Purple Hearts & Wounded Spirits Read online

  Cover

  Title Page

  Purple Hearts & Wounded Spirits

  ...

  Brian D. Moore

  ...

  Lynchburg, VA

  www.LibertyMountainPublishing.com

  Praise for Purple Hearts & Wounded Spirits

  Purple Hearts and Wounded Spirits is about what it means to be an American, a soldier, a husband, a father, a sinner and a saint when called into combat against the terror visited upon one’s own country. Purple Hearts and Wounded Spirits is Brian Moore’s story and the story of many soldiers like him, who have had to go into combat and fight an enemy that is as elusive as evil itself. Moreover, this book represents the internal battle that rages when a redeemed life must enter into dark places and confront evil. This heartfelt book is a labor of love that represents the honor, the humor, the hope and the heartache that has been the grit and greatness of American fighting men and women of faith throughout every conflict.

  ~Dr. Frederick J. Williams

  Pastor of Faith Baptist Church,

  Founder and Licensed Therapist at

  Greater Manchester Christian Counseling Services

  in Manchester, New Hampshire

  Copyright Information

  Purple Hearts & Wounded Spirits, Copyright © 2015 by Brian D. Moore

  All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage retrieval system, without permission of the copyright’s owner, except for the inclusion of brief quotations for a review.

  You can contact Brian D. Moore at [email protected]

  Liberty Mountain Publishing

  1971 University Blvd.

  Lynchburg, VA 24502

  www.LibertyMountainPublishing.com

  Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995

  by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission (www.Lockman.org).

  First edition, October 2015

  ISBN: 978-1-935986-81-2

  Cover and Interior Book Design by Coreen Montagna

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all of the American Veterans

  who stood up and sacrificed their health and even their lives

  in defense of their fellow Americans.

  Acknowledgment

  There are so many friends and family to acknowledge for their support with the writing of this book. Yet the primary acknowledgment must go to my wife Raquel for her unconditional love throughout all of the trials and tribulations of our deployments. I must also recognize my sister Carole and brothers Ray and Paul for their steadfast support of my family during my deployments.

  Foreword

  THOUGH MY BID FOR THE WHITE HOUSE in 2008 fell short, one great blessing from the process was meeting remarkable people who love their country and their fellow man and who truly make America great. Brian Moore is one of those people that I had the pleasure to meet during a campaign trip to Londonderry, New Hampshire in 2008 when Senator Bob Clegg of New Hampshire introduced Brian to Chuck Norris and me.

  Brian’s service in the military became personal after 9/11, and during his three tours to Iraq and Afghanistan he distributed all kinds of useful and practical items like pens, toiletries, and even soccer balls to soldiers and to locals. His making such welcomed items available donated from friends and family back home caused his fellow soldiers to call his efforts “Moore Mart” and the name and the project stuck. Moore Mart has made the lives of soldiers and citizens of the war zone more tolerable and livable.

  As you read Brian’s story, you will discover the powerful narrative of the kind of heroism that makes America the greatest nation on earth. It’s the story of a man, his faith, his resilience, and his commitment to let God use him to help others. It’s the story of an unselfish man seeking to serve and being found faithful. Brian Moore is my kind of hero!

  ~Governor Mike Huckabee

  Author’s Note

  IT IS NOT MY INTENTION to delve into deep theological debate, I am merely attempting to relate what I believe happened during my three tours and how that affected me then and now.

  In the attempt to find some rational explanation for the 9/11 attacks and avoiding as much of the political rhetoric as possible, I share with you only what I believe to be true. The following is one man’s, one soldier’s, one Christian’s account of September 11, 2001, and his subsequent journey.

  Introduction

  SEPTEMBER 11, 2001, CHANGED EVERYTHING in my life. I, like thousands of others, was angry and appalled by what our enemies had done, especially to so many innocent people. This was also a very personal attack as my oldest son, Brandon (a senior in a Christian high school) and his classmates were engaged in street evangelism in the lobby of the Twin Towers on September 7-10, 2001. His entire class to include advisors and teachers were distributing pamphlets and sharing the Gospel in both lobbies. The people they encountered were so receptive that they discussed staying through Monday September 11th, but decided instead to return to New Hampshire. When the news broke that both towers had been destroyed, I realized how close we had come to a family tragedy.

  In the coming days I found myself possessed by anger and hatred. Not only by the acts of violence toward my country but those acts of violence were indiscriminately directed toward the innocent, like my son and his classmates. They had done nothing to these terrorists but yet, as Osama bin Laden stated, he was justified before Allah if he killed as many as three million Americans, to include women and children. The more I contemplated the horror, the more vengeful my thoughts became. I was conflicted with such foreign emotions and as a father I felt terribly burdened to protect my family somehow. I needed to stop these people from trying to hurt my family again, which I felt was inevitable, and as an American soldier I felt a sense of duty to defend my country.

