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DEL.ICIO.USLotion soothes body, mind
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeremy Redmon/AJC
Don't tease Spc. James Braun about his "Moonlight Path" body cream. He isn't listening. He is thinking about his wife back home in Columbus.
Camp Rustamiyah, Baghdad — Sometimes a guy could use a little “Moonlight Path” body lotion in Iraq.
Its “romantic” and “heady scents of a garden at midnight” can take a soldier’s mind off the war. And the cream’s “naturally pampering” ingredients can soothe hands worn and cracked by heavy machine guns.
Spc. James Braun, 20, of Columbus, said he isn’t bothered by the teasing he gets from other soldiers about his little purple bottle of lotion.
“I think they are jealous. I really don’t pay attention to them,” said Braun, of the Ft. Benning-based 988th Military Police Company, which is training Iraqi police.
He said his wife, Jessica, gave it to him as a parting gift as they rode to the airport on his way to Iraq.
“She said, ‘Don’t let anyone harass you about this.
This is what I use all the time,’” he recalled.
Braun wears gloves that make his skin raw while he grips a .50-caliber machine gun on a Humvee. He keeps the bottle of lotion rolled up in his cap by his feet.
“It reminds me of the way she smells. Every time I look at the bottle, it reminds me of my wife,” he said.
The couple has been married for two years. They have a 13-month-old daughter named Avril.
Braun’s unit has been in Iraq for about a month. A quarter of his magic cream is already gone.
Comments
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By Michelle Belcher
February 21, 2006 10:00 AM | Link to this
What a precious story! It’s amazing what these soldiers will do for a little piece of home. When my husband left for Iraq last May, I put his cologne on the bathroom counter and it has been there ever since. I never liked this particular cologne and always kidded him about that, but it brings to me the strongest presence of him. It will be there until he returns home. Thanks, Spc. Braun, for sharing this story with us.
By Susie
February 21, 2006 01:19 PM | Link to this
Aww…that’s one of my favorite scents too…what a sweet story, and I hope his wife is reading this!
By Jenni G.
February 21, 2006 04:48 PM | Link to this
It is amazing how important smells are to these guys!!! I sent my boyfriend a stuffed panda bear for Christmas…I covered it in my perfume. He keeps it in a bag and says that he can still smell the scent. I love you LTCJ!
Waiting for you, Jen
By "Momma Kat" Orr
February 21, 2006 08:39 PM | Link to this
How sweet… you know, they say that “scent” is the sense tied most strongly to memory - so there is somethin to that… this is so sweet… awww….
By Missing my Soldier
February 22, 2006 01:16 AM | Link to this
I think this is very precious. My husband took some of my lotin with hin as well. I know it may sound crazy, but I too have kept my husbands deodorant close by. This helps me alot during his absence. Just the smell of him make things a little better.Keep the love alive Spc. Braun.
By Colleen
February 22, 2006 11:13 PM | Link to this
I sent my husband off with my favorite lotion too! Our 7yr old son sleeps in his father’s t-shirts every night. It makes him feel closer to his daddy. He also puts his cologne on every morning.
It won’t be too much longer until they are home again! Woo Hoo!
By Kim Thompson
February 24, 2006 10:28 AM | Link to this
Wow! I could just cry right about now! You are so right!It is so true what a little smell from home can do to lift a soilders spirits! Alot of times what we don’t realize is that it’s the little things that matter and make the difference. My husband Spc. Shawn Thompson is also serving with the 48th at Liberty! I can’t wait till he comes home and can smell his shower gel and after shave! Well hang in there ladies, it won’t be long now! We have about 11 weeks to go!