I apologize for taking so long to fill you in on Paul's graduation. We no sooner returned from South Carolina than my mother fell ill and was hospitalized for 13 days. She is much better now and I'm getting caught up on all those things in life that "just had to wait".
We had a wonderful time at Paul's graduation from Boot Camp at Fort Jackson, SC. The Army has been a "good fit" for him. Family Day, May 28th, was spent on Base... seeing his "world", meeting new friends and sitting by the lake, relaxing.
The base is huge. From the look of the map on their website, it's about 10 miles square, with everything for their training on site. Those who successfully completed Boot Camp were easy to spot as they no longer wore the Army camouflage baseball-style hat, but the black wool beret. How sweet to get a hug from the GRADUATE !
Graduation Day May 29th was a moving ceremony outdoors, with all the soldiers marching in, separated into Companies. About 900 graduated that day. The most moving part was when all the soldiers recited the Army Soldier's Creed at full voice. Here are the words and video:
THE SOLDIER'S CREED
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained
and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies
of the United States of American in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.
I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained
and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies
of the United States of American in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.
It makes a feeling of pride well up inside you for our soldiers and our country, and prayers come to the top of your heart for their safety, protection and integrity.
We were able to leave the base on Graduation day and see a little bit of Columbia, SC., eat "civilian" food, and shop for some things Paul needed. We even got to meet a friend's daughter (who lives in Columbia) for lunch.
Saturday, the 30th, he moved to his new barracks and received an "overnight" pass and was able to come stay with us in the hote
l. Imagine being in a "bubble" for 9 weeks and finally getting back your cell phone, laptop, seeing a movie, eating out, etc... it was fun and exhausting. We were thankful for the time together. Harris and Paul flexed their muscles for the camera... can you tell who has the "real" muscle?Paul is now in training for the work he'll be doing with computers. That will last about 8 weeks and then he is hoping to come home and work at the recruiter's office for 2 weeks before going to his "Duty Station". He should find out in the next few weeks where he'll be stationed.
If you want to drop him a note, his new address is in the sidebar at the upper right corner of this page... it should be good until the end of July. Thank you for your continued prayers for him! We appreciate it so much!
Cyndi & Harris
