"TIME"

Another New Year is celebrated.

Yet I count Two Years, Six Months and Ten Days.

I will not believe.

The phone never rings, the door bell doesn't chime.
Your letter has not arrived, it has yet to be written.

You live on. In my heart, in my love, in my every breath.
No one can, nor ever will take you from me.

I will not be shamed into quiet submission because I speak your name, share a memory.

You will not be forgotten.

Happy New Year Patrick.

I miss you .

I recieved and then accepted invitation to meet and greet Senator John McCain when he arrived in Green Bay, WI on 9/18/2008.

There's been some press and blogging about it. Some truth and some misconception.

For any of you having questions, here is the letter I wrote Sen. John McCain THANKING him for acknowledging my son and Afghanistan....... I wrote:

Dear Senator McCain,

I am the mother of Fallen Soldier SSG Patrick Lee Lybert who met you at the Green Bay, Wisconsin Airport on 9/18/08.There was no time to fully express my feelings to you.

I felt You, Gov. Sarah Palin and her husband to be the warmest, most sincere down to earth people one could hope to meet.

I cannot begin to explain to you the impact upon my heart when I looked into your eyes. I had my composure until that moment. I struggled to hold tears and maintain some dignity, but feel I failed miserably.

Here in front of me was the man I have held in such high esteem for so many years. A man my own son greatly respected, called hero or more reverently "The McCain".

Television and photo do not do justice to you Sir. Your face is so beautiful, a face of compassion, wisdom and light. A man not afraid to say God Bless you and I know you really meant it.

When you hugged me I thought my heart would break. I could barely speak. I was trying to hold back the emotion I felt.

For in my minds eye, as you came down those steps I was seeing that younger John McCain, the soldier I had watched on television return home in 1973 when I was but 17. I remember my heart breaking and tears running then wishing I could hug you and take your pain.

Now all these years later I stood before you as you walked off a plane, this time as Mother of a Fallen Soldier and you hugged me - my mind could barely assemble it all.

Thank you for accepting the gift I gave you, the Photo Dog Tags of my son, along with my note. And yes, they are meant for you to share if you wish, have no doubt of that! (The press seems to have misunderstood the type of dog tag. You clearly held them up and they were clearly photographed and videoed as photo dog tags.)

Our family is so honored!

The most important part is that you read my note, spoke of my son Patrick, and Afghanistan at the conclusion of your speech in Green Bay.

I had been unable to stay as I had to get home to my special needs son. ( I had a four hour drive).

When I walked in Noah ask me "did you give him the photo dog tags of my brother? Will he say my brother's name and talk about Afghanistan tonight?" I had told him I didn't think you would have time but that you had them and he nodded.

Then came the news and video clips. You gave such tribute and honor to Patrick. Noah is so happy!

I could hardly wait to convey the news on to the soldiers I'm in contact with at Camp Lybert in Afghanistan (they are from Fort Hood, Texas) - Then to my son's Comrades and 3-71 Cav 10th Mnt Div at Fort Drum - soon to redeploy to Afghanistan, again before January. Do you know they refer to this as "the forgotten war"?

They are so thankful to you for what you have done!

One said "what you did was to give SSG Lybert's (memory) and all of us who know what was lost out there HOPE!

There are of course those who have posted a dig here or there at you and I over this as they did not bother to get the full facts.

But please, Senator McCain, do not stop!

Know my family and I are so proud to back you! My son Patrick would swell with pride knowing you hold and acknowledge photo dog tags of him, and that you give attention to our troops in Afghanistan.

"It's not about the war, it's about standing behind the troops who stand in front of us".

Thank you Senator McCain,and again God Bless you.

I hold you in prayer.

Sincerely,

Cheryl Lee Patrick

Ladysmith, WI

Mother of SSG Patrick Lee Lybert

KIA 21 June, 2006, Afghanistan

_______

post script: equally blessed to have had Senator McCain acknowledge our request for troop support to Afghanistan and reference Patrick with such great respect on CBS 60 Minutes (aired 9/21/08). Remember, as Patrick's Mother my position is not about politics, being for or against the war. It's about standing behind the troops who stand in front of us.

