Army Mom's Creed

I am the mother of an American soldier.
I am a support system and a member of a family
much larger than my own.

I serve the people of the United States and teach my children
the importance of the Army values.

My son's heightened morale will remain my mission
For I understand that he will not be successful in fulfilling his duties
If I stray from mine.

I will never give up
Nor will I allow my fears
To prevent the accomplishment of my duties.

I will never allow my son to forget
The importance of his role as a soldier.

I am disciplined. My faith in God
will allow me to remain steadfast
Despite the loneliness and stress
that are constantly confronting me.
I will depend on HIM so that my son can depend on me.

I will ensure my son never doubts
that he is a priority in my life.
I will maintain my family, my home, and myself.
My son will never have to wonder where my devotion lies.
His focus will remain on the security of a nation
While mine remains on the security of our family.

I will remain faithful in my encouragement and my support.

I am the mother of an American soldier!

Engineer Hymn

I found the words for the Engineer Hymn that the new Army Engineer Soldiers sang at their graduation:

Men of honor, stop your dreaming,
Can't you see their bayonets gleaming,
See their warrior pennants streaming,
To this battle field.

Men of honor, stand ye steady,
It can not be ever said ye,
For this battle were not ready.
Sappers will not yield.

Hear the cannon pounding, pounding.
From the hills resounding, sounding.
Sound the horn, and forward toward,
The mighty force surrounding.

Men of honor, stand ye steady,
Ye shall ever be at ready,
To the frightful foe afore Ye.
Sappers will not yield.

Men of honor, start replying,
On courage and strength relying,
To the fray ahead be flying.
Sappers will not yield.

Men of honor, those before ye,
Fought and died as Engineers for the,
Nation that we hold so dearly.
Sappers will not yield.

Hear the cannon pounding, pounding.
From the hills resounding, sounding.
Sound the horn, and forward toward,
The mighty force surrounding.

Men of honor, on to glory,
This will ever be your story,
Keep these stirring words before ye.
Sappers will not yield.

family day and graduation

Last Thursday and Friday have probably been among the most emotional and proudest days of my life. On Thursday, I got to see Daniel for the first time in 15 weeks. Then on Friday, I got to see him become an American Combat Engineer Soldier. These events rank right up there with the emotion I felt at his birth and his baptism. I sent away a boy, and the Army returned to me a Soldier!

Wednesday morning, Lee, Abbie, Tiffany (Daniel's best friend), and I set out by plane from Santa Fe, and my mom set out from Lubbock. We met up with my mom in Dallas and flew the rest of the way into St. Louis together. We easily found our luggage and our rental van and enjoyed some yummy St. Louis barbeque at a place called Bandana's near the airport. After filling our tummies, we were all anxious to get on the road to Fort Leonard Wood.

Upon arriving at St. Robert (just outside of the base), we got checked into our hotel and headed right out again to go tour the base. We immediately noticed an abundance of tatoo parlors just outside the gates. We passed through the security checkpoint, which just required that everyone over 16 years old show a photo ID. On base, we found Daniel's training area and the small PX as well as a group of soldiers standing outside the small PX holding a gold guidon flag. I presumed that was Daniel's platoon because they were in the final "gold phase" of their training. (Daniel later confirmed that it was his platoon that we saw, but he didn't see us.) We circled the block several times to see if we could spot Daniel, but all the guys looked the same. We finally left and headed to Cracker Barrel for supper and to Walmart for a few "supplies" (bottled water and of course tissues).

That evening, Daniel called us from his cell phone. (This was the first time he has had his cell phone in 15 weeks.) He talked to everyone, except Tiffany (because her attendance at his family day/graduation was to be a surprise). The phone was then passed back to me again, and Daniel asked me to pray for him, which I did (of course), and we all cried a little.

Finally, the day we had been waiting for, arrived on Thursday! This was the day that we would see Daniel for the first time in 15 weeks! We arrived at the Abrams Theatre on base at about 11:00am for our 12:00pm family briefing. They finally let us into the theatre at 11:45am, but Daniel wasn't in there. A few people from Daniel's chain of command spoke to us about what he had been through and done for the past 15 weeks and then gave us the list of rules for our soldier (no driving, no tattoos, no drinking, and must be back in the barracks by 8:00pm). Around 12:20pm, we we turned loose to go find our soldier outside. We found them standing in formation, wearing their trench coats, with their backs to us. We watched for a little while and gradually got brave enough to walk around them. After what seemed like forever, the drill sergeants released the young men. Tiffany spotted Daniel first and went to him. Daniel then came and gave us all long hugs before we loaded into the van.

Once we got in the van, I gave Daniel his Army ring which had arrived at the house via UPS. I noticed that he had another Army ring on his finger, and I asked him about it. He told me that he had been holding it for a friend, and he passed it to Tiffany. (And we all smiled and cried a little more.)

Daniel directed us to the large PX on base where we ate lunch in the food court. Then Daniel took us on a tour of the base, showed us his barracks and where he had done much of his training. We then returned to the hotel for some pictures and relaxation. Daniel enjoyed junk food that he hadn't experienced for the past several weeks, and we all enjoyed spending time with him. We had supper at Ryans, then Lee and Tiffany returned Daniel to the barracks in plenty of time for his 8:00pm curfew.

Friday morning came and we were anxious for Daniel's graduation. The line to get onto the base was a little longer, but we still arrived in plenty of time. Knowing that there would be a long line and that we wouldn't be permitted to enter the theatre until 9:45am, we sat in the van for a little while. Once we got into the theatre, we passed out the tissues and waited patiently for the new combat engineer soldiers to arrive.

