Semper Fi

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Kendall and Chris Phelps

This family's story will make you even more grateful to those who stand in harm's way for us. It's about Kendall Phelps, a 57 year old retired Marine Corps gunnery sergeant, who rejoined and is now in Iraq in so he can accompany his son, Chris, to war. Chris is a Marine major. (Thanks, Hugh Hewitt.)

I was touched by both the father's devotion to his son and by the son's conversation with his little boy (see the end of the story). I am a father both of an 18 year-old who talks about military service and of a 7 year-old daughter who would say the same thing to me that Chris Phelps' six year-old told him:

Chris was busy reading e-mail updates about the deployment when his eldest son, Tristen, shuffled into the family den. The 6-year-old boy tugged on his father's shirt, drawing him away from the computer. The father picked up his son and cuddled him in his lap.

"How do you feel about me going away?" Chris asked.

Tristen stared up and whispered, "Scared."

The two hugged for a long time before Chris said, "Me too, man. Me too."

How can we ever express our thanks adequately to such people?

The answer: We can't. But we simply must try.