  Before I can share where I went after 9/11, I need to start at the beginning. My family history is one of sacrifice and service, to each other, our neighbors and ultimately our country. My brothers and I were fourth-generation military. My grandfathers, father and oldest brother Ray were all noble seamen. It was my brother Paul who broke the mold and became a ground pounder in the U.S. Army, and I was not far behind him.

  Staff Sergeant Moore and Brother Ray Moore saying farewell.

  My father was a career, non-commissioned officer with the United States Coast Guard which meant we grew up living alongside saltwater. Our home was not a house but a ship, according to my Dad, and he tried to run it that way. My brothers and I were called by birth order. I was eight years old before I realized that my real name was not Number 3! Other than my mother I never heard anyone refer to my Dad by any title other than “Chief.” A Chief Petty Officer is the equivalent to being a Sergeant in the Army.

  I learned many things from my Dad, some good and some regrettable. He was not a perfect man, but he was grounded in the positive traits that I clung too; primarily, a fierce loyalty to family and country. My faith was learned from my mother. He was an alcoholic for as long as I can remember and not a friendly or happy one at that. I do not intend to speak ill of the dead, especially my own father, yet his past was my future in some ways. Later in life as I began to deal with my own demons through self-medication, I understood where my Dad may have been coming from. I can only imagine what demons he was running from. I was determined, however, not to raise my children under the same darkness that vexed my father; I wanted that cycle broken.

  We are a family that is not afraid to do the right thing regardle
ss of the consequences and are no strangers to adversity because of our desire to serve and go. My brother Ray served in the United States Coast Guard (USCG), nearly losing his life on several missions to rescue distressed seafarers. My brother Paul, while serving in the United States Army in Korea, was injured in a parachuting accident that left him paralyzed. My sister Carole overcame the horror of the terrorist bombing of the federal building in Oklahoma City. She stayed home that day with a sick child and her office was destroyed. There is no doubt that had Carole gone to work that day she would have been killed by the explosion. Carole’s husband Terry had a key role in dealing with the terrorist actions on 9/11 as a Federal Aviation Administration official and would later spend a year in Iraq developing their civilian aviation air traffic control network.

  Sergeant First Class Moore and Terry Biggio in Baghdad.

  My family was well grounded with a sense of service to family and country; we did not shy away from hardship. We understood that to hide from danger and from those who mean you ill only invites more of the same. To quote author and founding father Thomas Paine, “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace.”

  During my first tour to Iraq something very cool happened. My sister Carole asked what I needed since it was difficult to acquire basic items there. This could include snacks that were easy to take on convoys to baby wipes. She also asked if she could send stuff for my buddies. I thought that was a great idea and encouraged her to send all of us items. Well not only did she send care packages, she addressed each one to the individual soldier by name. Each package contained a variety of items that I had suggested would be helpful. The response from the guys was surprising and humorous. They were very taken by the fact that the packages were addressed to them but also the variety of items. When one of the soldiers joked that “your family has more stuff than Wal-Mart,” I was from then on forever tagged with the nickname “SGT Mooremart.”

  Seeing how many of the soldiers appreciated getting personalized care packages, my sister Carole and brother Paul decided to start Mooremart (MM). MM was established as a non-profit organization that would support troops and the children living in war zones throughout the Middle East. Along with the bare essentials, MM also sent cleaning supplies for our living quarters and even our weapons. The early deployments were truly lacking in logistical support to say the least. Logistics is the section of the military that provides food and bullets to the frontline troops. When a mission is in its early stages the logistics support often lags behind, hence for the need for organizations such as MM. My brother Ray sent collapsible fishing poles for the green pond we lived next to, and Carole and Paul sent radio controlled boats and cars for stress relief during our sparse downtime.

  It was during my tour to Afghanistan that MM really took off from supporting my immediate unit to supporting any service member regardless of branch of service or theater of operation. Some amazing examples of MM’s outreach were felt in Kuwait at the reception center. Here troops arrive and wait for “a ride to the war.” During that time there is no mail from home; many of these young men are away from home and in a very different environment for the first time. Paul and Carole realized this fact and boxed up Christmas stockings full of candy and gifts and shipped them to these centers in time for that holiday season. When the troops arrived they were each given their Christmas stocking provided by fellow Americans who thought of them at this stressful time. The impact on the morale of those troops and others like them cannot be measured.

  While I traveled the Middle East (especially in Afghanistan) I saw how little the local children had. This was particularly true in regards to school supplies. Afghan children walked to a school which could be nothing more than sitting on the ground under a tree. Quite often it was a mud hut with open windows, no electricity, no indoor plumbing and, most importantly, no supplies.

