The Cost of Freedom

The Ashes Speak of Tragedy



A beautiful fall day in Atlanta,
leaves flutter, drift peacefully down.
Children laugh, adults smile, while miles away,
a crater of death burns in the ground.

It was an ordinary day in America;
people shopped and worked in their yards.
Something changed in the land of the free.
Many are lost now, their cries buried so far.

As for me, I sat in a park,
writing and watching children play.
In Washington, decisions are being made,

life changing ones on this painful day.

I hear a Mom, "Have fun, hang on!"
She wrings her hands.
Her child climbs the slide,
takes a fantasy flight to land in the sand.

Later I watch those terrifying moments.
Over and over, the planes crash and burn.
The plan calls for retaliation: "war".
My sons are soldiers. If called, they will go.

Now on the screen, they climb into jets,
cheered on by people from below.
All Service mothers watch with proud tears.
Her possible price, she already knows.

By Kathie Stehr
2001

I wrote this poem in stages. After that awful day in November 2001 and as our sons joined the service. We watched Kurt Micheal dressed in his Blues proudly join the Marine Corps with tears in our eyes. Then Christopher Ryan at Ft. Sill, standing so straight and proudly joining the Army. I was so sad his Dad (who had died in 2001) wasn't there. They believed is every word that was said that day. They are what the service is or should be all about. My father served on the front lines in WWII and tried hard to believe Vietnam was right. These men are distinguished soldiers and wonderful sons.

Chris went to Iraq and was in a humvee that was hit. He was thrown and his lower back was injured. He tried so hard to keep working as his right leg became more numb and the pain grew worse every day. He spent his duty time there and came back to see his first son born. He was then sent to Germany and a specialist Neurosurgeon did a new surgical procedure on the three lumbar discs that were narrowing creating pressure on the spinal cord. The surgery was an abdominal approach and Chris has had to take massive amounts of medication before and after this surgery. Now it has been determined the surgery was not successful and there was another complication. He is disabled now. He and his little family will be back on US soil soon and I see him as a Hero. He paid a terrible price for a war he no longer believes in. I am so grateful he has a understanding and supportive wife, Andrea.

So many soldiers are coming back from this war changed as war (killing is not a natural instinct-it is taught) does to all soldiers. I hope we stand together to support them with their physical and mental problems (like post traumatic stress syndrome).

Kurt Micheal is now a Sgt. in the Army Reserves. Hopefully he will not be deployed. He will go if called. I pray he will not have to. He has a supportive wife, Megan and two young sons.

I stand behind all these brave men and women but believe they were sold a soiled
sick fairytale of what this war has been about.

I have needed to say all of this and this site is a great one to "shout out" both tributes and tribulations on. Thanks for listening.
Kat