I know how it feels to share your father with a war. My father, an Air Force officer, left to serve in the Viet Nam War when I was eight years old. The day he left was the worst day of my young life. I feared I would never see him again. I remember my grandfather holding me back at the airport to prevent me from running down the terminal to keep my father from leaving.

In the past months other daughters and sons, wives and husbands, and mothers and fathers have said the same heartbreaking goodbyes to their loved ones serving in the Armed Forces. These are the brave men and women who love God, their country, and freedom for all people. Their families are also brave men, women, and children who share their loved ones for the cause of peace in our world.

Our soldiers are not only our family members, they are also our friends. They are the young woman we watched grow up in our church, the father of three living down the street, or an encouraging co-worker.

How can we pay tribute to these courageous and dedicated individuals and their families? To truly understand their experience let us look at some of their words.

A mother of a young serviceman writes:

Dear Family and Friends,

I kissed my son goodbye yesterday. Our time with Mitch at Ft. Hood passed much too quickly, and it was time to leave.

As we said our goodbyes, I felt the tears well up in my eyes. I felt that all too familiar lump in my throat and my heart ached with sadness and love. I hugged him tightly, and as I did for a fleeting moment I actually thought of not letting go. For that moment, I thought that if I just held on to him, I could keep him with me. I felt Mitch hug me tightly and kiss the top of my head and I knew I must let him go.

As I reluctantly ended our embrace, I looked into his eyes and knew he was a man-a man with a commitment to his country. In part I felt responsible for his sense of commitment. After all, I am the one who made him make every scheduled ball practice or told him, "If you sign up for the team, you finish the season." He learned the lesson of commitment and now he's committed to his country. I am so proud of him.

Please keep Mitch in your prayers. Keep them all in your prayers. These are our boys and girls, doing their duty and keeping their commitment. They deserve our love, respect and support.

A serviceman from the 101 Airborne Division writes to his wife saying:

Don't cry too much for me, beautiful. I will tell you about all of this some other time...but for now, just know you're in my prayers and thoughts and that I will come back to you.

Our troops and their families make us proud to be Americans! Because of them, our families are safer; because of them, we appreciate more, living in a free nation; because of them, the Iraqi people will be freed from a cruel and evil dictator, and they will experience a peace they only dared to dream.

So many Americans seek to find the perfect words to express their thanksgiving to our troops. Perhaps the sweetest words come from our children. The following letter comes from a young girl in elementary school.

Dear Soldier,

I am proud to write you this letter for comfort, support and to cheer you up! I have many questions. How do you get food? How often do you get to talk to your family? And where do you sleep?

At my church we had a service for the troops. We prayed for you and sang songs to help remind us that you are out there fighting for us. We want to remember you while we are at school, work, or even at home.

Thank you for going up to Iraq. Because of you, I am proud to be an American. I support you with everything I do.

May our troops know that we love and honor them, and are praying for them through this war until they return home. Let us thank them for serving in such a selfless manner.

(Lisa Whinery is a contract editor for Challenger.)

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