Sacrifices made for her kids

Courtesy Photo | Waco, Texas, native Sgt. 1st Class Suree Valenzuela, a senior logistician for the Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division spends the last moments at Fort Hood with her sons, Fabian (right), age 12, and Xavier, age 9, before her deployment last October. Valenzuela, a 15-year Army veteran, is spending her second Mother's Day in Iraq, but said the prospect of making a safer future for her family makes it worthwhile.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

05.10.2007

Story by Sgt. Michael Garrett 

7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

By Sgt. Michael Garrett
7th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq – All over the United States children sleep safely in their beds. Their mothers tuck them in at night, maybe say a little prayer, and then it's off to never-never land. Those children sleep safely because their mothers have made sure there are no monsters under the bed, or no boogie men in the closet.

Another group of children sleep in their beds at night, halfway around the world in Iraq, protected, in part, by mothers who are not their own. Many mothers in the military are sacrificing time way from their own children this Mother's Day to make a safer place in the world for other little ones.

"In my shop alone, there are three mothers that are spending this special day away from our children and husbands," said Sgt. 1st Class Suree Valenzuela, a senior logistician for the Division Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division.

But knowing that she is missing Mother's Day to help the effort to bring peace to Iraqi children makes the time spent away from her family worth it, she said.

"I strongly believe that making this a peaceful country for all the children is worth it, because they deserve it more than anyone," said Valenzuela, a native of Waco, Texas. "Most, if not all, of the children in Iraq do not know how it would feel to have a peaceful country, and be able to play outside with their parents, family and friends without living in danger."

Even though she believes strongly in what she is here to do, nothing can totally take away a mother's feeling that she is missing a special part of her children's lives.

"Right now, it is baseball season, and just this past Saturday, Fabian, my oldest, pitched a no-hitter in the first game," Valenzuela said. "And on the first pitch of the game, he hit an in-field home run. That is so exciting and I am so sorry that I missed it."

But, Fabian isn't the only one racking up stats on the diamond that can make mom proud.

"For Xavier, my youngest, he pitched his first game ever. He did so well and when he told me about the game on the phone, he was so excited," Valenzuela recalled. "He said, 'Mom, I struck five people out, threw six people out and caught a couple of pop-fly balls!' I told him that he was awesome, and that I was so proud of him."

In addition to being able to talk on the phone, Valenzuela is able to stay in contact with her family through instant messengers and webcams.

"I have Internet in my room here in Iraq and every morning is my time," she said. "I always look forward to chatting with them and seeing them through (the) webcam, it makes my day so much brighter."

The 15-year Army veteran said she wishes all deployed mothers could be able to talk to their children on Mother's Day without interruption. When a face-to-face meeting isn't possible, she said a video teleconference is the next best thing.

"Since we cannot be able to actually visit in person, we could still be able to cherish laughter, smiling faces and stories that we could cherish for the rest of our lives - knowing where we are, and in the circumstances that we cannot just get on a plane and go home," Valenzuela said.

"My children come first in my life, and I would do anything in the world for them that I possibly could to make them happy," she said. "With me over here fighting this Global War on Terrorism, if that is what it takes, for me to be away from them, so that they do not have to be faced with it, then I am glad that I am here."

Well into her second tour in Iraq, Valenzuela said this Mother's Day reinforces the reasons she is a part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"All mothers, regardless of where they are from, should be able to spend precious time with their children without fear or danger," she said. "The love between mother and children is unconditional and no one could ever take that away."

Hopefully, when Valenzuela has long been gone from this country, young children here will be able to sleep peacefully at night, knowing there are no more boogie men in the streets of Iraq.

• Date Taken: 05.10.2007
• Date Posted: 05.10.2007 13:14
• Story ID: 10312
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