Letter Of Appreciation From
Mother of Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson
March 16 2008
Monday 3/10/08, at Balad, Iraq. In these last five days I have come to
to understand the true meaning of pain and loss, of grief and sorrow
beyond words. A light has gone out of my heart and now shines among the
stars.
I will be traveling from my home in Oakland, California with my partner
and my daughter to Washington State this coming week to receive my son's
body home in a flag-draped casket. I know that he is no longer in that
body, broken by the ravages of battle, but rather his spirit now flies
free on the wind. His wife will be there, as well as my baby grandson
who is 16 months old. In attendance at the funeral will also be his dad
who is flying in from Missouri, my father, Phillip's grandfather, who is
an 82-year-old USMC veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam as well as other
family members and friends.
What I am writing to tell you tonight is how profoundly grateful I am
for the loving thoughts and prayers I read tonight on your forum page.
Phillip's wife, Melanie, who I believe has been in touch with you about
the services next week, sent me your link. I sat here reading the
announcement and then the posts, sobbing both with tears of grief and
tears of gratitude for the respect and honor you have shown my son. Your
prayers of comfort and gratitude for his sacrifice touch me more deeply
than I can say.
We are told that you will be there on Tuesday when his plane lands and
on Thursday for his funeral. I cannot tell how how grateful I am by the
gift of your time and your healing honor.
Tomorrow my partner and I will take our Fatboy out on the road for a few
hours, along the ocean's edge and perhaps up into the hills. It is the
last day we will have here before we fly out early Monday morning. It is
our own tribute ride, just the two of us. And while we are out there
tomorrow, I will hear the wind rushing past my ears and hear once again
the voice of my son saying, "Hey Momma, it's Phil. I'm home."
Respectfully and with much gratitude,
Raven Bren
Mother of Sgt. Phillip R. Anderson
