The mail.(Letter to the Editor)

I read Greg Moore's "A Soldier Comes Home" (April/May) with a lump in my throat. I am sure he can't possibly imagine the magnitude of what he has done. 1 take his service, indeed, the service of all of our military, very personally.

My son is 11 months old. Remington is beautiful and spunky and full of life. We worry about his ear infections and the pain that his new teeth are causing him. We do not worry that he will be blown to bits by a roadside bomb or gassed because of his religion or ethnicity. Moore and his compatriots have made sure that we don't have those concerns. He has sacrificed time with his babies to protect my baby. How is it possible for me to repay that debt?

I would like to shake his hand and look him in the eye and say it. I would like to do that to every member of our military. I can't, so what I am able to do, I do. I am in airports every week in my work. I stop and express my appreciation to every man or woman I see in uniform. I buy a coffee here, a lunch there. They always tell me that I don't have to. I tell them that it is the least I can do, and that it is my privilege and honor.

We are such a blessed and lucky bunch here in this country. We walk among these men and women, these humble heroes that think they are just doing their jobs. They have shown us and the world that freedom and liberty are not uniquely American ideals but universal desires of all peoples around the world, and that those ideals are worthy of their sacrifices.

Thank you, Greg. My son grows up safe and free because of you. I will always be in your debt.

Joe Norman

Naples, New York