  When I discovered that Afghan school children did not have basic classroom supplies, I asked my interpreter, “How do they learn?”

  He explained that after walking miles to get to school they will sit, listen and attempt to memorize the lesson. I was knocked off my feet one day when we passed a group of children who began to yell, “Pen! Pen!” I was used to hearing calls for candy or a biscuit (especially in Iraq), not pens.

  This discovery led me to ask my MM family to ship school supplies to myself and any other United States soldiers who could distribute them. The fact that a child anywhere is asking for a simple pen because they want to learn moved me, not just as a teacher but as an American who is blessed with so much. My friends and family at MM certainly stepped up and began shipping donated backpacks, pens, pencils, crayons, notebooks, erasers and the list goes on.

  School children happy to have

  their Mooremart back packs and school supplies.

  As these supplies began to arrive at our base other soldiers would spend their free time filling the backpacks with the assortment of supplies provided. We loaded the packs into our trucks and took them with us into the villages. The response was truly inspiring and far reaching. Whenever we entered into a new region we would meet with the local village elders to discuss our mission and their needs. What better way to “win hearts and minds” than by providing school supplies to their children? Eventually this plan would grow to include medical care and supplies.

  The actual process of getting these packs to the children was complicated at first but rewarding in so many ways. The reality was that if we gave these supplies to the elders or even the teachers the children would never see them. According to our interpreter their culture demands that these adults provide for their own families first. Yet if we were to physically hand these packs to each child we would be certain they had received them and could keep them. In the Afghan culture if someone gives you a gift no one will take it away from you.

  Realizing that the girls in Afghanistan were last on every list we insisted that the soldiers give school supplies to the girls first and then to the boys. Some locals were not happy with that idea since they most likely were not educating their own daughters. I advised them that if the girls did not receive packs then no one would get them, so they submitted to our standard. That was also MM’s standard for any program that they supported in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

  Words cannot describe the feeling I got when I would see children walking to school with backpacks filled with school supplies. I realized that with MM’s help we had changed the lives of generations of Afghans. I say that knowing that when a child learns to read the entire world opens up to them. This is especially true in countries like Afghanistan where girls are poorly educated. Once grown, a literate mother can teach her children to read and write, potentially lifting an entire generation out of poverty.

  To better support these types of needs for troops and local families, MM needed to seek the support of friends both locally and across the nation. One such event was a drive to raise support for sporting equipment, especially soccer balls.

  Soccer is a very popular sport around the world and providing our troops with soccer balls to hand out to local children and schools is a great way to open doors for friendship. In the eight years that Mooremart ran the soccer ball program, Mooremart volunteers were able to ship over forty-seven hundred soccer balls to the Middle East that were then distributed to local children living throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

  On January 5, 2008, Governor Mike Huckabee and Chuck Norris spoke at a “Reason for Giving” at Londonderry Middle School cafeteria in Londonderry, NH. At the event Governor Huckabee and Chuck Norris donated a number of soccer balls to Mooremart’s soccer ball program. Mooremart presented the governor and Norris with a Mooremart T-shirt and thanked them for their service to our country and their support of our military. The support of great Americans like Governor Huckabee and Chuck Norris cannot be overstated, as their help brought the attention and support that MM needs to continue its mission.

  Chuck Norris stayed late after the
event and signed twenty-five flags and T-shirts that were sent to my unit in Iraq as well as others throughout the Middle East. Soon from across the Middle East United States soldiers were asking for a Chuck Norris Mooremart T-shirt or a Chuck Norris flag for their Humvees.

  My brother Paul Moore with Chuck Norris

  at a 2008 Mooremart soccer ball drive.

  My sister Carole and brother Paul

  at Mooremart’s 50,000th Care Package event.

  A section of my platoon displays a flag that some school children

  had made literally by hand, courtesy of Mooremart.

  Santa’s happy elf SGT Boudreau helping

  SFC Moore distribute Christmas stockings

  supplied by Mooremart to the troops in Baghdad.

  It is events like this that allowed the folks at MM to step up and provide so many with so much. Through the last ten years MM developed into a community based group that sends care packages to each specific soldier in their name with the specific items that they had requested. Since September of 2014, MM has shipped more than sixty-five thousand individual care packages! During the August 2014 packing event, MM celebrated over ten years of service.

  American and Afghan soldiers

  distributing school supplies, provided by Mooremart.

  Section I

  Chapter One

  9/11

  I WOULD IMAGINE THAT LIFE BEFORE 9/11 was similar to that prior to the Attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, or even before the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK). Americans of every race, gender, ethnicity and walk of life were going through each day like nothing would change anytime soon. Fulfilling their obligations of faith, family and work as one day inevitably rolled into the next.