This past Sunday, my family and I were having lunch after church in Chattanooga when a woman asked to speak to me.  She told me that her son is in the military and that he is still in Iraq.  I could tell that she supported the importance of the mission but she desperately hoped that her son would be coming home soon.  I could hear in her voice how much she loves her son and the frustration of not knowing when she would see him again.  She is not alone.  There are many Tennessee families who are waiting for their loved ones to return safely home from the Middle East.

On May 1st President George W. Bush declared that the major fighting in Iraq was over.  Since then, at least 31 American soldiers have been killed in small arms attacks in Baghdad and central Iraq.  Clearly, our military is still in serious danger even though the Baath party (Saddam Hussein's party) has been overthrown.  In fact, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said that in the month of July, which has many Baathists anniversary events, we could see an increase in the number of these rogue attacks on our soldiers.  The danger is far from over for our troops. 

Without a doubt, our brave men and women in uniform still need our thoughts, prayers, letters of encouragement and moral support.  We must continue to display our patriotism to honor these weary, yet courageous soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines as they carry out their duties in a very dangerous part of the world.   They are working non-stop for our freedom and national security and we should be grateful for their sacrifices and the sacrifices of their families.

We can't forget that it was only 22 months ago when over 3000 innocent Americans were murdered by an international network of Islamic extremists in a "holy war" against America. Our first responders do an excellent job of protecting us here at home and they very much deserve our appreciation.  However, many of our military traveled to the other side of the globe, charged with the perilous task of ridding the world of a terrorist dictator. It is our brave men and women in uniform that are working to rebuild a nation that was under the thumb of an oppressive government since 1968. 

This commitment is precisely why we should give our military the best technology and equipment, a good quality of life, increased pay and most importantly a grateful nation that cares enough to pray, to write and to watch with great expectation until all of the yellow ribbons come down signifying that our military is coming home and out of harm's way.