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‘Pray for us as we prepare for Iraq’
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Posted on Aug 12 2004
By Rep. Ray N. Yumul
As my fellow reservists and I prepare for deployment to Iraq, I humbly ask the people of the CNMI for their support and prayers as we head into a theatre of conflict in the service of our country.
I want to especially ask my constituents of Precinct III for their support and understanding. To the voters who voted for me, I seek your blessing. I urgently hope that you will understand my commitment and obligation as a reservist serving in the United States Army. I especially hope that no one will feel that I have betrayed my obligation to the constituents who voted for me, whom I am also obligated to serve.
For it is with a heavy heart that I leave my wife Marites, my son Dominic, my colleagues, constituents and friends to honor a higher calling: a patriotic call to duty to serve our country, the United States of America, which has given us so much.
Many of us in the CNMI have been so blessed by our political union with the United States, and, from time to time, some of us must give back, serve, and contribute to our nation’s defense, because along with freedom comes responsibility. And I accept my responsibility, as a citizen and as a soldier.
In truth, the responsibility that my fellow reservists and I are now embracing is not so pronounced as that of the greatest generation: the men and women who struggled during World War II, some of whom I had the privilege and honor to meet during our 60th Anniversary Commemorations.
I would like to think that the soldiers of our reserve units would be doing for Iraq what American WWII veterans have done for Saipan: helping to rebuild a war-torn area into a peaceful, thriving democracy with liberty and prosperity.
Please wish us luck. We need your faith, confidence, and support.
(The writer is a Saipan representative and a members of the U.S. Army Reserve. He is due to leave for Hawaii on Monday, where he will undergo training before possible deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.)
