Brotherhood and Valor

For the past two weeks I have been in communication via telephone with one of my sons best friends. PFC Chris Gross was injured one day by an RPG attack some months ago. In speaking with him I have a much better insight on what our men and women endure while deployed to Afghanistan. Chris was medivaced out and later found himself at Walter Reed where he is recovering from his wounds.

It was a bit weird really. I received a comment on the Blogg and then I received an email from Chris. In the subject line it read "Mr. Arnone Don't delete Alex's bud" and that got my attention. He went on to tell me who he was and he and Alex were pretty close back in Italy and Afghanistan. So I gave him my number and the next day he called me up. It almost seemed like we were in a room together, me listening to his stories and almost as if we knew each other from years back. We have been staying in touch with one another since. It's funny really, as a father of a son you think you know him. I found out that I may have known him but now he is a different person than the one that went off to war. I don't mean that in a negative by all means. The things that Chris has said my son has done just blows me away. I guess when you care about the soldier to your right and the one to the left you are capable of doing just about anything. In any case, Chris will be rejoining the 173rd back in Italy soon until he fully recovers. In case you are reading this Chris, always remember this "any man that calls my son his brother is a son to me" This page is dedicated to you PFC Chris Gross "Airborne!"

Larry Arnone
San Francisco
AKA Bluestardad (and I want to keep it that way)

Gratitude

Is such a huge word that seems to have lost it's importance in todays society. In a previous posting you may remember I discussed how jumpy my son was when he arrived home on R&R with having so many civilians around him while he was walking through the airport terminal. I reflect on all the times that I would go out of my way when I see one of our countries soldiers out and about and approach them and shake their hand and thanking them for their service for our country not realizing that they themselves maybe just returning from a deployment in a combat zone. How they must feel having me violate their space and how jumpy they may be. You are probably scratching your head right about now what my point is right? Well after my son returned downrange to be his brothers of The 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, I felt awkward about about saying thank you, being concerned about how awkward they may feel.

Then last night a wonderful thing happened. One of the proud Grandmothers of one of our "Sky Soldiers" sent me an email about a fine organization that has made it a lot easier to express my gratitude to all men and women serving this nation. This organization is called "The Gratitude Campaign" which everyone can get involved with. Please take a moment and visit and learn how you can show your own gratitude to our soldiers. Before I do give you a link to the organizations website I need you to do me a favor, get a tissue out because you may need it. That was the advice that the proud Grandmother gave me and well, you always listen to Granny right? Thanks Cheri! I took your advice and did I need it. O.K. enough with my rant, here is the website link and please, share it with EVERYONE you know. You will have to cut and paste into your browser. http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/fullmovie.php

Larry Arnone
San Francisco
AKA Bluestardad (and I want to keep it that way)

The best Christmas present, ever!

My son is on the left and his leader SFC Levy is on the right.

Ok, I must admit that I received the best Christmas present in my entire life. My son called me on Christmas morning. It was awesome, it was short but great. I also heard from his battle buddy who sustained wounds from an RPG round just a few days before the Holiday and he is doing well. My soldier has reenlisted so he can stay with his unit. He doesn't want to report to a reserve unit only to re-deploy with a different unit. He cares about the men he serves with and wants to stay in the fight with his Band of Brothers. I am very proud of my son and hope that he finds his true calling. I want to thank all of you for your support. I have not received one negative comment on this site and I truly appreciate that. I love my soldier but I also love the men and women that serve our Nation. Eight months to go and then they will return as a unit, as an Army of one, Army Strong. We will accept them as a family and watch over them. With your help, we can help, support and love them for what they do. May God bless them all! Stay in touch when you can. I can be reached at Larryarnone@gmail.com.

Larry Arnone
San Francisco

AKA Bluestardad (and I want to keep it that way)