"A Message from Our Loved Ones Who Have Gone Before Us:

To the living I am gone,
To the sorrowful I will never return,
To the angry I was cheated.
To the happy, I am at peace.
And, to the faithful, I have never left.

I cannot speak, but I can listen.
I cannot be seen, but I can be heard.

So, as you stand upon a shore,
gazing at a beautiful sea,

REMEMBER ME.

Remember Me in your heart, in your thoughts,
and the memories of the times we loved,
the memories of the time we shared.

for if you always think of Me,
I will never have gone."
-author unknown
* * * * *
We shall Never Forget. You are never gone from our thoughts, heart and memory.

Love,
Mommy and Brothers

CAMP LYBERT, Afghanistan "UPDATE"
Many friends have asked me about CAMP LYBERT built by 3-71 CAV 10th MNT DIV (LI) Recon. The camp built and then named for Patrick.

CAMP LYBERT continues and expands.

For current eye opening of the area and sacrifice soldiers endure in Afghanistan I cannot stress enough that you watch the following news clips:

Brian Ross of ABC aired November 2007

Ambush: Video Shows U.S. Troops Being Hunted, Killed
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/11/ambush-video-sh.html There are 4 short video clips, emotional but accurate.

Also well done and equally accurate is Anderson Cooper 360

"Ambush in Afghanistan" December 19 2007

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2007/12/19/robertson.afghan.ambush.long.cnn

You'll hear CNN reporter Nic Robertson " without enough resources they feel forgotten........They've been sent to the front line in the War on Terror. They have enough man power and weaponry for most of them to survive, but not all of them, and not enought to win."

Both news reports center around the area of CAMP LYBERT. From what I understand CAMP LYBERT is even further NE, more remote than what you'll view in those clips.

I of course only know details of CAMP LYBERT second hand. Either from dear soldiers who were there OR from News Articles and Newsletters. Here are some bits and pieces about CAMP LYBERT:

CAMP LYBERT in brief:
3-71 CAV 10th Mountain Division (LI) Recon built and named CAMP LYBERT for SSG Patrick Lee Lybert KIA 21 June 2006.

CAMP LYBERT sits a top the Mountain overlooking the Afghanistan Pakistan Borders, the same Mountain SSG Lybert was KIA on..

CAMP LYBERT sits between 6500 to 7000 feet in the sheer isolation of the Hindu Kush. "Once we were informed that it would be a permanent post we named it after Pat and I "manufactured" a flag pole out of a 2" x 4". After about a month I told our supply Sergeant, SSG Chambers, to get the largest flag poles he could find for the camp. Eventually two of the largest flag poles I could image showed up and very painfully we dug them into the stone to set them. The flag served as the only flag for over 90 days until my wife, Charity, could get some new flags to the mountain. The flag poles at Camp Lybert are at 6,985ft and are 55ft tall." End from CPT Jeff O'Dell 10th MNT DIV

"Camp Lybert was built to keep border infiltration routes closed off to insurgents" ........"They bring weapons and men over from Pakistan and then go back when the fighting gets intense….." quote SPC Timbo Harrell taken from www.salon.com Watching Afghanistan Fall wtitten by Matthew Cole Feb 2007

3-71 CAV 10th MNT DIV deployed to Afghanistan Feb. 2006 and returned 15 months later, June 2007.

June 2007 CAMP LYBERT – became home for 503rd IN, >Legion Troop, TF Saber, 173 ABCT 1st Squadron, 91st U.S. Cavalry.

CAMP LYBERT "The Edelweiss of Afghanistan" continues to grow and develop with the 503rd IN, Legion Troop, TF Sabor, 173 ABCT (1st Squadron, 91st U.S. Cavalry).

