Posted on 03/12/2002 5:43:54 PM PST by kinganamort
This has been an emotional week for this nation. Between the 6 month anniversary of 9/11 and our soldiers losing lives in Afghanistan, during operation Anaconda, finding out we may have a live POW held in Iraq, the NYFD documentary on CBS, and even a new color code system for homeland security it has been an eventful time. It really got me thinking of what a soldier really was. I used to think a soldier was a man in green with a gun on his shoulder who ran around looking for the bad guys. Don't get me wrong, I am a Republican and so I have the utmost respect for these brave warriors. As a republican I find that national defense should be a top priority and not only should we ensure our safety with big spending in weapons of security but we should also take care of our men in green and give them an honorable wage as they honorably protect us so we don't have to get our hands dirty by protecting ourselves. I have almost aways thought this way, as most conservatives do. It is not that I think all liberals are unpatriotic, quite the contrary. When we get hit hard like we did six months ago yesterday patriotism is hard to fight off. However, there are many liberals who know why we are fighting this War On Terrorism, and fully support it, and even say a prayer every night for the safety of our men overseas. I just don't know any. Those men in green are soldiers too, but they are not the only ones.
While listening to the Sean Hannity show this afternoon I heard much mention about our soldiers, especially our long forgotten POW. It got me thinking of what the meaning of a soldier really was. The pictures in my head today were not only dressed in green. Along with the men in green were the women in green, and the firefighters running up the stairs in the pictures when all you can do is scream at that picture of a probably dead hero to turn around. I was also picturing the "Lets Roll" crew rushing the cockpit, and many other new pictures in my head that would not if not for 9/11. I no longer think of a soldier as the standard green camoed guntoter, though he is not to be excluded, for he is one who devotes his life every day to protecting us. So I will now think of a soldier as a protector. Someone who offers to sacrifice so we can safely go about our lives.
A soldier is not a profession but an offering. Some may call themselves soldiers but would not fit the definition. Even worse were those who dodged the drafts (such as william clinton) and decided they were too important to actually get involved in a war. However every man who chooses to join the military of his/her own volition is making a sacrifice every day. As I have been in the environment I do know there is always that thing in the back of their mind. They may spend their entire military career in peacetime, which can turn on the drop of a dime, but every morning they wake up knowing they could be somewhere else the next morning making that sacrifice they offered to give. The future is always unknown for certain and when a man/woman puts on those greens, the boots, throws a gun (if necessary) over his/her soldier he may be going to a ruck march today but next week same time he could be in another part of the world fighting a war for us, so we can safely sit at home and watch it on our televisions via a real geographic expertise like geraldo. Anyone who puts in their time protecting the rest of us, even by their presence on our bases, has earned their shakes. These soldiers will not be forgotten.
You only have to take one look at the pictures of our NYFD running up the stairs to know what a sacrifice they made that day 6 months 1 day ago. You can see the knowledge in their eyes. They knew in all probability they would go up but not come down. Some of the firefighters who made it out even stated that they "knew" at a point in time that they would not be going home and they thought of their families. If you watched the 9/11 Firemen documentary on CBS you know an entire firehouse made it out ok. These men actually felt guilty that they were left and so many were taken. Any fireman who went to the World Trade Center on 9/11 and did not run home was a hero. The men who stood back directing traffic away were heroes, as they saved lives of those told to stay away from the towers. In the documentary I was astonished that even after the towers fell, as soon as they could stand back up these brave soldiers started running back to save more lives despite the dust that made it close to impossible to breathe, and unsturdy structures around them. These men knew they would probably give their lives that day. They knew it, and they offered the sacrifice. These soldiers will not be forgotten.
Many have actually had the gall to start and carry on the conspiracies that the plane that went down in Pennsylvania was shot down by US military aircraft. While I wouldn't have doubted the necessity, considering the fate of the other three planes and where the Pennsylvania plane was headed, I think it atrocious that americans spread these rumors at the spite of those left behind. If history has not proven to these folks that not only would the government been supported should they have taken these measures but that secrets like that do not keep, especially in Washington. The "lets roll" crew were soldiers. They rushed their attackers knowing it meant their emminent death but trying to spare the possible victims not doing so would have created. They did not know if these attackers had guns or bombs, as threatened, and they did something that could bring ends to their lives and so became not only heroes, but soldiers in the process. The men and women on the other three planes were als heroic. People like Barbara Olson grabbed for their cell phones only moments before their own deaths to warn us, and give us information not only to catch the organizers of these traumatic events but which helped us prevent future similar events. These soldiers will not be forgotten.
