Staff SGT Donald Wayne West, Jr., enlisted in the United States Army National Guard on September 11, 2001. As part of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Company A of the 150th Combat Engineers served active duty Aug 29, 2004, until Dec 30, 2005. SSGT West returned to college in January, 2006. He married Lauren Ritchie June 9, 2006, at Seaside, Fla., and they have three children. SSGT West completed military service at Camp Minden, LA on Aug 23, 2009.

Monday, January 17, 2005

Day Six - Prayers

“I never knew exactly what people mean when they say, ‘I can feel your prayers,’ until now,” Wayne said at the conclusion of our ten-minute conversation this morning. “I am so comfortable here, so at peace…It’s hard to explain any other way than I really feel the prayers of everybody praying for me. Please ask them to keep it up. It makes a big difference.”

The troops had been off base for 11 hours, having made a trek to the port to pick up supplies. When they returned, Wayne ate breakfast and then slept until noon.

When we talked, it was 4:30 p.m. his time. He was about to go work out before supper. If the rain stops, he plans to take his laptop to the computer center to test out the wireless connectivity.

Temperatures are hovering in the 60’s during the day and dropping to the low 40’s or less at night.

Other than that, Wayne talked to Lauren this morning, and is thrilled to hear his internet business is growing, even while he’s away.

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