{"id":82,"date":"2009-03-31T11:45:10","date_gmt":"2009-03-31T17:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/?p=82"},"modified":"2009-03-31T11:47:34","modified_gmt":"2009-03-31T17:47:34","slug":"mom-raised-infantry-son-to-be-a-good-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/2009\/03\/mom-raised-infantry-son-to-be-a-good-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Mom Raised Infantry Son to Defend"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a well-written article from an Army mom who is serving as a Hero At Home while her son deploys. You can read more from her at Blog of an Infantry Mom<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How Could I Let Him Enlist?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve had this question put to me several times over the last month or so, usually by other mothers who were appalled that my oldest son was going into a war zone of his own accord. Each time I\u2019m asked, I talk about how proud I am and yes, that I\u2019m terrified as well, but that it\u2019s his choice.<\/p>\n

I was thinking about this a bit today and finally it sort of gelled in my own mind. All InfantrySon\u2019s life I\u2019ve tried to teach him to be a critical thinker, to examine options and make educated decisions based on those options.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him to be honorable. To know that HE has value and worth and to see the value and worth not just in other individuals but in a cause, in an almost intangible desire to do the RIGHT thing.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him to put aside the natural desire of selfishness and try to empathize with others, especially those with less than he has.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him that his word MEANS something. That breaking your word lessens its worth and it took constant care to continue to make his word something of value, something to count on.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him that the only thing in this world he can control is his own actions and honor.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him to go to bat for those that need help.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him to respect others and earn their respect in return. Respect is not given, it can only be earned.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve taught him that he can do ANYTHING he wants to do, if he wants it badly enough.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done my best to teach him to be a good man.<\/p>\n

Now he is a man, fighting for a cause he fully believes in. He\u2019s putting himself in harm\u2019s way to protect others that will never know him. He\u2019s made it through OSUT in the honor platoon and won a unit medallion when every Drill Sergeant bet he\u2019d never make it. He earned their respect, he earned his step-father\u2019s respect. He never considered quitting or giving up, he\u2019d given his word to the United States and he was determined to keep it.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s one hell of a good man.<\/p>\n

So maybe the answer to this constant question has a very simple answer\u2026.<\/p>\n

How could I have stopped him from being who I\u2019d always tried to teach him to be?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a well-written article from an Army mom who is serving as a Hero At Home while her son deploys. You can read more from her at Blog of an Infantry Mom. How Could I Let Him Enlist? I\u2019ve had this question put to me several times over the last month or so, usually […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,7,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-82","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-civilian-support","category-featured","category-parenting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myheroesathome.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}