As we learned this week, we may have a living soldier in Iraq being held as a POW. I have heard it on the news (drudge, freerepublic, foxnews) all week. Not until I was listening to an intelligence source on Hannity today did this fully hit home. I guess I never really pondered what being a pow was all about. I had seen movies about POWs but had never really thought about what it must be like for them, especially this one who had been long forgotten as KIA then MIA. It has been a good number of years since this man was free. What it must be like for him to wake every morning in whatever hell hole wondering if his government would ever come for him. The initial anticipation and eventual pessimism must be some kind of hell to live in. It is too bad the previous administration found our soldiers so repulsive or we may have located and recovered more men like this. These soldiers will not be forgotten.
Our men are in Afghanistan now, as they are fighting the same illogical nuts that took our POW so long ago. While these men are fighting for something (unlike the starved unpaid taliban fighters) and thus will have an overall positive outcome (as we Americans have shown in the past) they are in dangers way. We had soldiers shot out of their helicopters this week. Those soldiers are not simply Bush's soldiers (though those men know who is standing behind them and in front of them in many ways) they are all of ours. They are not fighting for a republican agenda (as certain democrats would have you believe) but for the safety of every single individual who lives within our borders. None of those men would be over there offering their lives for a single man or agenda. Those men are fighting for every one of us and for our freedom to live each day like we did before 9/11. In the days following 9/11 I am sure I am not the only one who stared upwards and startled with each loud noise. I am sure I am not the only one who cried. I am sure I am not the only one who was afraid to drive down the street, go to work, stay at home, go out, go to sleep, stay awake etc. I am sure I was not the only one dreaming about planes crashing in my little city. This is how some countries live every day. Our soldiers are deployed around the world right now to keep our country from staying like that. These soldiers will not be forgotten.
While many I know care about our soldiers during war and peace time, I feel to many forget about our protectors in times of peace. I also feel that living soldiers are especially forgotten. A soldier is a soldier. One who dies made that sacrifice, but those left behind are only done so out of luck if you believe in such things. I prefer to think that God has a reason for everything, personally. The difference between a living soldier and a passed soldier is where they were standing when the bomb was dropped/the gun was shot/the knife was used/etc. I understand how those left behind must grieve and often feel guilt, but if they had stepped one to left it would have been them as well, which would not have saved those passed. I cannot say I know a thing about war or what it is like to be a soldier, as the closest I have come to a soldier is loving one. However, when logic comes out a living soldier is just as much a soldier as a dead one. Don't let the left convince you this war is pointless or endless or moot. Don't forget to pray for our soldiers and their families tonight. For while we are sleeping on our cozy beds and tucking our children into bed they are freezing, and fighting, and dying. Let us not forget the the prisoners of war, missing in action, killed in action, or living in action.
He, and the Pilots, were conducting a simple Maintinence Check Flight. I've done thousands.
In the military, enemy action is not the only danger. By its very nature, the business is risky.
Thanks, for your kind thoughts, and support.
Great essay, kinganamort. So many of us are feeling much the same. It's good to see these feelings in print.
Let's all do our best to never let our brave men and women be forgotten. I wear a "Mercy Band" every day which bears the name of Margaret L. Benson, a port authority officer who died at TWC on Sept. 11. She will never be forgotten.
Anyone interested in purchasing a Mercy band, please go to:
This is a great way to remember a hero (if not all of them) that died on 9/11.
Thanks for the ping.
Greg
Both of these ladies are soldiers as you described in your essay. They love this country and are proud to serve it, where ever and when ever called.
Thanks for your tribute to all who serve!
kinganamort, I'm glad I had the chance to read your moving and heartfelt essay. Thanks for sharing it with us.
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