The
American fighting soldier
When he has given all he has and his body is shattered
and
broken he gives even more. What makes them heroes is
when
they sacrifice self for the betterment of others and die
to save a
comrade. That is a hero. He never intends to be one, he
is
chosen. It is a calling of the moment.
It is a circumstance. I wanted to see the calling or
that
circumstance of chances so I took a trip to Walter Reed
hospital and was humbled and astounded at the same time.
That is when I learned the definition of hero. Moreover,
many heroes were lying in bed with no legs and arms and
some even blind and still wanting to fight. They wanted
to fight
for you and I, not because of wanting to be a hero but
because
of the circumstance of being chosen to be a hero and the
pride
that comes with it.
They fought out of honor; duty to
the home of the brave; they
fight for our life, liberty and happiness. so our
children can laugh
and play so we can even have it our way. That is a hero
by any definition. Heroics are just part of the
description; some are son
and daughter of some us tonight. Then you should know
they are
my hero, because like many of us they have made and
shown
their defining accomplishment to society that needs no
definition
they have given in some cases the ultimate that needs
no explanation
My hero has come home with the flag draped over his/ her
coffin my hero has come home with no leg or arm my hero
cannot sleep for wanting to give his service to his
country. My
hero is a son or daughter who will never be the same. My
hero
died for his comrades at arms my hero is a combat
soldier.
We learn words like HOOAH, HOORAH, and they mean
enlightenment.
My heroes gives me enlightenment by the sacrifices the
make.
So tonight I have taught you the definition of hero. And
you
never know that definition may be beside you as you
listen to me.
And salute my hero and say thanks for what you have
given me because I am free and proud to be and American.
In spite of adversity and limited opportunities,
African Americans
have played a significant role in U.S. military
history over the past
300 years. They were denied military leadership
roles and skilled training because many believed
they lacked qualifications for combat duty.
Before 1940, African Americans were barred from
flying for the U.S. military. Civil rights
organizations and the black press exerted
pressure that resulted in the formation of an
all African-American pursuit squadron based in
Tuskegee, Alabama, in 1941. They became known as
the Tuskegee Airmen. |
"HEROISM
WORKS IN CONTRADICTION TO THE
VOICE OF MANKIND AND IN CONTRADICTION, FOR
A TIME, TO THE VOICE OF THE GREAT AND GOOD. HEROISM IS
AN OBEDIENCE TO A SECRET IMPULSE
OF AN INDIVIDUAL'S CHARACTER. NOW TO NO OTHER MAN CAN
ITS WISDOM APPEAR AS IT DOES TO HIM,
FOR EVERY MAN MST BE SUPPOSED TO SEE A LITTLE FARTHER ON
HIS OWN PROPER PATH THAN ANY
ONE ELSE. THEREFORE JUST AND WISE MEN
TAKE UMBRAGE AT HIS ACTS."
"RALPH WALDO EMERSON"
______________________________________________________
http://www.ideasinactiontv.com/tcs_daily/2006/05/go-and-find-a-soldiers-grave.html
Go and Find a Soldier's Grave
By Ralph
Kinney Bennett
Go find a soldiers' grave
It shouldn't be to hard. If you're not near a military
cemetery, just about any cemetery will do.
Look for the little American flags fluttering by the
stones or the little bronze markers placed by the
veterans' organizations.
Or walk the rows and look for those stones that impart
terse histories of short lives - "Killed In Actions on
the Island of Iwo Jima," or KIA Republic of Viet Nam,"
or "Iraq 2003."
I know, I
know. You do plan to watch that short parade, and the
ceremony at the flagpole. But then relatives are going
to be over the that big cook out. There's baseball and
auto racing on TV, not to mention the "Memorial Day
Mattress Event" or the "Memorial Day SUV Salesathon."
Look, just take an hour away from all that. An hour.
Go out early in the morning if you have to.
Go and find a soldier's grave.
Put some flowers there. Or just pause and say a
prayer. Nothing elaborate. "Thanks" will do.
Or just stop and think about what it means; what it
really means to give your life, in its prime, for your
country. Look at that name there on the stone. Think
what might have been... and what was.
Some of these men and women were in uniform by choice.
some because they had no choice. Some were heroes.
Some were not.
But they were there where all hell was breaking loose.
They probably had no idea they were giving "the last
full measure of devotion." They just had some instant,
desperate job to do. In a cockpit or a turret or a hole
in the ground.
Did they grasp the "policy implications" of their
presence on the on the high seas, in the air or on some
foreign soil? Did they have time for a curse or a
prayer when they saw the muzzle flash or heard that
rushing sound, or when the bomb sent the Humvee into the
air?
Go and find a soldier's grave.
You can have the hamburger and beer later, and maybe
relax in the hammock and not give a though to that one
whose life span is not an incised line in stone -- that
one who represented you, like no Congressmen could.
Go and find a soldier's grave.
Remember what duty costs.
Then just bow your head and, as Gen. George S. Patton
said, do not mourn that such men died, but thank God
that such men lived.
Ralph Bennett is a TCS Contributing Editor.
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