(no subject)
really sad sad article that should be shared :(
Soldier routinely told her mother not to worry
By Peggy Breister
the reporter pbreister@fdlreporter.com
One day after she learned that her only daughter had been killed in the conflict in Iraq, Mary Bosveld received two letters from the 19 year old.
“Mom, don’t worry so much about me,” Pfc. Rachel Bosveld wrote. “My intuition has already saved several lives as well as my own. I love you always, Rachel.”
Bosveld, a 2002 graduate of Waupun High School, became the first woman and the fifth soldier from Wisconsin to die in Iraq.
A member of the 527th Military Police based in Giessen, Germany, she was killed Sunday in a mortar attack at a Baghdad police station.
The family was notified of her death at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
“She was my baby, my only daughter,” said Mary Bosveld of Oshkosh. “We were very close and I miss her terribly.”
Since her daughter left for Iraq in March, Bosveld said she had only been able to speak with her twice on the telephone. But she looked forward to the letters her daughter wrote and she went to her mailbox every day praying she’d find another letter.
“She talked about daily things, like the truck (Bosveld’s job was to drive a Humvee) and soaking her feet - she wore her boots 24 hours a day,” Mary Bosveld said.
“Mom, I’m soaking my feet in hot water. It feels so good. I wish I could just take a hot bath. Well, my 20 minutes is up. Take care. I love you,” Rachel wrote.
The letters were always upbeat, except after Bosveld was injured in September when her Humvee blew up. She was treated and returned to duty.
“After that she was counting the days,” Mary Bosveld said. “In one letter she said, ‘I have 142 days left. This too shall end. You know, Mom, I always remember all the little phrases you used to tell me. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. But will it really?’”
Most of her daughter’s letters ended, “I’ll be OK, Mom.”
It was those same phrases that sounded so good when she was raising her daughter that Bosveld said she wishes now she could take back.
“She said, ‘Mom, you always told me I could do anything I wanted to do. Anything the boys could do and maybe better,’” Bosveld said. “She said ‘Mom, I’m going to do this (serve in the Army) and do it better.’”
While she wasn’t happy with her daughter’s decision to join the Army after high school, Bosveld said she supported that decision.
“I told her, ‘It wouldn’t have been my choice for you. However, I support your choice and honor and respect that,’” Bosveld said.
Her daughter didn’t expect to go to Iraq, but she was “up for the challenge.”
Her daughter loved the Army and told her mother the “mind games” played on recruits in basic training didn’t phase her. With a brother and father in the military, she had been well-prepared for the rigors of service.
Bosveld was a caring and compassionate person, especially with the elderly and pets, her mother said.
“She had an extremely high degree of love for those two things,” Bosveld said. “And the underdog. I heard many stories of how she rescued kids in school.”
Rachel Bosveld attended Oshkosh schools for 10 years before finishing her two final years of high school in Waupun. She was an oil painter who had offers to paint professionally.
She painted outdoor scenes, mostly trees and water.
Bosveld said she hopes people appreciate the sacrifice her daughter and others are making in Iraq.
“My greatest desire,” Mary Bosveld said, “is that the president’s daughters would go over there and do what she was doing. Then I think there would be a wise decision on what we’re doing there.”
Soldier routinely told her mother not to worry
By Peggy Breister
the reporter pbreister@fdlreporter.com
One day after she learned that her only daughter had been killed in the conflict in Iraq, Mary Bosveld received two letters from the 19 year old.
“Mom, don’t worry so much about me,” Pfc. Rachel Bosveld wrote. “My intuition has already saved several lives as well as my own. I love you always, Rachel.”
Bosveld, a 2002 graduate of Waupun High School, became the first woman and the fifth soldier from Wisconsin to die in Iraq.
A member of the 527th Military Police based in Giessen, Germany, she was killed Sunday in a mortar attack at a Baghdad police station.
The family was notified of her death at 9:30 a.m. Monday.
“She was my baby, my only daughter,” said Mary Bosveld of Oshkosh. “We were very close and I miss her terribly.”
Since her daughter left for Iraq in March, Bosveld said she had only been able to speak with her twice on the telephone. But she looked forward to the letters her daughter wrote and she went to her mailbox every day praying she’d find another letter.
“She talked about daily things, like the truck (Bosveld’s job was to drive a Humvee) and soaking her feet - she wore her boots 24 hours a day,” Mary Bosveld said.
“Mom, I’m soaking my feet in hot water. It feels so good. I wish I could just take a hot bath. Well, my 20 minutes is up. Take care. I love you,” Rachel wrote.
The letters were always upbeat, except after Bosveld was injured in September when her Humvee blew up. She was treated and returned to duty.
“After that she was counting the days,” Mary Bosveld said. “In one letter she said, ‘I have 142 days left. This too shall end. You know, Mom, I always remember all the little phrases you used to tell me. This too shall pass. This too shall pass. But will it really?’”
Most of her daughter’s letters ended, “I’ll be OK, Mom.”
It was those same phrases that sounded so good when she was raising her daughter that Bosveld said she wishes now she could take back.
“She said, ‘Mom, you always told me I could do anything I wanted to do. Anything the boys could do and maybe better,’” Bosveld said. “She said ‘Mom, I’m going to do this (serve in the Army) and do it better.’”
While she wasn’t happy with her daughter’s decision to join the Army after high school, Bosveld said she supported that decision.
“I told her, ‘It wouldn’t have been my choice for you. However, I support your choice and honor and respect that,’” Bosveld said.
Her daughter didn’t expect to go to Iraq, but she was “up for the challenge.”
Her daughter loved the Army and told her mother the “mind games” played on recruits in basic training didn’t phase her. With a brother and father in the military, she had been well-prepared for the rigors of service.
Bosveld was a caring and compassionate person, especially with the elderly and pets, her mother said.
“She had an extremely high degree of love for those two things,” Bosveld said. “And the underdog. I heard many stories of how she rescued kids in school.”
Rachel Bosveld attended Oshkosh schools for 10 years before finishing her two final years of high school in Waupun. She was an oil painter who had offers to paint professionally.
She painted outdoor scenes, mostly trees and water.
Bosveld said she hopes people appreciate the sacrifice her daughter and others are making in Iraq.
“My greatest desire,” Mary Bosveld said, “is that the president’s daughters would go over there and do what she was doing. Then I think there would be a wise decision on what we’re doing there.”