As almost everyone who reads this is aware, my husband has served in the Army since 2006. This includes two deployments to Iraq and one most recently to Afghanistan. His second tour in Iraq wasn't as "bad" as his first. But it will probably be much more memorable. I remembered him talking about this guy named "Troy" that he worked with. All the other soldiers talked about him too. Troy is not his real name, just the name he went by. At the time he was an interpreter for our Army in Iraq. He was young. By my math, just 18 or 19 years old? I always heard good things about him. Funny stories too!
Well, Robert returned home. I still heard stories about Troy from time to time. Then after we had moved to Virginia, Robert got a message from Troy on Facebook. He was asking if would allow him to send papers from the government here to us because the mail system in Iraq was non existent. All we had to do was get it, scan it, and email it to him. As it turned out, he was trying to come to the U.S! We haven't talked about it much, but we did it. After some back and forth, Troy made it to Texas last year! I mailed him all of his paperwork that we had been saving for him.
A couple of weeks ago, Robert got another message from Troy. He told him he was joining the Army. He wasn't sure what his job was going to be yet, but he had done very well on the ASVAB. Then today while we were at the commissary he got another message. Troy is going to be a medic. My face lit up with a huge goofy smile. And I watched my soldier husband tear up in the middle of the snack aisle. Most soldiers who have been to Iraq can't point to someone or something later in life and say, "THERE! That is where I made a difference." My husband can. He didn't look at this guy and say, "No, you're Iraqi, I'm not helping you." He knew in his heart that this young man could do great things if given the opportunity. So he helped him. Did he do anything major? No. He gave him a mailing address to use. But not everyone would have done that. To Troy, it was everything. He has been nothing but appreciative and excited to be here. He is a wonderful guy who is giving back to the country who is helping him. Whether you agree with the wars or not, sometimes, even when you think we aren't making a difference, we are. And sometimes, if you make a difference in one person's life, it can make the bigger picture seem more worth it. I know it did for my husband today. He went through some hell during his Iraq tours. But he made a difference. I am so proud of both of them. I can't wait to meet Troy one day!
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