their thanks to all of you. We are not sure how much mail they are received but to know they will have a stack ready for them means the world!!!

I will continue to write those friends and family members addresses you have given me. If there are any more Alpha Gams out there that would like to write to someone...PM me and I will give you addresses.

I am so proud to be an Alpha Gam!!!

(Thanks especially to AGD4me who is has been extremely generous in her writing. :) )

Today I found out that one of my good friends from high school [and former cheerleading sister] became a widow last Saturday when a suicide bomber killed 4 American soldiers.

Soldier With Hawaii Ties Killed In Iraqi Suicide Bombing
Funeral To Be Held In Hawaii

POSTED: 10:59 p.m. HST March 30, 2003
UPDATED: 3:26 p.m. HST March 31, 2003

HIGHLAND, N.Y. -- A 24-year-old Army sergeant with ties to Hawaii was mourned Saturday in his upstate New York hometown, a day after he was killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq.

Sgt. Eugene Williams died Saturday when a suicide bomber, posing as a taxi driver pulled up close to a roadblock north of Najaf and waved to the troops for help. He was one of four U.S. soldiers who died, and another was injured.

Williams' wife, Brandi Dela Cruz Williams, and his 3-year-old daughter, Mya, live in Hawaii, where family members said his funeral will be held.

Messages left at a Big Island phone number listed for the serviceman's wife were not immediately returned Saturday night.

Relatives of Williams received a letter from him on Saturday, his sister, Lori Ackert, told the Poughkeepsie Journal. He wrote he couldn't wait to come home and cook his family a good meal, said Ackert, 27.

"This just brings the family together," she said. "It opens our eyes and makes us realize you can die at anytime."

Williams first met his wife Brandi Delacruz Williams when he was stationed at Schofield. They have a three year old daughter, Mya, and Brandi is expecting their second child in June.

"Eugene was a loving husband and father. He had a funny sense of humor and was kind hearted," Delacruz Williams said.

Brandi and Mya Williams relocated to her parents home in Honolulu when Eugene was deployed from Ft. Stewart, Ga.

Hanging outside the Delacruz home, a black ribbon now joins the yellow ribbon.

"Eugene died for his country. He is our hero," Delacruz Williams said.

Also killed in the Saturday suicide bombing, the Pentagon said Saturday, were Cpl. Michael E. Curtin, 23, of Howell, N.J., and Army Pfcs. Diego Fernando Rincon, 19, and Michael Russell Creighton Weldon, both of Conyers, Ga. All were part of the Army's 1st Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in Fort Stewart, Ga.

Ackert said another brother, Erick Williams, 19, is also in the Army and stationed in Iraq. She said the family was trying to contact him Saturday about his brother's death.

Brandi's a wonderful girl and an even more wonderful mom, so I humbly ask for your prayers and thoughts for those he left behind. :(

It is nice to have a support system of people who know what it's like to have a family member/loved one serving our country. I've been glued to the news on TV and radio quite a bit, too... hard to tear away. I think of our troops and their families every day.

If any of you have family members or loved ones who you'd like to receive a letter, I'm happy to write one (just PM me)! Our Junior Circle has been sharing addresses, too, and I enjoy writing to support our men and women in uniform.

DeltaBetaAGD – :D Hee hee, no, that’s okay! And I would write them even if I weren’t dating T. But it is a big bonus. ;) I miss them both very much though… :(

And… My pleasure! I know how much it means to him to receive letters, so I appreciate you giving the addresses out for others to send well wishes and good thoughts, too! :)

On another note, I just received this email today, and thought it would be worth posting here… I’ve also emailed it to some of my own friends and family. Your loved ones are all in my thoughts!!!

OTW -- I must've been posting when you were... I am so sorry to hear about your friend's loss. I can't even imagine what she's going through. My thoughts and prayers are with her, the children, and the families. I'm so sorry.

OohTeenyWahine, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I cannot even imagine what you and the family are going through. Please know that you and everyone involved are in my thoughts and prayers.