Wow! What a Letter!

[Appletinitwist]

It doesn't get any better than telling someone, who has inserted a foot deeply in their mouth, politely to shut the #&*$ up.



Well done to the Lt C and thanks to all who have served.











Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall.

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must Have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:
'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:

Whom do we thank for the morning air show? Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet. Imagine our good fortune! Do the
Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyns early bird special?

Any response would be appreciated.

The response:

Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets' On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-16s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured..

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom. We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.

Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you....Jesus Christ and the American Soldier.
One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr.

USAF

 

[JerryP]

Nice.......................

 

[monkfish]

Nice.......................

Indeed.

Too bad he went off the deep end in the last paragraph -- otherwise cogent and suasive. But the real letter doesn't suffer that fault.

For the record, if anyone's curious, that incident was four years ago -- June 2005. No Lt. Col. Rosensteel. Apparently somebody who wanted to pervert the situation to make a religious point invented that character. The actual letter was from a Lt. Col. Pleus. (If anyone knows, I'm curious why somebody thought they had to invent Mr. Rosensteel.)

 

[K Ma]

Absolutely perfect from beginning to the very end! :thumb:

 

[MrsK2002]

Wow that letter really shut her up.As the wife of a Marine,I love watching jets fly over our house from Eglin AFB.I always have.
Great letter indeed.:yesnod:

 

[ULTIMATEgrafx]

I like the whole letter, don't care if it was 5 years ago or yesterday and if ya don't like the religious overtones, don't look at 'em! If it bothers you, maybe you need to seek counseling with a local pastor, as such, outstanding letter!

 

[JerryP]

I like the whole letter, don't care if it was 5 years ago or yesterday and if ya don't like the religious overtones, don't look at 'em! If it bothers you, maybe you need to seek counseling with a local pastor, as such, outstanding letter!

I did overlook the Christian overtone but I think he should have left Jesus out of it since Jesus died for all men and not just Americans. Why bring religion into the matter? It excludes those who may not be Christian but are no less religious and devout and Americans. Some people are very touchy about this.
A further objection with the last paragraph is that it dises many others who have died for Americans. As well as soldiers there is Navy, Marines, Air Force, Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, JFK, MLK etc, etc, etc, who have died for my American freedom and ideology.

 

[monkfish]

I did overlook the Christian overtone but I think he should have left Jesus out of it since Jesus died for all men and not just Americans. Why bring religion into the matter? It excludes those who may not be Christian but are no less religious and devout and Americans. Some people are very touchy about this.
A further objection with the last paragraph is that it dises many others who have died for Americans. As well as soldiers there is Navy, Marines, Air Force, Law Enforcement, Fire Fighters, JFK, MLK etc, etc, etc, who have died for my American freedom and ideology.

Which is why it's nice to know that the real letter (from Lt. Col. Pleus) didn't have that paragraph. The Jesus twist was inserted by whoever invented the fictitious Lt. Col. Rosensteel.

Also interesting to note that the letter didn't "shut up" the original complainer. (Why does Mrs.K assume it was a woman?) Having learned the facts, he followed up with an apology, which was published in the same paper, The Arizona Republic, about two weeks later.