Proud mother shares her daughter’s story

The caring support and love shown by the residents of Cherokee County — and many others throughout the country — to the family of Lance Cpl. Christopher Fowlkes was quite remarkable and a tribute to all men and women who serve in the military.

It’s sad, though, that it takes a tragic death to move us to rally behind those in uniform. Every day men and women from every community in the United States risk their lives to protect our freedoms.

Thousands have suffered life-altering injuries in their service to country. We hear the numbers when we read and watch the news: “Two servicemen were injured today when a roadside bomb...”

Brenda Valentine’s daughter is one of those numbers. Brenda has lived in Gaffney for 17 years and she asked that I share a story she wrote about her daughter, Sgt. Reanita S. Gray.

Sgt. Reanita S. Gray was born Sept. 7, 1970, in Charleston, S.C. She graduated from St. John High School in 1988. She was in the ROTC in high school and joined the Army after she graduated.

SGT. REANITA S. GRAY During her years in the Army, she married Robert Gray and they have five children – Dominick, India, Malik, Nadja and Tiera.

All of them are stationed in Virginia at Ft. Lee, where they have been for some time. She has two sisters, Elisha Nicole Adams and Trulina Brown. Trulina stays on base in Virginia to help care for her nieces and nephews. Sgt. Gray also has a brother, T.J., who is also in the Army stationed in California.

Sgt. Gray has been to Germany, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, etc., fighting for her country for 20 years. On June 23, 2009, while in Iraq, the Jeep in which she and her gunner were riding ran over an IED and the explosion blew off her left leg. This was her fourth tour of duty in Iraq.

Today, she is in Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., where she goes to physical therapy five days a week. Sgt. Gray thanks God for her life. She asked God “to please take my leg, but please don’t take my life” and God granted that. She gives God the glory out of her life because it could have gone the other way around. She’s a very strong young woman and I am very, very proud of her. I thank God for sparing her life every day. Thank you, Jesus, for Sgt. Gray’s life.

Brenda brought this handwritten tribute to her daughter by my office Tuesday morning and provided more details about her daughter and the accident that took her leg and nearly her life.

She shared pictures of Sgt. Gray’s children — her grandchildren. Grandparents sure do love to show off their grandchildren, don’t they?

But as proud as Brenda is of those grands, she swelled with pride when talking about her daughter’s service to this great country of ours.

Not one word of bitterness or blame. Just pride. Pride that only a parent could know.

It is, however, a pride that we can — and should — all share.

Gratitude is another word that comes to mind when I hear stories like this.

Not only am I proud of those who serve, but I am grateful for that service.

If you’d like to thank Sgt. Gray for her service and sacrifice, her mailing address is:

Sgt. Reanita S. Gray c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital 6900 Georgia Ave. NW,

Washington, DC 20001.

Cody Sossamon (cody@gaffneyledger.com) is publisher of The Gaffney Ledger.