Our First......
And so I learned from The Midland Reporter-Telegram early this morning that the first soldier from Midland had been killed in Iraq. Robert Arsiaga was actually from Greenwood, a rural community once, that now in most ways is really a suburb of the City of Midland. His sister is also in the Army, while his two brothers are Marines, one, as stated above, having recently returned from Iraq. To quote a book, or perhaps a movie in my memory......."Where do we get such people?"
First Lady, Laura Bush was in town visiting her Mother, and made a point to visit Mrs. Munoz at her home. About all I can add is that my heart is heavy with grief and sadness for Roberts family. My heart having been through this before with comrades, personal friends and loved ones some 30+ years before in another time and place.
The rainstorms that drenched Midland all weekend had not let up Monday morning. The sky was heavy and thunderstorms in the forecast all day.
Sylvia Munoz has just finished writing a card to her son, Robert, who is stationed in Iraq. She's watching television alone when a story on the news catches her attention.
She hears the words Sadr City, Iraq. The name grabs her ear. The Shiite-majority neighborhood in recent days has been torn by some of the most severe violence it has witnessed since it fell to Americans a year ago.
Eight U.S. soldiers died in the conflict, she hears.
"Something made me feel weird about it," she said.
So she next calls her son Gilbert, who recently returned from Iraq himself. She asks Gilbert to look up some information on the Internet.
As she hangs up, she sees two men pull up to her driveway. They were military officials delivering the worst news, not that they had to say a word.
"I knew what they were going to tell me."
And so I learned from The Midland Reporter-Telegram early this morning that the first soldier from Midland had been killed in Iraq. Robert Arsiaga was actually from Greenwood, a rural community once, that now in most ways is really a suburb of the City of Midland. His sister is also in the Army, while his two brothers are Marines, one, as stated above, having recently returned from Iraq. To quote a book, or perhaps a movie in my memory......."Where do we get such people?"
First Lady, Laura Bush was in town visiting her Mother, and made a point to visit Mrs. Munoz at her home. About all I can add is that my heart is heavy with grief and sadness for Roberts family. My heart having been through this before with comrades, personal friends and loved ones some 30+ years before in another time and place.
