Letter from Army engineer details rebuilding efforts in Iraq.
This item is 'true' in the sense that Eric Rydbom is indeed an engineer stationed in Iraq with the Army's 4th Infantry Division, and he sends monthly e-mail dispatches such as the one quoted above to fellow members of his congregation at the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach in Shorline, Washington. This piece was one of those messages, forwarded to the church's prayer chain and thence to the larger world via the Internet.The version being circulated on the Internet closes with the following line, which was not part of the original letter:WMD is an important issue. We have to find them wherever they may be (in Syria?), but that is not our real motivator. Don't let it be yours either.Whether this letter is original is another matter. Many readers have noticed similarities between this piece and a speech given by Judge Don Walter, and instances of the same letter being sent out under different soldiers' names have since been uncovered.
This item is 'true' in the sense that Eric Rydbom is indeed an engineer stationed in Iraq with the Army's 4th Infantry Division, and he sends monthly e-mail dispatches such as the one quoted above to fellow members of his congregation at the First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach in Shorline, Washington. This piece was one of those messages, forwarded to the church's prayer chain and thence to the larger world via the Internet.The version being circulated on the Internet closes with the following line, which was not part of the original letter:WMD is an important issue. We have to find them wherever they may be (in Syria?), but that is not our real motivator. Don't let it be yours either.Whether this letter is original is another matter. Many readers have noticed similarities between this piece and a speech given by Judge Don Walter, and instances of the same letter being sent out under different soldiers' names have since been uncovered.