Thank you, Kyle

One of my parishioners, Lance Cpl. Kyle Froemke of the USMC is home from Iraq for another week. He returned from his first tour of duty there last month, and after some debriefing time at Twentynine Palms, CA, he's got a total of two weeks to catch up with his family. Then it's back to the base in California, and off to Iraq again next summer after further training.

I just got back from a welcome home/thank you party for Kyle at the Rib Rack. It was good to talk with him and see his pictures of life in the desert of Iraq. He's got a hard job - Marines aren't trained primarily to be police officers and peacekeepers, but that's what their mission requires of them. And Marines get the job done, even if it means learning new skills day by day.

Kyle was asked by The Desert Sun of Palm Springs, California, why he joined the Marines:

A sense of duty. I felt like somebody had to do it. It might as well be me.

Thank you, Kyle. We're proud of you, and we are in your debt. God bless you and protect you as you serve all of us in the most difficult of situations.