The following email was sent by Lt. Lipka on July 9, 2007 and is reprinted with his permission.
Dear Family & Friends,
The time has come for me step off and lead my Marines into combat. As you can imagine, this is a bittersweet event, as any who have ever known the dueling duties of family and country can attest. I am excited about the opportunity, and have a great group of Marines. We are fortunate to be making Marine Corps history by taking the first rocket artillery into a combat environment. No one likes to leave family behind, but in defense of freedom, sacrifice is often necessary, and I do still believe that this is about freedom. People of weak stomach and timid soul would say that our efforts are misguided or in vain, but I have only to think of 3,000 fellow Americans who were guilty of nothing more than going about their daily lives to remind me why we must stand in defiance of those who wish us to simply go quiet into the night. I believe in America; an America that is willing to stand alone if necessary to further the human desire to choose ones own destiny and courageous enough to recognize the siren’s song of pacifism for what it is. Einstein once opined that the world is a dangerous place, not because of evil, but because of good people who do nothing about it. For all of our advances, we have blinded ourselves to the harsh realities to which all great societies have eventually succumbed. We are therefore obliged to be resolute in our intentions.
Once again, I will covet the prayers of those of you who are people of faith. For those of you who wish to contact me while I’m in Iraq, I have included my contact information below. Thank you in advance for your support.
Until then,
Tedd
Lt. Lipka III, L.T.
2D BN 14th Mar F BTY
Biography of Tedd Lipka
I am a Marine Reservist with Q Battery, 5th Batallion, 14th Marines based out of Buckley AFB who is temporarily assigned to Fox Battery, 2/14 out of Oklahoma City. We are the Marine Corps' first High Mobility Rocket Artillery unit, which employs a similar weapons system to the Army's MLRS units. I had only recently completed Officer training after six years in the Reserves and was working as a restaurant manager while preparing to return to school for an advanced business degree. Due to the shortage of junior officers within the Marine Reserves, I was called back to Active Duty, since it had been more than two years since my previous deployment. My wife and two children remain there in Elizabeth. I will arrive in Iraq on July 15th and will be operating in the Al Anbar province in support of the Second Marine Expeditionary Force for about seven months.
Posted on Monday, July 16, 2007
by Marine Lt. Tedd Lipka