A friend sent me this e-mail (forward to him) and I thought it was pretty good

> Gentlemen,
>
> I am an Australian and my son is an Australian -
> as far as we are concerned there is not place on
> God's earth better than Australia, and there are no
> people better than Australians.
>
> That was until the past week or so.
>
> My son is in the Australian Army and he is currently
> on deployment in Iraq. I can not go into his duties
> in great depth, but shall we say that he and his
> fellow army buddies are on a glorified guard duty
> looking after the Australian Embassy. They don't go
> out looking for "action", though it is a different
> story in Afghanistan, there the Aussie troops chase
> the baddies over the hills and into the valleys.
>
> My son and I just ended a long 'phone conversation
> and here are some of his comments, believe me this
> is what he said. We have all seen the bullshit
> emails written by some clown in his lounge room
> pretending to be at the coal face, but this is what
> was said:
>
> "Before I came over here I thought we (the
> Australian Army) were pretty shit hot..... was I
> ever wrong!....The Yanks (I hope you don't mind me
> using that word) are so professional from the top to
> the bottom that it is almost embarrassing to be in
> their company, and to call yourself a
> soldier....don't get me wrong, we are good at what
> we do but the Yanks are so much better.....they are
> complete at what they do, how they do it and their
> attitude is awesome....they don't complain they just
> get on with the job and they do it right.....I carry
> a Minimi (SAW) so I am not real worried about a
> confrontation but I tell you I feel safer just
> knowing that the US Army is close by....If we got
> into trouble I know that our boys would come running
> and we could deal with it but they would probably be
> passed by a load of Hummers.
>
> "No questions asked, no glory sought, the Americans
> would just fight with us and for us because that is
> their nature, to protect those in need of
> protection.....We use the American Mess so you could
> say that we are fed by the Americans.....they have
> every right to be pissed at that but they don't
> bitch about that they just make us feel as welcome
> as possible....what gets to me is that the Yanks
> don't walk around with a "we are better than you
> attitude" and they could because they are, they
> treat us as equals and as brothers in arms. If
> nothing else, coming here has taught me that the
> Americans are a truly great Nation and a truly great
> bunch of people.....
>
> "Let's face it they don't HAVE to be here, they
> could stay in America and beat the shit out of
> anyone who threatened them, BUT THEY ARE HERE
> because they believe they should be here, and the
> Iraqis would be screwed if they weren't
> here.....When I come home, you and I we are going to
> the US, we will buy some bikes and we are going
> riding...."
>
> The reason why I am sharing this with you is because
> I realize that you (as a nation) must get pretty
> pissed with all the criticism you receive by the
> so-called "know it alls" who are sitting at home -
> safe. The reality is that they are safe, just as I
> am, because of America. If the world went arse up
> tomorrow there is little all we (Australia) could do
> about it, but I know that the Americans would be
> there putting themselves on the line for others.
> That to me is the sign of greatness.
>
> The most precious thing in my life is my son, I look
> at him and I thank God that I am fortunate enough to
> be able to spend time in his company. We laugh, we
> discuss, we argue, we dummy spit, we have the same
> blood. I am not happy that he is where he is but
> that is his duty. He joined the Army to protect and
> to defend, not to play games. I mightn't like it but
> I accept it. My reasons for not liking it are
> selfish and self centered. I felt assured that he
> would be safe because he is in a well trained army
> with an excellent record, BUT NOW, I feel a whole
> lot better knowing that he is with your sons,
> daughters, brothers and sisters.
>
> Whilst he was growing up, I was always there to look
> after him, I would not let harm befall him and I
> would always put myself before him to protect him. I
> can't do that now. When it comes to looking after
> him now he and his mates will do the job, but also
> THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.
>
> Gentlemen, I have rambled on for too long. But as I
> finish I say to you, as a foreigner and outsider, a
> nation is only a collection of its people and its
> attitude is the attitude of its people, collectively
> and as individuals. I am really glad you are here on
> this Earth and I respect you as a nation and as
> people.
>
> Stand up and feel proud because you deserve it,
> there is no one else who will do what America does
> without question. The next time someone howls you
> down, take some comfort in the fact that America is
> defending their right to act like an idiot.
>
> Finally, thank you for looking after my son.
>
> Peter Turner