Wednesday - July 25, 2007
I Know the American Fighting Man
I know the American fighting man. He is tough.
He is motivated. He understands why we're fighting. He understands the evil we
confront. He knows we must
win.
The
American fighting man is a winner. No matter the odds, I've seen him mount up
on his vehicle and seek out the enemy time after
time.
The American fighting man isn't
stopped by anything save death. In the military hospitals you can see him,
mangled, burned, mutilated, disemboweled, dismembered, wounded in every way
imagineable. But I've yet to see one
broken.
Talk to him, he is proud.
Watch him, he is unbowed.
The only
person as brave as the American fighting man is his American woman.
I am moved to tears by the women that are
visiting their men in the military hospitals. Their husband, boyfriend, brother
or son is mangled, burned, mutilated, disemboweled, dismembered, or wounded in
any way imagineable but they are there with him. They don't recoil in horror.
They don't sob and cry at the sight of their changed man. They reach down and
pull out the courage to smile and be happy. The man isn't a fool, he knows his
condition is serious, but the smile of the woman in his life in his hospital
room helps him keep his courage. Sometimes he is lucid, sometimes he is drugged
and barely conscious, but he knows his mother, sister, or lover is there and
soothing his mind.
He
is brave, but she makes him braver by supporting him. I've seen this many
times. I see these men and I struggle to find words to say. What should you
say to a man whos face looks like a ghastly skeleton because all his skin, nose
and ears are burned off. I've seen the look of horror in others' faces when
they walk into the room wearing sterile gowns. But their woman always seems to
do or say something just right to make him keep a hold of his courage and the
power he has inside
him.That
he has been hurt is cause for sorrow, for him, for his woman, for us. No matter
the advances of our medicine, he can never be whole again. I see these men and
wonder what will become of them that survive for twenty more years. Will we
remember them and what they endured? Will we shuffle them off to a rest home,
alone but for the company of government caretakers? Will their woman leave them
when the novelty of their condition wears off and they are confronted with the
reality of unending need?Surely some
or all of these men over time will have cause to wonder at their fate. How can
we as a nation tell these men that their agony was all for nothing? How can we
know that we could have done more to make a difference in this world by winning
this war, and yet decide to quit before winning -- knowing that we did not even
try very hard.
We have two generations
of bitter veterans from Korea and Viet Nam. We never made a commitment to
winning those wars and thus lost them. In Korea we were afraid the Chinese
might fight us, even though the Chinese were already fighting us. In Viet Nam
we were worried the Soviets might fight us even though the Soviets were already
fighting us.Now we are worried that
more Islamic nations will fight us, when they are already fighting us. Iran is
fighting us, but we are reluctant to openly fight
Iran.The
American fighting man is brave. His woman is brave. Are the American people
brave enough to do enough to win? Or will we all just avert our eyes in shame
when we meet those that were hurt by the enemy, afraid to admit that we as a
people are too cowardly to be fighters who want to win?
Go Back to the Start, Do Not Collect $200 Send me your two cents
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