Something to Watch
I thought I'd pass along this information for those of you who might be interested in tuning in, or reading a little more about info I've passed along to most of you about my cousin, 2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd who was killed this past Spring in Karabala, Iraq. He is being featured in an HBO documentary called Last Letters Home at 9pm on HBO on Veteran's Day (it will be available free to cable viewers who do not subscribe to HBO).
Here's the article about my cousin's mother and wife.
The Article:
YORKTOWN -- To his wife he wrote about the life of soldiers at war, the stress of trying to keep them alive and his own insecurities about leading men into battle.
"The overwhelming focus at this point is to get everyone home safe and sound," 2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd wrote to his wife, Sarah, in one of his last letters home. "I wish I knew more about my job. I am overwhelmed at times by its complexities and my utter lack of experience."
To his mother, in the last Mother's Day card he sent, he wrote that he had "fought a good fight."
"The way he wrote it was like he knew it was over," said Sarah Cowherd, who lives in Yorktown. "It was like he knew what was going to happen."
The 22-year-old West Point graduate from Culpeper was killed in May by a sniper in Karbala, Iraq. He had shipped off to the desert in January with the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and was a platoon leader in charge of 16 men and four tanks.
Thursday, Veterans Day, Cowherd's letters and those of 13 other service members killed in action will be shared through a New York Times and HBO documentary called "Last Letters Home." The film will be shown at 9 p.m. and will be available to cable viewers who do not subscribe to HBO.
In conjunction with the project, Life magazine put together a book of the troops' letters and family photos. Part of the proceeds from the book, which is available at bookstores, will go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which grants money to families of military members who have died in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
A picture of Leonard Cowherd appears on the back flap of the book.
Sarah's already bought the book but has been waiting months to see the final take of the film.
Earlier this summer, she traveled to Culpeper, where Leonard's family still lives, to film their portion of the documentary.
"I was really nervous, really anxious," Sarah said. "When I sat down to tape, to read Leonard's letters, there were 25 people watching me."
But she was determined to get through it.
"We decided we wanted to do it because it marks his place in history," Sarah said.
Before the taping was over, Sarah said, she found herself apologizing to the director.
"When I was reading the letters, I got choked up but never cried," Sarah said.
"There were parts that were hard to do, but I had to explain that I just don't have any tears left."
That, Sarah said, and when she talks about Leonard she doesn't want her stories to be overwhelmed with tears.
"I just want everyone to know how incredible he was," she said.
It's been nearly a year since Leonard left for the war, and Sarah is still taking each day one at a time.
"I've got a lot of stuff to fill my time," she said.
For one, she got a new dog and named him Buddy.
"It's nice to come home to him," she said, "even though he is a dog."
She started teaching second grade at R.O. Nelson Elementary School in Newport News.
"There are three or four kids in my class whose parents are in the military," Sarah said. "We don't talk much about the war in class because I don't want to show them that, yes, the worst can happen."
Sarah recently decided to take off her wedding ring, a decision made mostly because she couldn't bear the thought of where the matching band was.
The metal and diamonds are being molded into a necklace.
Now Sarah is getting letters of a different kind, from a new soldier.
Her younger brother, Marc Cerri, recently enlisted in the Army and is finishing his entry-level training as a combat engineer.
"His letters are so cute," Sarah said. "Marc's never been away from home before so he's never really been homesick. He once asked us for some guidance to get him through boot camp. We wrote back and just said look to Leonard."
I should note that I am not pro-military, by any means, but I did want to share this with people in the event they would like to watch or share or had thoughts they cared to discuss about how people in their family have been personally effected by this questionable war. If anyone feels this post is inappropriate for this community, please let me know and I'll gladly purge it.
Here's the article about my cousin's mother and wife.
The Article:
YORKTOWN -- To his wife he wrote about the life of soldiers at war, the stress of trying to keep them alive and his own insecurities about leading men into battle.
"The overwhelming focus at this point is to get everyone home safe and sound," 2nd Lt. Leonard Cowherd wrote to his wife, Sarah, in one of his last letters home. "I wish I knew more about my job. I am overwhelmed at times by its complexities and my utter lack of experience."
To his mother, in the last Mother's Day card he sent, he wrote that he had "fought a good fight."
"The way he wrote it was like he knew it was over," said Sarah Cowherd, who lives in Yorktown. "It was like he knew what was going to happen."
The 22-year-old West Point graduate from Culpeper was killed in May by a sniper in Karbala, Iraq. He had shipped off to the desert in January with the 1st Brigade, 1st Armored Division and was a platoon leader in charge of 16 men and four tanks.
Thursday, Veterans Day, Cowherd's letters and those of 13 other service members killed in action will be shared through a New York Times and HBO documentary called "Last Letters Home." The film will be shown at 9 p.m. and will be available to cable viewers who do not subscribe to HBO.
In conjunction with the project, Life magazine put together a book of the troops' letters and family photos. Part of the proceeds from the book, which is available at bookstores, will go to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, which grants money to families of military members who have died in Iraq or
Afghanistan.
A picture of Leonard Cowherd appears on the back flap of the book.
Sarah's already bought the book but has been waiting months to see the final take of the film.
Earlier this summer, she traveled to Culpeper, where Leonard's family still lives, to film their portion of the documentary.
"I was really nervous, really anxious," Sarah said. "When I sat down to tape, to read Leonard's letters, there were 25 people watching me."
But she was determined to get through it.
"We decided we wanted to do it because it marks his place in history," Sarah said.
Before the taping was over, Sarah said, she found herself apologizing to the director.
"When I was reading the letters, I got choked up but never cried," Sarah said.
"There were parts that were hard to do, but I had to explain that I just don't have any tears left."
That, Sarah said, and when she talks about Leonard she doesn't want her stories to be overwhelmed with tears.
"I just want everyone to know how incredible he was," she said.
It's been nearly a year since Leonard left for the war, and Sarah is still taking each day one at a time.
"I've got a lot of stuff to fill my time," she said.
For one, she got a new dog and named him Buddy.
"It's nice to come home to him," she said, "even though he is a dog."
She started teaching second grade at R.O. Nelson Elementary School in Newport News.
"There are three or four kids in my class whose parents are in the military," Sarah said. "We don't talk much about the war in class because I don't want to show them that, yes, the worst can happen."
Sarah recently decided to take off her wedding ring, a decision made mostly because she couldn't bear the thought of where the matching band was.
The metal and diamonds are being molded into a necklace.
Now Sarah is getting letters of a different kind, from a new soldier.
Her younger brother, Marc Cerri, recently enlisted in the Army and is finishing his entry-level training as a combat engineer.
"His letters are so cute," Sarah said. "Marc's never been away from home before so he's never really been homesick. He once asked us for some guidance to get him through boot camp. We wrote back and just said look to Leonard."
I should note that I am not pro-military, by any means, but I did want to share this with people in the event they would like to watch or share or had thoughts they cared to discuss about how people in their family have been personally effected by this questionable war. If anyone feels this post is inappropriate for this community, please let me know and I'll gladly purge it.