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Dying Rosemount Soldier Publishes Letters of Advice to Sons

Lt. Col. Mark Weber, who was diagnosed with stage IV intestinal cancer, has written a series of letters to his sons. The letters, offering advice about how to go through life, have been published as a book that has earned the praise of Gen. David Petrae

When Lt. Col. Mark M. Weber was diagnosed with stage IV intestinal cancer in the summer of 2010, the Rosemount resident had just been picked by Gen. David Petraeus to serve as military advisor for the Afghan parliament.

The 38-year-old had climbed the military hierarchy in a more than 20-year career, earning decorations such as the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit.

Weber applied his military mindset to his diagnosis, undergoing major surgery to remove most of his liver and devoting his time to the writing of a series of nine letters to his three sons about how to persevere in the face of adversity.

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Weber's letters have recently been published as "Tell My Sons..." In between anecdotes about his life and his time in the military, Weber shares advice he hopes his children will remember when he's gone:

  • To be strong enough to know when you are weak, brave enough to face yourself when you are afraid.
  • To seek out and experience a vigor of the emotions, a freshness of the deep springs of life, an appetite for adventure over love of ease.
  • To be serious, yet never to take yourself too seriously, to cry, but also to laugh.

The book has earned the praise of some of the nation's top military and civilian leaders.

Find out what's happening in Apple Valley-Rosemountwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Petraeus, in a rare post-retirement interview with HLN TV, said Weber's book inspired him.

"He emphasizes in his book the importance of pressing on when life doesn’t go the way you’d want it to go," Petraeus said. "And that’s what he and his family are doing. They’re bearing the heaviest burden imaginable in truly admirable fashion. Mark describes himself as a soldier in transition. He is. And, of course, he is an exceptional one, one among countless other veterans in transitions of all kinds."

Former vice president Walter Mondale called the book "one of the most profound and inspirational stories I have ever read."

"It may be written for Mark's children, but it may as well be a treatise of all of us about honest parenting and leadership with character in love, family, faith and politics."


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