posted 02-08-2009 01:10 PM               

This evening, I had an emotional moment: I was sitting in a compound that had a bar. The bar is called the "HVT Bar" - short for "High Value Target." It was a tough day at work and I was drinking a beer. The TV was on and I happened to glance up and see the Armed Forces Network doing a short blurb, "On this day in history...." Though the mute button was on, I could see various scenes from the Korean War in 1951, the flooding in mid-America in 1954, and other similar events of historic note. Suddenly I saw familiar footage: the Apollo 14 flight in 1971. The review closed with Alan Shepard hitting the golf ball on the moon. It got me thinking of my father. With all the work here, I hadn't been paying attention to the dates. This time, 38 years ago, my father was circling the moon.

I finished my beer and headed back to my POD. The days here are long and I needed to get some sleep before work the next day. As I walked out, I noticed the moon was directly over my head. With a thin layer of clouds, the light created a circle around the moon. I started to imagine in what phase the moon might have been at that time, 38 years ago.

It is hard to believe he has been dead for over 14 years. I wondered what he would think of me today. I know as a parent he would be nervous of me being in a war zone, just as he was during Desert Storm. I know he would have been proud of me for being in a war zone, just as he was in Desert Storm. I think everyone who has lost a parent ponders these same questions: "Would they've been proud?" "Would they've thought I was doing the right thing?" "What would he think of my life?" I just know that I miss him and I love him very much. Looking at the moon brought a tear to my eye. I may not know what I will accomplish I life but I can only wish to have the same magnitude of impact as he did. He was an amazing man.

On a different note, I am just over half way through this tour. While the days are long, I feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of each day. The weather has been very nice and enjoyable. We still have random incoming rockets and mortars, but overall the situation is good. The elections in Iraq went smoothly. Not like when I was here before with suicide bombers, VEIDS, violence, and mass abstention from the polls. There is still some concern regarding what will happen when results are released. We will wait and see.

To avoid publishing his e-mail address on the web, messages sent to collectSPACE will be redirected to Col. Roosa.

Col. Roosa, center, with his sister Rosemary, sister-in-law Whitney, brother Allen, and their late mother Joan receive their father's/husband's posthumous NASA Ambassador of Exploration award from White House liaison Jeffrey Jezierski and U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame manager Daniel Gruenbaum in February 2006.

posted 04-07-2009 12:19 PM               

I have been remiss in not writing sooner. However, I have not long returned from Iraq and will return there again this coming Saturday. The few weeks I have had here in the States have been an extremely busy time.

I did, however, wish to express my sincere appreciation to you and to members of your chat room who took the time to email me after seeing my blog about Baghdad and my father's mission to the moon. I received many heartfelt and wonderful emails. I am sorry that I was not able to respond individually to all of them.

Please post this thank you in your chat room so, in some small way, I may be able to acknowledge and recognize those who took the time to write me.

God bless you all.

Wishing you all the best,
Christopher Roosa