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Posted by Dave Wright I walked point for nearly ten months with an infantry company and a Recon platoon. Was the only survivor of my squad twice and saw five other point men get killed or wounded. Send your address to my e-mail and I'll send you a copy.
on 9/20/2006, 12:58 pm, in reply to "Re: The real superheroes"
68.185.0.17
I understand and thank you for wanting to serve. I'd like to send you a book if you are interested. It will take you through all the emotions before, during and after the war, including what you've just described.
--Previous Message--
: I'm not trying to join because I want to
: fight; I'm trying to join because I want to
: protect my country and I want to prove to
: myself that I'm a man.
: --Previous Message--
: You're absolutely right about not comdeming
: the soldier for the war.
:
: I felt concern about your egerness to serve
: and what I precieved as a connection with
: patriotism. Many of those who chose not to
: serve were patriots on the other side of the
: issue and they didn't cross the line of
: blaming the soldiers.
:
: Honest dicention, bringing up all sides of
: an issue can be a good thing. As you have
: expressed so well, there can also be the
: ugly side we saw during Vietnam. I guess
: I'm overly sensitive to not painting all
: decentors with the same brush.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I'm not glorifying war in the writing; I'm
: stating that no matter what happens in any
: war, the soldiers who fight in it deserve
: respect.
:
: After our boys came back from Vietnam, they
: were looked upon as humiliating reminders of
: a immoral war. War is hell, and I
: understand that, but blaming soldiers for
: war is like blaming firefighters for fire or
: police officers for crime.
:
: No matter how horrible the war is, nothing
: justifies attacking the soldiers who must
: fight in it, because more than anyone, they
: are the ones who bear the hardest burden in
: it. And until one has experienced that
: burden himself/herself, one has no right to
: judge the soldiers who have experienced that
: burden.
:
: --Previous Message--
: David, I want to send you a book. In it
: you'll see there is no glory in war and for
: some wars, patriotism can appear as just
: blind faith. War is a part of reality, but
: so are good and bad decisions.
:
: You must etablish your own values, but be
: considerate of others who may think
: differently for whatever reason. The same
: information and upbringing is not available
: to everyone, and everyone does not make the
: same choices.
:
: It's OK to disagree with others, but please
: don't become self-righteous. Don't look
: down on others or discount their worth by
: not listening to them.
:
: Here's the paradox. Hating war is almost
: universal, but nearly no one believes it is
: not an option under certain conditions.
: Unilateral peace is not possible.
:
:
: --Previous Message--
: I'm glad I did it right. I wrote this one
: day after getting tired of all the rants
: against our soldiers. I've also written
: other papers like this, mostly as a way to
: vent my feelings on things like the war,
: soldiers, and people who oppose them both.
:
: You guys who have served our great country
: deserve respect no matter what happens in
: the war, because you go through things none
: of us can ever hope to come close too. I
: hope to one day become a soldier myself, so
: that I can truly call myself a patriotic
: American and a supporter of the troops.
:
: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for
: your service and sacrifice.
: --Previous Message--
: You did good! When the bullets cracked over
: our heads, most of us just thought about
: surviving. We took on the responsibility of
: caring for the guys next to us and didn't
: refuse to go into harm's way time after
: time. Our country asked us to go do a job,
: and we did it the best we could within the
: limits imposed.
:
: There is plenty of right and wrong in every
: war. I only hope those who decide it's
: necessary, understand the cost to those who
: have to fight it, and to those who have to
: live with the results.
:
: --Previous Message--
:
:
:
: WHAT IS A TRUE HERO?
:
:
: All through our life, we have let our
: imagination fool us into thinking what a
: real hero is. We called Superman, who could
: lift mountains and shrug off bullets, a
: hero. We called Batman, who was always
: around when someone was in danger, a hero.
: We called the Flash, who could run at the
: speed of light, a hero. BUT THEY AREN’T
: SUPERHEROES!!!!!!! All these “superheroes”
: had some special power, skill, or ability.
: They could shrug off bullets, shoot lasers,
: fly, and take on villains who were ten times
: what they were. You know what that means.
: It means that when they went into battle,
: they didn’t have to worry about getting
: killed. And whenever they won, they always
: came home to a big celebration.
:
: A person with special powers is not the
: definition of a true superhero. Soldiers
: are true heroes because when they go into
: battle, they are as scared as you can get.
: Soldiers are ordinary men and women who have
: families just like everyone else. They too
: have wives and husbands, they too have
: sisters and brothers, they too have mothers
: and fathers, and they too have sons and
: daughters. They know that they can die and
: that they may never see their families
: again. And yet they go and fight to defend
: their country without regard to their own
: lives. And when they are about to die, they
: don’t cringe in fear. They stand up tall
: and proud and face it like a true man. And
: when they win the day, they don’t always
: come home to a big celebration. Most of the
: time, their only reward is the knowledge
: that they fought to protect their country
: and what it stood for. And even though they
: give so much, they still don’t ask for
: anything in return. They don’t ask for
: anything, except to protect and to serve
: their country again and again and again,
: until they are dead. These are the true
: heroes. Men who are willing to die if it
: will help protect their country for one more
: day. Men who are willing to give their
: tomorrow for our today. Men who are willing
: to give up their freedom so that we can keep
: ours.
:
: Soldiers are the true superheroes of the
: world. And believe it or not, there are
: some people out there that don’t realize
: what soldiers go through in war. They think
: that the only thing a soldier does is go
: over to some foreign country and start
: killing anything that moves. These people
: are nothing but a bunch of cowardly,
: ungrateful traitors. They don’t deserve the
: protection that the very people that they
: are insulting give them. And the soldiers
: that protect them know about these people,
: and yet they are still willing to lay down
: their lives for their safety.
:
: So the next time you want to protest against
: a war because you think it’s wrong, or
: insult America by burning the Stars and
: Stripes, or spit on and jeer soldiers
: because they fought in a war, the next time
: you want to do any of those acts of treason,
: take the time to stop and think. Think
: about all the men who have died so you could
: have the right to voice your opinion. Think
: about what the world would be like for
: America if none of the major wars in history
: had occurred. But most of all think about
: the soldiers themselves. Think about the
: horrors they have to go through everyday.
: Think about the pain they feel when they or
: one of their comrades is dying. Think about
: what their families must feel when they
: receive a letter that says their son,
: daughter, brother, sister, mother, or father
: is dead. And think about how you would feel
: if you were in their place and someone came
: and hated you because you choked on mud and
: blood so that they could hate you. You
: think about all that the next time you want
: to insult America’s Finest, because one day
: you might be called upon to do the same
: thing that they are doing. There is no law
: that says these brave men have to sacrifice
: their lives for ungrateful people. These
: men don’t have to do these brave deeds.
: They don’t have to do them at all, but
: instead they have decided that their lives
: are second place to the protection and well
: being of their country. And for this, they
: are the ones who deserve the title
: SUPERHEROES!
:
: Did I do good?
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