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Feedback ForumSend us your opinions, reactions, and ideas about "Third Time Around"Submissions for this question are no longer being accepted. Previously submitted comments appear below. Comments may have been edited for content or space. Poster: Connie Comment: Thank you for the unbiased, in depth look at the lives of those serving in Iraq. My son James was featured along with these other brave soldiers. My heart breaks every time I hear of another soldier dying as it soars with pride that my son is doing what he feels is right. I watched for the first time on your show him re-enlisting in the Baghdad ceremony... I cried along with those who have lost their sons and miss their soldier. As I read some of the comments about sending packages, I know that many of these soldiers would love to receive them. It is hard for military families to provide all that their loved ones need. They can use powdered drink mixes, razor blades, q-tips, baby wipes, dried fruits, tuna pouches and crackers and even cookies. Chocolate and jerkys go bad in the heat. Also as you saw, there is very little entertainment, games make the time pass faster. If you would like to send some you can address them to : HHC 3-69 AR FOB Blue Diamond Apo ar 09346 James was also one of those who came home for 18 days and he returned this week. He just told us that he too will not be returning home until April. He will be among the last to leave from the Third. Thank you again NOW for letting us share the day in Al Anbar, you know that we do not get to glimpse this side of our soldiers day. May the remainder of the 3rd ID come home safely. Poster: Maxine Stephenson Comment: I am very proud of my son Captain Josh Stephenson and his brave wife Misty Stephenson. After viewing the program, my son Josh said that there were a few things that weren't included in the interviews on the program. He said he wished PBS had aired a comment that Misty made about why we should stay in Iraq even with the great sacrifices the families were making. Josh said her comment was similar to the one he made on the program about not letting his fallen comrades die for naught. He said that Misty said it in a much more eloquent way. What was shown on the program seemed to make us think that she didn't believe in their mission. The program alluded to some of the good things happening in this province of Iraq, but I wish they had shown more positive things like the many reopened and rebuilt schools, or the opening of a park with children playing soccer. I am very proud of all of our military and pray for them often. The integrity and bravery of our men and women is incredible. I am particularly proud of my son who leaves his daughter Reagan and wife Misty to return to war tomorrow. God Bless all of them. Thank you to PBS. Without this program I wouldn't have been able to see my son in Georgia on his R & R. My husband and I are so thankful. Poster: Anne Stephenson Comment: My brother, Captain Joshua Stephenson, was on the show. I am so proud of my brother and pray for his safety as he returns to Iraq Tuesday, September 18th. I also admire my sister-n-law, Misty Stephenson, for her strength as she raises her baby alone, until Joshua returns in the spring. I pray that this show touched many viewers hearts and gave them a better understanding of what is going on at home(U.S) and in Iraq. Poster: Sam Comment: I am the wife of a soldier in Iraq for his third time around and this story hits home so hard. We have 3 kids -- a 6 yr-old boy and 2 yr-old twins which my husband missed the birth of during his 2nd tour and now has missed their 2nd birthday and possibly their third one too. I don't think people realize how much our husbands, wives, mothers, sons miss of everyday life and how hard this is becoming to deal with. On top of all that there are the money stresses you deal with. We don't get paid near enough for what we put up with and the hours put in. I am a third timer and I tell you I don't think I can handle another time. I am not the one who actually has to go to Iraq so I cannot imagine how most of the men and women must feel. Poster: Leslie Balderrama Comment: I am against the War, but I watched this with open eyes. I was moved to tears. I want these brave soldiers to know that I respect the job they do. I respect the sacrifice they make everyday. I needed to see this, it opened my eyes. May God Bless the families that I saw on the show. I wish I could hold each one and tell them I care. I will pray for each of you. Leslie Poster: Reese Bishop Comment: As the wife of a soldier who is deployed to Iraq for his third time, I would like to say that this is the most well done report I have seen. I want to thank you for the job you did on this. It had me crying in several areas and shaking my head in agreement in others. It is the most unbiased look I have seen by far. Poster: Lisa Comment: I am a friend of the Butcher family. Their son's story was a part of this show. As such, this show hit home hard, especially being the mother of a son who is considering the military as an option for his future and who is old enough to enlist next year. believe this show should have aired sooner, much sooner, and that it should be sold to other stations with more of a viewing base. After all, knowledge is power. The truth of the matter is, people are ignorant about the true effects of this war. They don't understand, or don't care, about the pain these families go through, whether their soldier is still over in Iraq or has made the trip back home in a flag-draped casket. Just once, I want someone who has no direct connection to this war, no friend or relative serving in it, to attend a funeral for one of these soldiers. I want you to see their small children cry. I want you to see the anguish on their parents' faces. I want you to see their siblings hold onto childhood memories, for that is all they have left. Small children should not have to bury their parents just as parents should not have to bury their children. I want you to see the invasion of privacy by the media as these soldiers are no longer civilians and their