On Jan. 2, 2008 I received a message from the CPT currently @ CAMP LYBERT telling me "we received 45 children up from local towns the other day to learn English on CAMP LYBERT. It was amazing! We actually recruited a teacher from Kabul to teach the students during the winter months."

Follows excerpts taken from Watching Afghanistan Fall published
www.salon.com articles written in Feb. 2007 by Matthew Cole:

*Camp Lybert is named for Staff Sgt. Patrick Lybert, who fell in combat.

* From Kamdesh, a small outpost near the Pakistani border, to Naray, a larger base 25 miles south, to another border outpost called Camp Lybert, the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry -- the so-called 3-71 -- was supposed to control a 220-square-mile triangle of territory.

*Places like Gowardesh, the site of Camp Lybert, and Kamdesh are crucial in America's war in Afghanistan. Their proximity to the areas of Pakistan where U.S. intelligence officials believe bin Laden and al-Zawahiri travel has created an instability U.S. forces are trying to counter. "Camp Lybert was built to keep border infiltration routes closed off to the insurgents," said Spc. Timbo Harrell. "They bring weapons and men over from Pakistan and then go back when fighting gets intense. We try to light 'em up if we can see them carrying the weapons. But usually weapons are hidden on donkeys and we're not allowed to engage."

But the troops in Nuristan have also suffered from sheer isolation and the topography of the Hindu Kush. At Lybert (altitude 6,500 feet), the 3-71's Charlie Company had gone 70 days without a hot shower or a hot meal. They have sustained deaths and injuries from hiking and falling. Soldiers who have served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before said their current living conditions are much worse. "Leadership doesn't care about us," said one officer, who requested that his name be withheld to avoid punishment for his comments. "We've gone on mission after mission after mission where we've gone black [run out] on food and water. They tell us, 'Pack light, your mission will only be four days tops.' But then we end up stuck on a mountaintop for two weeks. We didn't have anything, not even tents. If you can't get us off a mountain, don't put us on there…….end

(For more of Watching Afghanistan Fall search engine www.salon.com as written by Matthew Cole)

TURN BACK THE CLOCK TO JANUARY 4, 2006

Two years ago January , the 4th 2006 I drove you to your shuttle to catch your plane back to Fort Drum.

Two years ago I sat with you over a breakfast in a truck stop before your shuttle came. After I touched your face, held your hand, kissed your check and felt your tight bear hug as you wrapped yourself around me and I buried my nose into your neck.

Two years ago you told me not to look back, but I did through blinding tears and saw you bent with your hands on your knees fighting your own tears and I wanted to turn back. But I didn't because I felt I had to respect your request even though my heart was wretched in agony.

It was for the last time and I didn’t know.

I want that moment back. I want to tell you don’t go. I want to keep you by my side, warn you of what is to come. Somehow reach back and protect you.

I’m your mother. That’s what I was supposed to do.

The rawness of the pain with in my heart does not lessen.

It is a struggle daily to take steps to meet the basic demands of life’s routine without you.

My body moves forth, but my spirit is stalled.

Noah and Red remain just as lost as I. We search for answers we cannot find. Noah’s future so unknown now without you.

“Death is the end of a life, not a relationship”.

My relationship with you my dear son will never end. My tears are always streaming. Sometimes they just aren’t visible. The scream and rip of my heart is silent to those around me but deafening to me.

I try hard to do you proud. There have been opportunities to advocate for and pursue troop support and I have grasped on to each one in your memory.

Camp Lybert continues to flourish in Afghanistan. Missions being accomplished by soldiers continue under the severe conditions and shortages of supplies they need to successfully wage this war. Afghanistan children being taught at Camp Lybert , first by soldiers now number upwards of 45 and a teacher from Kabul has been sent.

They must speak your name. Even so far away from your home your name echo’s.

Yes son, you are remembered you are never forgotten. You are always loved.

“As long as I’m living my baby you’ll be”.