SURPRISE, Ariz. -- People often tell Debbie Lee that their lives were never the same after they read the last letter Debbie’s son, Marc, ever wrote.
“I get people that read that letter and say ‘My life has changed because I read that letter,’” Debbie said.
Marc wrote the letter just a few days after July Fourth in 2006. At the time, he was stationed as a Navy Seal in Ramadi, Iraq.
In the letter, Marc talked about the importance of paying it forward, something he said he came to realize after seeing war, death and struggle in Iraq.
“I try to do my part over here,” Marc wrote. “But the truth is, over there (in the) United States, I do nothing but take.”
Marc urged people to do something for others.
“When was the last time you donated clothes that you hadn’t worn out?” Marc asked. “When was the last time you paid for a random stranger’s cup of coffee or a meal?”
He even asked his family, who received the letter, for help.
“Do me a favor: Pass on the kindness, the love, the precious gift of human life to each other,” Marc wrote.
About a month after Marc wrote the letter, he was shot and killed by enemy fire in Iraq. For his actions, Marc was awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star. The military also renamed his base ‘Camp Marc Lee.’
His mother, Debbie Lee, lives in Surprise. She was so moved by Marc’s letter that she decided to start a group called America’s Mighty Warriors after Marc’s death.
The group reaches out to troops and their families and lets them know they are not alone. She also tries to spread Marc’s message about paying it forward.
“For me, that’s one of the things I’ve done since Marc died,” Debbie said. “That’s my way to rise to his challenge.”
Earlier this week, Jesse Fenster, one of Debbie’s neighbors, responded to Marc’s challenge by asking CBS 5 News to pay it forward to Debbie for all the work she has done since Marc passed away.
“She wasn’t looking for recognition. She was humbled. She wanted to spread the word,” Fenster said.
After Jesse gave Debbie the $500 that CBS 5 News had given to him, Debbie read Marc’s letter aloud. He ended the letter with this statement: “P.S. Halfway through the deployment, can’t wait to see all your faces.”
“And when I read (that line),” Debbie said, “I tell people there’s something left for us to do. We’re only halfway through our deployment and we’re still here. So there is something each one of us can be doing.”
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