Letter from Danny Waldrip. Written Dec 15, 2009

Posted with his permission.

Danny Lynn Waldrip December 15, 2009 at 4:17pm
Dear Mrs. Lona,

I decided to send this to you on Facebook since it came out so long it would over fill a Christmas card envelope and I'm way behind with those anyway. I started writing these cards some time ago and I mainly had you in mind when I started them. I intended to write them all by hand and I realized yesterday that if I don’t step up the pace, I’m not going to get done with half of what I intended. So yours is the first one I am writing with help from the computer.

I want to share with you some things that I noticed in Tyler. I’m not sure if I told you but I only met Tyler once while he was home in June 2007 following his graduation from West Point. He was supporting Allison at the Miss Arkansas pageant. He and I talked for the better part of an hour about the Army’s dire need for bright young officers and various other things related to the Army. Tyler impressed me most with his humility. Although he is undoubtedly the most brilliant young man I will ever meet in my life, he carried himself with such humility that it was inspiring in itself. It was a remarkable visit we had!

Some years ago, while I was serving in Los Angeles as an Army recruiter, the Army saw fit to introduce the Army values to the Soldiers we are training and mentoring nowadays. When I was growing up on the farm, I was Uncle Mark’s shadow until I joined the Army. Being as I came from much the same type of family as Tyler, I think I tended to forget that not all of us are so blessed to grow up in a place where these values are taught from a very early age. The Army realized that if we, as leaders, expect our Soldiers to have values we must teach them those values. After all, it’s not their fault that they may not have been raised in such a place as Tyler and I. You have likely heard of these values since Daniel is on his way to being a West Point graduate and in your interaction with other friends from the Army that Tyler served with. However, I want to touch briefly on each of them and use them as talking points for things that I saw in your son. I hope that I am not being too wordy for you but I believe that LT will always be a part of me whether I remain in the Army another few years or return to the civilian world.

Loyalty – In listening to Daniel’s description of how Tyler lived and how he died, I cannot think of any more accurate word to describe Tyler than loyal. This word is about bearing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and devoting yourself to something or someone. A loyal Soldier supports the leadership and stands up for fellow Soldiers. We, as Soldiers, express our loyalty by simply wearing the uniform. By doing our share, we show loyalty to our unit. By anyone’s standards, LT always did more than his share. His Soldiers now know what right looks like and will never accept anything less and this is to the credit of Tyler and the benefit of his unit and the Army.

The Non-Commissioned Officer creed contains a line which reads “I will be loyal to those with whom I serve; seniors, peers and subordinates alike.” Tyler displayed his loyalty in many ways. He accepted his assignment to the S-1 shop even though he naturally wanted a platoon and eventually got one. He did this out of a sense of loyalty to the officers above him as well as his knowledge of God’s will for his life and how we are not in control. We are all just pawns on the Master’s chess board. Tyler knew and accepted this. This attitude is one which you helped to instill in him as a child as opposed to one he learned in the Army as so many young Soldiers do. Thank you for raising such an amazing son, Christian, Soldier, citizen and leader.

Duty – This one is all about fulfilling your obligation as a Soldier, and in Tyler’s case a leader, of Soldiers. Doing your duty as a Soldier goes far beyond carrying out your assigned tasks and expands into training your Soldiers to function as a team. Tyler took a group of disgruntled Soldiers from different combat arms career fields and molded them into a tight, cohesive team capable of reacting at a moment’s notice to any number of emergency situations. These situations called for a combat leader who was up to the task. Tyler was that leader. Tyler was the type of leader we all pray that we get. He was the type who always chose the hard right over the easy wrong. When you have a functional moral compass like Tyler did, this is easy….but not all leaders do.

Respect – Respect is all about treating people as you would want them to treat you. Granted this is not a hard concept. We learn it in kindergarten for the most part, or at least we used to. Respect is what allows us to appreciate the best in other people and to trust that all Soldiers have done their jobs and fulfilled their duty. Self-respect is a vital ingredient with the Army value of respect. It comes from knowing you have put forth your best effort. Anyone who ever met Tyler, let alone worked with him, can tell you he always put forth his best effort in everything he did from composing and singing a song to Dr. Gist at her retirement to graduating at the top 10% of his West Point class. Tyler was in a class by himself.

Selfless Service – Only two types of people have ever offered to give their lives for their fellow man. Jesus Christ died for the sins of all mankind. Soldiers die for our freedom. Tyler stared the enemy squarely in the face and did not flinch, attacking up a hill to take the fighting position necessary to protect Soldiers whose lives were in great danger. In doing so, he put the welfare of the United States, the Army and his subordinates before his own. Tyler had no thought of recognition or personal gain. He had nothing on his mind but kicking ass and taking names and looking out for his Soldiers and he took the fight to the enemy right up to his dying breath. Our God, our country and our Soldiers could never ask for more than this.

Greater love hath no man than this that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Honor – Honor is simply about living up to the Army values. The Congressional Medal of Honor, our Nation’s highest award, goes to Soldiers who make honor a matter of daily living and develop the habit of being honorable and solidify that choice with every choice they make. It’s a matter of carrying out, acting and living the Army values in everything you do. Tyler lived the Army values! Some officers are saluted simply because the Army tells us, as subordinates, we must render them the proper courtesy in accordance with their rank. Then, there are the select few whom we salute with a little extra pep in our step, a little more volume in our voice when we say “good morning LT” or “Sledgehammer Sir”. We take a little more pride in having them as our brothers in arms because we know the sort of leaders they are and we know extra respect is due to extraordinary leaders. This is Tyler’s category.

Integrity – Integrity is about doing what is right, legally and morally. As Christians, this is easy as pie because we all answer to a higher authority and we are ever aware of that fact. At times, we may find ourselves in a potential “ethical dilemma”. However, those of us who have our moral compass calibrated seldom, if ever, find ourselves in these situations. If and when we do, we don’t see them as dilemmas at all. Black is black and white is white. There are no grey areas. Integrity is a quality we develop by following moral principles, of which most is taught to us in church and from our mothers. Most boys from farming communities like ours have been whipped for lying at some point. That is not a whipping a boy is likely to ever forget. As Christian adults, we know that God is always watching so we tend to behave accordingly. I have seen the West Point Honor Code. It says “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do”. I cannot envision Tyler ever doing anything to deceive others. This is something you instilled in him as your son. I salute you, Mrs. Lona. You are a model mother and you mothered 2 model sons and a model daughter.

Personal Courage – Part of this deals with facing moral fear or adversity. Often, as Christians, we encounter situations where the actions we take are not popular with others. I have found myself in that boat more times than I care to recall. However, I am not here to win a popularity contest. I am here to lead Soldiers and that is what I intend to do. Tyler placed his Soldier’s needs and well being ahead of his own, both in garrison and in combat. I cannot imagine the courage it must have taken for Tyler to have charged up that mountain to secure the high ground knowing full well he might be on his last mission.

To summarize Tyler’s service, he not only lived the Army values…he lived the Soldier’s creed.

The Soldier’s Creed

I am an American Soldier.

I am a Warrior and a member of a team. I serve the people of the United States and live the Army values.

I will always place the mission first.

I will never accept defeat.

I will never quit.

I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills. I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.

I am an expert and I am a professional.

I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the United States of America in close combat.

I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.

I am an American Soldier.