Monday, May 29, 2017

Memorial Day, Marines, and My Sixth Sense


Memorial Day seems like a wonderful day for the topic of the sixth sense. Especially when it involves our United States Marines.


BoyChild #1 is a Marine who has done two tours in Iraq while serving in the reserves. When he received the orders for his first tour, we were not worried for his safety. We knew he would return fine. We were, however, saddened by the milestones he would miss. His first daughter was just a few weeks old when he shipped out.

His unit suffered heavy casualties on this tour. Five men were carried off planes in flag draped coffins. Each time one of those lives was lost, I KNEW. I knew as soon as I woke up in the morning - before watching TV or checking my email. As expected, BoyChild #1 returned from his tour unscathed. He celebrated his daughter’s first birthday, purchased a home, and settled back into civilian life.

A few years later, BoyChild #1 received orders for his second tour. When he told me about it, I immediately felt a dark presence. I knew harm would come to him but I could not describe exactly WHAT that harm would be. However, I could describe the location of this darkness. It was not in my head but rather, was a point just behind my right ear and shoulder. As strange as it sounds, I sometimes waved my hand in the air back there trying to clear the presence.

I could not share this dark feeling with anyone. I had to endure them on my own. I WOULD NOT trouble others with my fears and I COULD NOT share them with my husband. There was no need for both of us to worry about a feeling.

In April 2008, we received notice about a pair of casualties. The unit was in a convoy when the lead vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED). Two young men in that vehicle made the ultimate sacrifice and a third was injured. BoyChild #1 was driving the second armored vehicle. According to his email update, he was about 30 yards behind the lead vehicle. His vehicle was totaled but he claimed to be uninjured.

Both causalities were his friends. One was his roommate, bunkmate, or whatever the correct term is. That man was from my husband’s tiny hometown – a town which suffered heavy losses in the War on Terror. The father of this young man and my husband shared much in common and this loss was devastating to my husband. In addition to mourning the loss of a promising young life, he also seemed to experience some guilt about his son’s survival while another man with a very similar life would bury his own son.

Although BoyChild #1 initially claimed to be unharmed in the explosion, a letter arrived in the mail shortly after. In his tiny printing, he mentioned headaches, dizziness, and a constant ringing in his ears. Around the same time I received this letter, I also realized that the dark presence which had haunted me for months was finally gone. I knew BoyChild #1 would be ok.
Having a sixth sense can be helpful. If you can interpret what this sense is telling you, you may be able to prevent harm to yourself or to your loved ones. Unfortunately, my message is not usually clear and this causes stress. It’s like chronic pain – always present and there isn’t a damn thing you can do about it

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