Noll

1st Lt. Katherine Noll, 23, of the 124th Signal Battalion is attached to the 4th Mechanized Infantry in the Middle East. She is a 1997 graduate of Mother of Mercy High School, Westwood. Noll is the daughter of Debbie and Tom Mayes of Green Township; and Greg and Suzy Noll of Blue Ash.

"She sounds fabulous," her father said after a telephone call from his daughter on Sunday.

"She's getting three meals a day. She's sunburned. She's sleeping on a good cot. ... She's safe," says Greg Noll. "It's 110 degrees. She's working 24/7 with blisters on her feet," he reports.

In a letter to her after receiving word she would be deployed, he wrote:

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"Katie, I know you are calm. You have been well trained, you have experience, you are serving with one of the best divisions that the Army has. You have always had this inner serenity within you that I have seen since you were a little girl. A self-assuredness that you can overcome everything. As a soldier and a platoon leader, I know that your soldiers are in good hands, for you have always led by example. Good for you.

"Katie, you know I would take your place in a second if I could, but I know you are the person for the job.

"And for some fatherly advice, remember the following: Keep your eyes sharp, keep your ears strained, keep your powder dry, never take off the vest, and shoot anything that walks if you feel an inner sense that something is not right. Your intuition has always been perfect.

"I love you and I will see you soon, my darling daughter."