Cpl. James Lee Moore

(reprinted from NewsReview.info, February 3, 2005)

Always faithful

Final letters from Roseburg Marine, killed in recent military helicopter crash, reach his family

JOHN SOWELL, jsowell@newsreview.info
February 3, 2005

Well, it was great to get your 2 1/2 mo. old letter. You took the phrase "better late than never" to the extreme. I was going to write you a letter about stuff we did 2 1/2 months ago, but I didn't think you would find it funny.

Melissa Andrews laughed when she read the opening to the letter she received Monday from her brother, James. The letter, mailed from Iraq, was postmarked Jan. 20, one week before Marine Cpl. James Lee Moore was killed in a helicopter crash while on a mission to set up security for the Iraqi elections.

His memorial services were set for the Douglas County Fairgrounds at 1 p.m. today.

Moore chided her sister because the last time she wrote him, she spent 10 weeks working on her letter, adding comments here and there, before finally mailing it off. He kidded Andrews, but he was also grateful she wrote.

Thanks for the x-mas pictures, though they were a little more recent. I can't believe you all went to a tree farm to get a tree. That will stop when I get out. This x-mas we're all going up into the snow like we use to when we were young.

Moore, who had been in Iraq since July, wrote to his sister, whom he called "Melis," at least once a week.

"Sonny," the childhood name Andrews, 28, had tagged her brother with, was also faithful in writing to other relatives, sending individual letters rather than group ones meant to be read by several people.

Ryan Braun received a letter from Moore, his cousin, on Friday, two days after the family learned their loved one was among the 30 Marines and a sailor killed in the helicopter crash in Al Anbar province in western Iraq.

Braun received regular dispatches from Moore, who addressed the letters to "R&R," the initials of Braun and his wife, Robin. Moore joked that writing to the couple was like R&R: military lingo for rest and relaxation.

Despite his presence in Iraq, Moore was more concerned about his family's welfare than his own, Braun said. He didn't want them to worry, telling Braun, "I'm doing just fine."

"He's in the middle of Iraq, but he's just fine," Braun said.

They want to send us to another city to provide security for the elections. It seems they just keep adding to what we have to do before we leave. I just want to leave this hell whole. Things are pretty calm around here, though. I have heard we'll be on our way home in a couple of weeks, but they've said that before, many times before.

Whenever a letter arrived, a phone tree was established to share Moore's words with as many people as possible. That way, Andrews said, it was like each member of the family had heard from him.

I'm so out of shape. We haven't worked out or PT'd (physical training) in months. Running for the first time will be a real treat. Smoking doesn't help any. I need to quit soon.

2 classes at Cobb Street (School in Roseburg) have sent me letters and pictures, which is really nice. I wrote them thank you letters.

I'm so tired of standing post. It's so boring but you have to keep on the lookout at all times just in case something happens.

The letters, written on small notebook pages, comforted Moore's family greatly. Whenever a letter arrived, they knew he was OK and that he was thinking of them.

I have some plans of what I'm going to do. I need to talk to Ryan about it. To see if he wants to go in with me. I might as well.

An avid hunter and fisherman, Moore dreamed of becoming a fishing and hunting guide when he returned to the United States. He might go to Alaska or Montana, where he'd spent time as a youngster, or back home in Oregon. He loved the outdoors and wanted his life to revolve around that.

In his letters, Moore always expressed his love for his family. He also adored his nieces and made special reference to them, Andrews' daughters Malia, 5, and Maia, 9 1/2 months. He always signed off the same, with "Semper Fi", the shortened version of Semper Fidelis, the Marine slogan -- always faithful.

I'm going to go to bed. I'm really tired lately. I love & miss you very much. Give my girls a hug and kiss them for me. Tell the family I said I love & miss them. Love, Sonny. USMC Semper Fi.