funerals can be photographed and taped at will by the general public. I want you to see a grieving parent, one who has lost their only son, be handed the flag that once rested on their son's casket and be presented with the medals of honor, as though any of these items bring comfort to the magnitude of their loss. I want this nation to wake up! And until you sit down in a church and view the aftermath of war through the eyes of a child, who hasn't seen her father in months or possibly over a year, and you watch her crumble before her father's flag-draped casket, and feel the pit in your stomach as you now realize enough is enough, then and only then, may you go forth truly informed on the bigger picture of this war. God bless Staff Sergeant Steve Butcher, Jr., and the men that have gone home along with him. May you forever rest in peace. Some of us will never forget your sacrifice. Poster: Burton Comment: View from Canada: I think the last opportunity of a favorable outcome for the United States in Iraq was dashed by the rash decision to disband the Iraqi army and security apparatus by Paul Bremer. President Bush's current failed strategy in Iraq will present the next president with several bleak exit options. Watching this show about the multiple deployments of American service personnel to Iraq makes one wonder how much longer the American public will accept the current casualty rate? Poster: W. Grover Comment: Steve Butcher's son could be my son, a veteran's son. If his father's loss reflects the deep, personal grief that is Iraq, we must offer our service in any way possible to his family. Steve Jr's poem reminds me that we should support the families of our soldiers in all of their difficult and unbearable times of distress. A Vietnam Vet Poster: Kathie Comment: Thank you for the wonderful story about the brave men and women from Fort Stewart and the 3rd ID. My son is one of them. He has been in Iraq 3 1/2 out of the last 5 years. The general population doesn't have any idea of the price these people have paid with the constant deployments. They are heroes, each and every one. Thank you again! Poster: Evelyn Stasel Comment: I just wanted to thank everyone at PBS for honoring my Brother-in-Law, William Zapfe. The whole family watched the program. We Thank You! I only wish, everyone in these United States could understand completely, that Freedom is not free! It cost my Family more than Hearts could afford! Yet, we stand firm in Our Love for Our Country, Our Support of Our Soldiers and Our Love for William Zapfe, an American Hero! Poster: Sherwin Stradling Comment: Thank you for your show. I am so tired of our leaders lying and propagandizing their message. Although the show brought tears to my eyes, it is refreshing to see the honesty of these men. I also believe that your show was unbiased, without the usual spin we see on everything. Poster: Grace Pok Comment: Dear Now team, Thank you for airing such detailed, and honest documentary. I certainly hope for the safety of the soldiers and that they will return home to their family. One comment struck me especially. One of the wives (Reagan's mother, I believe) remarked that average citizens may sympathize or feel proud, but we can turn off the TV and get on with our daily lives; that our lives are not affected by their enormous sacrifices. I wonder if there is something an average person like me can do to directly help the soldiers and families. Is there a program where we can contribute to care packages, or be connected with the families to offer assistance (maybe help babysit for busy mothers)? I'm reluctant to simply donate money to charities, because I have no idea how the money is used. For all I know, most of the money can go to the charity itself and very little ends up with the family. It would help us viewers tremendously if you could do a little segment about how we 'average citizens' can make a difference in a soldier's life. It's time to stop feeling guilty about this voluntary war and listen to our leaders who are unable to lead. It's time for average citizens to start doing something. Thank you. Grace in Edgewater, NJ Poster: Sarah Corey Comment: I appreciated the stories soldiers and their families shared on this program, though I myself don't have family in the military. I wanted to say to Misty (?Haven), thank you for your thoughts, and I am doing what I can as a citizen who is not personally affected by the war in Iraq, to listen to what she and other military families have to say, and to write to my representatives in Congress requesting diplomatic action in Iraq. I also try to educate others in a respectful way about the sacrifices and loss of life in this war. My thoughts are with Misty and her daughter. Poster: P. Miranda-NYC Comment: I am never so proud of being an American as when I see the stories of amazing bravery, dedication, loyalty, sacrifice and love, despite all circumstance, that (mostly) young soldiers deployed--and their families- -exhibit. As a NYer, I weep for the lack of care most Americans show for this sacrifice. The soldiers show me in the most human way, what it means to be heroic to those you are most devoted to--fellow soldiers, family, country. And I am never so ashamed as when I see a government so willing to use these beautiful brave young people as fodder for their political gain. Shame on them. Poster: Bettye Comment: I rarely cry any more when I see segments on Iraq, but tonight's show made me so sad that good men and women, such as the Zapfe family, have to suffer for this horrendous war. Thank you for bringing this personal side of the war. Poster: Bonnie Orr Comment: Thanks for providing insight into the personal side of our military and their families. As a military mother, I have a great deal of pride in our soldiers whose main focus is not trying to gain Iraqi peace, but to secure the Middle East so that future generations of Americans can live with the same freedoms that we have enjoyed as a nation. These people are incredible heroes, and your program documented the sacrifices of all involved. We should all be very appreciative. |
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