I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow
And mistletoe
And presents 'neath the tree
Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Christmas eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams
- Kim Gannon and Walter Kent (1943)
This is my fiftieth diary. A good number of my diaries have been IGTNT diaries. I have never been sadder to write a diary than I am tonight. I usually take Friday nights, and when I signed up this time, I didn't realize that I would have to diary any brave hero who died in the service of his country on Christmas Eve. "T.J." Reilly's death was reported on Christmas Eve. What can you say to a mother who loses their son, especially on Christmas Eve? Especially a mother who had grave misgivings about giving her seventeen year old son permission to enlist in the Marines upon graduating from high school.
God Bless you, Gina Bray. Bless "T.J.", too. Keep him in your dreams, and know that you will see him again, someday.
Please join me tonight in honoring "T.J." Reilly, and in prayer for him and for those who loved him.
Lance Cpl. Thomas J. Reilly, Jr.
Lance Cpl. Thomas Reilly Jr., 19, of London, Ky., was killed instantly by a rocket propelled grenade on Dec. 21 while supporting combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
http://www.defenselink.mil/...
"T.J." Reilly Jr. was a graduate of South Laurel High School in London, Kentucky. One of Reilly's former teachers, Mary King, calls Reilly a dedicated Marine.
"I think he saw the Marines as a way that he could be a leader," King said. "He was very proud that he had joined the Marines, he was very proud to go and serve his country." "It's been very hard for me because I had kept in such close contact with him and had just spoke to him very recently," King said. "He was special, almost like one of my own in a way."
Reilly's mother, Gina Bray, told WKYT-TV in Lexington that her son went straight into the military after graduating high school. Bray says she didn't want her son to go, but she didn't want to "crush his dreams."
http://www.wbir.com/...
"He was on a mission. There was a hostile situation, and they just hurt my baby. And they took him," said Bray. In high school, his mother says Reilly was known for his big heart. She says he joined the Marines to make others safe. South Laurel High School teachers say Reilly found his niche in home economics, and he was known for baking cakes. "And he was going to go to culinary school when he got out of the military. They used to tell him how good he made cakes," said Bray.
The soldiers serving are often called heroes, but Bray says her son was hers, no matter what he did. "And I just wanted him to come home, he was coming home in April, he was going to surprise me. And he didn't get to come home," said Bray.
http://www.wkyt.com/...
At South Laurel High School, Reilly showed his potential to lead as an office holder in both the local and regional chapters of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, a national organization for students in Family and Consumer Sciences education, formerly known as home economics. "He took the lead in things like that," King said. "His senior year he was a teacher’s aide for me. He was very reliable. "He was very interested and had a talent in culinary," King added. "He could decorate cakes really well... He was interested in maybe doing a culinary school at some point."
Carol Eicher, a former FCCLA advisor at South Laurel, said Reilly was a wonderful student and that club members had continued to write to him after he was stationed in Iraq. Reilly also came by the high school to say goodbye to teachers and friends before his deployment — something Eicher said he was very proud about. "He had his dress blues on, and I gave him a big hug and I said ‘please be safe,’" Eicher recalled. "...He just looked so handsome."
http://www.thetimestribune.com/...
"T.J." Reilly in happier times.
"T.J." Reilly was the son of Georgina Bray of London, Kentucky. He is survived by his brother, Kenneth. Services will be held on Monday, December 29th at 12:00 noon at the London Funeral Home. Brother Joseph Mobley will officiate. Burial will follow at the A.R. Dyche Memorial Park in London. The family will receive friends at the funeral home after 5:00 p.m., on Sunday.
http://www.londonfuneralhome.com/...
Bless you, "T.J."
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT): I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one.
Click here http://www.dailykos.com/... to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, mediaprof and me, SpamNunn.
I Got the News Today and MoJo Friday are working together to send care packages through Netroots for the Troops. It is a great way to support our troops who are already in Iraq and Afghanistan. Please consider helping our troops by writing a letter or sending some donating some items for the care package, or if you aren't able to do this, money donations are very welcome. We appreciate all the kindness and support this community has shown to our Armed Services. Thank you, Daily Kos.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. Many of us have strong feelings about this war and, for that matter, all wars, but this diary is intended as a memorial service for these soldiers. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion, rather than politics.