We got to watch a short video/commercial about "Army Strong" and Army families, and the tears began to flow. Finally, the soldiers marched from behind the stage singing a cadence with the drill sergeant. (I'm trying to find the words to the cadence as it was quite amusing.) The soldiers marched into their reserved seats and followed the drill sergeant's orders. Next, the soldiers arched their backs and yelled back in unison towards the drill sergeant some motivational words about combat engineers. (I'm trying to find these words as well.)

We then all stood for the National Anthem which was sung by nearly everyone in the theatre while the flag was spotlighted and a prayer was given by the chaplain. Appropriate recognitions were given and Daniel's commanding officer gave a very nice speech, which included, "These guys came to us as a box of spare parts from the bargain bin, and the drill sergeants were commanded with turning them into soldier engineers." There was also a wonderful recitation of the Soldier's Creed and display of soldiers wearing the uniforms of the combat engineers from World War I to present (including the same uniform that was worn by Daniel's great-great grandfather John Daniel Whitlow during WWI).

Next, the honor graduates were recognized and finally it was time to pin Daniel and all of the others in Charlie Company 35th Engineer Batallion with their castle pin which identifies them as combat engineers. Each new engineer stepped onto the stage, stated their name, rank and home town, and then was pinned by a drill sergeant.

After the new engineers took their seats, they were given a charge by their commander and sang the Combat Engineer song and the Army song, loudly and in unison.

Finally, the soldiers marched outside into formation and the family members were allowed to leave as well. Again, we waited for what seemed like an eternity to take our soldier engineer home with us. Once the drill sergeants turned them loose, we took several pictures of Daniel with his battle buddies and drill sergeants. We then found his bags (3 large, heavy duffle bags of uniforms, paperwork, etc.) and loaded it all into the van and carried our soldier engineer away from Fort Leonard Wood for the last time!

On the day of his graduation, Daniel wanted to go to GW Pizza for lunch (home of the 30" pizza). As soon as we arrived at the restaurant, Daniel promptly went to the bathroom to change into civilian clothes for the first time in 15 weeks. After lunch, we headed on back to St. Louis to prepare for our return trip the following day.

Daniel has accomplished only what a very small percentage of men and women are able to accomplish. He is an American Soldier Engineer! I am sooooo proud of him!!!

Daniel is now home with us for 13 days. He has to be at Fort Carson (Colorado Springs, CO) by May 6 to begin the next step of his mission also known as his military career!

Easter pictures

The wife of one of Daniel's battle buddies lives in Missouri, so she went to see her husband on Easter. She and her husband have both been very kind to Daniel (and me) as we are learning to be "Army Strong!" While she was there, she took a couple pictures of Daniel for me. (It actually looks to me like he has put on a little weight, which is a very good thing in Daniel's case.)

I can't believe that graduation day is finally almost here. We will leave one week from today to go see him! I can't wait to hug him and tell him in person how proud I am. My boy has become a man! And not just any man, but a U.S. Army Soldier! Congratulations PV2 Daniel G. Hart!

following in his great-great-granddaddy's footsteps

Daniel is named for his great-great-granddaddy John Daniel Whitlow and was born on his birthday (February 6). Among his many accomplishments, Dan Whitlow was a sergeant in the United States Army during World War I and was mustard-gassed during the war (and survived). Daniel has always loved hearing his great-grandmother tell stories about her father, and, although Daniel never met his great-great-granddaddy, he considers him a hero. (Grandma has been careful to point out to Daniel that Dan Whitlow wasn't perfect -- none of us are -- but he was a fine man who did many great things.)

While at basic training, Daniel asked for pictures of his great-great-granddaddy as well as his great-grandfather who was a Navy veteran of World War II. Fortunately, his great-aunt Nancy, who is the family geneologist and historian was able to provide him with those pictures. Below are two of the pictures that she sent to Daniel.

When recruits receive pictures at basic training, the drill sergeants look at them to confirm that they are appropriate (i.e., not pornographic, terroristic, etc.). When Daniel's drill sergeants saw this picture of Sgt. Whitlow, he asked Daniel who it was, and Daniel told him. Interestingly, they were able to determine from this picture (specifically, the castle pin on his collar) that Dan Whitlow was a combat engineer. (This is the very same job that Daniel is training to do in the Army!)
Looking at the picture of the tank that Dan Whitlow operated during World War I, I am very grateful that the Army now has newer/heavier looking equipment to protect our soldiers! (See my blog post from yesterday for a picture of the buffalo that Daniel is learning to operate.)

ARMY STRONG

HE DID IT! Daniel called twice yesterday. He passed his final OSUT(AIT) PT test. He did 44 pushups (for 63pts), 61 situps(for 73pts), and ran 2 miles in 14:34 (more than a minute faster than required for 78pts) for a total score of 214pts. (He needed at least 60pts in each category for a total of 180pts to pass.) This is what they call "ARMY STRONG"! I am very proud of him!!! HOOAH!!!!!

Although he has now met all the requirements for graduation, he is a little anxious about the 15K ruck march/FTX and his rifle inspection. Army training is all about pushing them to their limits and then a little bit more. He's previously done a 5K ruck march and a 10K ruck march ... now he gets to put them both together.

This week he is learning to drive the "buffalo," which is used by combat engineers to find and disarm IEDs (improvised explosive devices). This vehicle makes me feel a lot more confident about the protection he'll have while performing that dangerous but very important work.

Family Day/Graduation is April 22/23. I can't wait to see him!!! We'll have a couple surprises for him as well!

After graduation, Daniel will be able to come home with us for about a week before reporting to Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado.