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« Our Glorious Media | Main | Warfare Changes Gears » November 14, 2006HeroesSince the Iraq War began, I have been thanked by random strangers at least a half-dozen times simply because I was in uniform. Four times I have gone to lunch and discovered when the check came that someone else covered my bill. These have been profoundly uncomfortable moments for me; my two trips overseas in the military were a one year tour in Korea and four months at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1995. While I do think my service has some value, it certainly pales next to the service performed by those who have been separated from their homes and loved ones for a year at a time or more, particularly for those who have gone to Iraq or Afghanistan more than once. Phil Carter, like me an RC officer, put up an excellent opinion piece in last Saturday's LA Times addressing this dichotomy. In the nation's rush to embrace those who volunteer for military service, we have undermined the very concept of heroes. Signing up for the military doesn't make you a hero. I think Kipling got it right with his wonderful poem, Tommy: "We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too, But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you". Are there heroes in uniform? No doubt; McQ at QandO has been doing a marvelous job of recounting some of their exploits via Project Hero. Those are the ones who really deserve the accolades and the free meals and the thanks from people on the street. Posted at November 14, 2006 06:51 AM
Comment policyI apologize for only allowing authenticated commenters, but comment spam overwhelms the site if I don't use those measures to prevent it. I reserve the right to delete any comment, although generally comments will only be deleted due to use of profanity or personal attacks on people. I have no objection to vigorous argument, but when name-calling begins, I'm putting a stop to it. In the immortal words of Eugene Levy, "People, people, let's stop this before somebody says something untrue!" If you want to call people names, I recommend you get your own blog. Trackback PingsTrackBack URL for this entry: CommentsThat's interesting, a surprising perspective from someone in the military. I am someone with no military experience. And this is not to take away from those who perform truly heroic actions in battle, but to me, personally, serving in any capacity in the armed services is a heroic action. For myself, I enjoy all the freedom and security I have here in America, and I feel like I have done nothing to deserve it, I feel like it is a result of people in uniform. And yes, some people do minor duty and never put themselves at risk, but it seems that by even signing up, putting one's life in risk is a real possibility. I could be wrong, as I don't know how it works too well in the military, but it seems sort of luck of the draw based on timing and deployments whether someone has gone to Iraq or an apartment in the states. It seems that, too some extent, people put their lives at risk. I'm not saying I necessarily disagree with you, and sure, there are different levels of heroism. I don't want to take away anything from those who have truly served and put their life on the line, but even those who sign up are worthy of thanks. I'll keep your comments in mind though, and I don't want to make any soldier feel awkward. Posted by: Chance I only got to the point where I can comp dinners and drinks, and say thanks, because of the fine folks on the wall. I can't do it for all of them, so I do it for the ones I can. None of you should ever feel anything untoward about the practice, since I do it for me. Posted by: Scott Chaffin Post a commentThanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out) (If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.) |
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