My Touchstone: Dear Sarah part 2 - An Explanation Dear Sarah Sept 4, 2001 *Dated one week before 9/11. This entry is less of a response and more of an explanation of the multi-layered ironies my father's letter contained. If you care to get part of the rest of the story, please read on. :) [...]
June 2003, my sister Becci and my father "pin'ing" me Today, 10 November 2011, is the perfect day to post this letter my father wrote me 10 years ago. What obstacles did you have to overcome to become a Marine? or to accomplish something that others told you you couldn't? I'll post an in-depth, explanative [...]
photo taken by SSgt Francisco TatajeWith Veterans Day now only two days away, I wanted to post this diary entry as a reminder of the reality of the veteran life. 11 October 2005 Journal Entry:On the way to work this morning, all of a sudden I had a terrible feeling about Theresa sweep over me. [...]
In no particular order, the 50 countries Semper Sarah has reached in four months :)1. US2. Canada3. Ireland4. UK5. Netherlands6. France7. Germany8. Guadeloupe9. Brazil10. Peru11. Singapore12. Japan13. South Korea14. New Zealand15. Australia16. Bahrain17. Egypt18. Syria19. Turkey20. Serbia21. South Africa22. Russia23. Croatia24. Denmark25. Spain26. Afghanistan27. Austria28. Portugal29. Malaysia30. Iraq31. Latvia32. Sri Lanka33. Romania34. Mexico35. Cook Islands36. [...]
Summin' Up September '05If you've been reading the previous blog posts, you should have a good idea of what the day-to-day life was like for me during my first month in Iraq. Because I was so new to the Intelligence field as well as to the Squadron, I was initially given very little responsibility. I [...]
In the last six months, most of my effort in starting to write a book has been directed toward soaking up advice, not in the actual writing of the book itself. I've been shown, as well as discovered, a myriad of free teleconferences and advice-giving forums, to include one the National Association of Memoir Writers [...]
a picture of Becci & Reton she emailed to me while I was in IraqIt's often a matter of perspective...18 September 2005: Excerpt from Email to my sister, Becci"Things are good here. I'm just a little lonely. I don't really have a peer group at all. Patrick is the only other Lt and there are [...]
"Lake Night" by Francisco Tatajethe sun setting over Lake Habbaniyah - a treat for us at TQTraveling and going to war are similar in some respects. It makes you a hyper-observer - at least in the beginning. The mundane becomes memorable, the new person a novelty, and you excitedly soak up every detail you can [...]
photo taken by SSgt Francisco TatajeWith the recent declaration that all troops will be out of Iraq by the end of 2011, this excerpt from an email from to my brother in September of 2005 seemed apropos. One funny side note, later in my deployment we all thought we might get sent home early as the [...]
In honor of one of my best friends, Theresa Hornick, I'd like to post the article she recently submitted to Dr. Mackaray's Health and Wellness column for the Scranton-Times Tribune. She is a Physical Therapy student in SoCal, Marine Corps vet, and overall wonderful woman :) Exercise: Free Medicine In November our nation celebrates two nostalgic [...]