Letter from Officer's Father to Army Officer re: Resignation for the Good of the Service

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Letter from 1LT [redacted]'s father asking that he be allowed to resign rather than be court-martialed.

Doc_type: 
Letter
Doc_date: 
Friday, September 26, 2003
Doc_rel_date: 
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Doc_text: 

September 26, 2003
To Whom It May Concern:
I am writing this letter for my wife and myself. The purpose of this letter is to appeal to you, as a parent, for relief for my son ( . 1st Lt:
ewe*
in
his current situation. I understand that the -U.S. Army wants to court martial him and send him to prison_ Without getting into the specifics of the charges against him I simply want to appeal to you, as a father, to allow him to resign with an honorable discharge: My son is not the type of ,persdn that deserves to be placed in prison. He has never been in any trouble what so ever until these
charges.
I know you don't know me, or my son, so if you
mind please read this letter
because it is important to me that you know who I am, and more importantly, who my son is before you make a recommendation about how to treat him.
First, so that you know a little:about me and my perspective on young me
I have
written a little: about my background. I have been in .secondary education
for 30
years. I have been a
inums
for 10
years. This :thine, Florida Governor Jeb Bush appointed me as .
6111111111
4011111/.F
Our school system has 4.0,000 students and
5,200
employees. My .headquarters are located in kr-1--.4101•111sa small city that is
the home to Congressman Cliff. Stearns and former Florida governor
BuddyMcKay. So
you understand that I evaluate the quality and nature
of myemployees and interact with my community's leaders on a weekly basis.
I amalso heavily involved in activities with our Veteran's groups.
My family is very important to me and all of us are totally involved in our community. My wife recently retired after spending 17 years as the business manager of our 1,000-member church. My two daughters and their husbands are teachers. One daughter recently became our chUrch's full time youth director. We are committed to our city, our county, and our country.
My son,
4/11 has always been a leader academically and athletically, and has
excelled at everything he has attempted. He has been chosen by adults
throughout his life to be a leader in boy scouts, chosen as a camp counselor on

several occasions, and represented our local VFW and our high school at Boys'
State. This will be his: first failure.

Quite frankly I find it hard to believe that he is not wanted and needed in our Army. He used to want to be a career officer. He had a great attitude and, I believe, the right morals to make the tough decisions every time. It breaks my heart to know that he no longer feels wanted by a country that he so wants to
n

a008162

DOD 006793

serve. Here are a couple of examples of what omor has written tO us in his
letters from
April 12, 2003—" You both can't possibly imagine how appreciative lam of you
Not just thankful, but bropd
Proud to be tosoci.:4 you both Proud to be in such
Ia strong family with such strong morals::::. you never asked why I joined but todayknow why more than ever. I am here to embrace those values, those Memories
that you gave me
Only by sharing, and in this case leading others, :
. 06 I feel I
can possibly repay the debt that I owe you and the society that would allow for such a life to exist I couldn't think of a happier time in my life. I am doing exactly what it is I have always wanted to dO. Without this .experience I wouldfeel incompletelor-te rest of my life, debts unpaidand •talents unrealized."
July 12., 2003—At the'start:of the investigation by the Army he writes
,'Needlessto say the Army has made a decision, or helped me make a decision, thatl will
only serve for 4 years I still love my country and have faith in her virtues; though
she has none in Mine.. if this goes to court martial It will be broadcast over the
news and my name)
and yours, will be tarnished foro*e You didn't sign up for that, but I did. If this happens I apologize in adVance. All I ever wanted to do
Was to serve and
protect those who loved too,. and spread freedom to others lessfortunate
....I have brought hundreds of criminals to prison, Captured COuntleSs ,weapons, saved lives of coalition and civilian personnel, have on a daily basis from insurgents and criminals alike my lifes1hreatehed
Yet 011 ever wanted was tobe left alone with my platoon so 1 could •continue doing What I love
,.the.
As you can tell my son loves his country and I assure you he is not :a: criminal.Please allow him to keep his dignity and pride If he must be released from theArmy, then please allow
resibh , hiS:,
cOrhhisSioh and receive an honorable
discharge, I often hear that Generals are treated as gods from my friends whohave Served. Please act like a compassionate god, .001
,'p:r.04001)10 man, and
my son to be released from all charges with dignity.
'ether; I beg. of you, as a:
for :my son's life.
3incerely,
8163
DOD 006794

Doc_nid: 
3418
Doc_type_num: 
69