Mom's favorite picture of Glenn Onward by Faith... Just when I thought motherhood couldn't get any harder, my only son, Glenn, decided he would join the Marines. There were no conversations, only one quick decision that began my journey to Iraq and Back... There’s a process those joining the Military go through, and there’s a process that mothers go though when their children join the Military. When my son left for boot camp I got on a web site called Marine Moms Online and realized how much fear and anxiety there was in those who were missing the one’s they loved. (I too was one.) As the war marched on I began to write stories for the Marine families and before I knew it, I was getting requests for more. Others wanted and needed to hear something humorous and light-hearted, so I grabbed a cup of coffee, a handful of cookies and began to write. I decided it was time to tell all when I wrote a story about a pig named Daisy, and that was the beginning of: Onward by Faith... These stories were written during the time when Glenn was an active Marine, and while most of the stories were a little embellished, there is much truth in what I wrote. Many world events unfolded and looking back now, I’m glad I was able to capture those moments as they transpired. As I wrote of my journey to the families of Marines, I would sign off “Onward!” Many wrote asking me what that meant. Now, for the rest of the story… During my journey to become a writer I was blessed to have a writing instructor, and mentor named Norm Rohrer. He signed everything “Onward!” I could have never become the writer I am today had it not been for him, so I want to continue “Onward!” as he does. We both live daily for the Lord, and I have learned first hand that the only thing to do, when I don’t know what to do, is to move “Onward by Faith.” Gina Gippner A Note From Norm... “Onward” is an adverb without a modifier, a one-word command that wins battles, galvanizes entire platoons, inspires people to achieve great exploits beyond what they ever imagined and leaves no room for failure. It kept Columbus sailing westward when he didn’t know where he was going and where he was when he got there. It took Christian missionaries to every part of the globe. It was the solemn watchword of William Booth who founded The Salvation Army. Onward! became the battle cry of Marines who drove the enemy from Japan, Korea, the Islands of the Pacific and Europe and won the Second World War. It was the shout beneath the flag as it was raised on Iwo Jima, and the unuttered prayer of Ronald Reagan when he shook hands with Mikhail Gorbachev at Reykyavik, Iceland and ended the cold war. And it’s the cry today of every devoted father, mother, inventor, missionary, doctor, nurse, teacher and writer with love for their children. Gina Gippner hoisted this word onto her book as the only fitting tribute to the broad swords and bayonets of God’s Word in tribute to her son serving with the Marines in the Middle East. It fittingly describes the Providence that took her son to war, that kept her and her family safe at home, and then reunited them at last. The diary of a loving mother misses nothing. It records the easy and the difficult, the joys and the disappointments, the sunshine and shadows of life on the road to Life City. Onward! God knows no other direction. You will, too, when you finish this mother’s diary. -Norman B. Rohrer, Founder, Christian Writers Guild Gina Gippner's "Onward By Faith " is a heartfelt, spiritually, uplifting tribute to the men and woman who serve in our nation military, and affirmation of a mother's love for her son. -William Matson Law, Author of In the Eye of History A must read for any parent who has had a son or daughter sent into harm's way. Gina Gippner captures the emotions I've felt during my own son's deployments with the U.S. Army. Allow yourself to laugh and cry as this Marine Mom discovers the catharsis of writing along with the fear of having a son go to war. -Michael J. Cain, Author of The Tangled Web and proud father of an American Soldier MY COMMENTS ON ONWARD by FAITH (A Mother’s Journey to Iraq and Back) I am indebted to Gina Gippner. I retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1990 after serving 35 years of active duty. Since then, I have tried to stay abreast with all the dynamic changes that are constantly taking place in the Leatherneck Corps. Yet, it was not until Gina kindly forwarded to me a copy of the “pre-publication galley” of her book “Onward by Faith” that I first became aware of the existence of a group known as Marine Moms Online. I am told this electronic network, which grew from a handful, now extends to thousands of mothers from every state in the union whose son’s are presently serving, or who has recently served in our beloved Corps. How it is that I missed this remarkably uplifting and inspiring story of proud Marine moms who are daily reaching out to comfort one another is beyond me. Clearly, this is a story that all Americans who have had a family member march off to war can identify with and rally behind. Thus it needs to be told to a very wide audience. I am confident that Gina Gippner’s wonderful and often times very amusing accounts in “Onward by Faith” will help do that. Since the time of our own civil war, every conflict has introduced some new innovative technique, medicine, or piece of equipment that has improved the effectiveness and well being of the front-line troops on the battlefield. Often times, it has been something that has given our troops an advantage, or an edge over their adversaries. In the lexicon of the military, these have come to be known as “force multipliers.” Before future historians try and define what force multipliers many U.S. Marines may have carried in their kits during the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns of the 21st century, they would be well advised to remember the extraordinary support rendered by a very simple grass roots confederation known as Marine Moms Online. To paraphrase Admiral Chester Nimitz following the battle for Iwo Jima, I would characterize this group with: Their uncommon dedication was their common devotion. -O.K. Steele Major General, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret) July 29, 2007