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"Uncommon valor was a common virtue"
- Admiral Chester A. Nimitz, speaking of the Battle of Iwo Jima
I know everyone's preoccupied with RatherGate right now, but many others are covering the story ably. I see no reason to duplicate their efforts. In my usual contrarian fashion, I have a bee in my bonnet about something else. Not too long ago, Jessica Lynch's name and picture were plastered over TV screens and newspapers worldwide. Meanwhile, the faces of some rather remarkable Americans remain virtually unknown - most of the lamestream media show no interest in covering their stories. In fact, I routinely have to go looking for accounts of men who commit acts of uncommon valor on a daily basis.
Some receive medals. Others rest in flag-draped coffins or come home strapped to hospital gurneys. Many quietly return to duty, with little or no notice taken of their actions. Today I hope to remind you of all three kinds of heroes.
The story of Jessica Lynch was well publicized, but the story of the Marines who came upon her unit's position an hour after the ambush, and the hellish battle those Marines endured that day, isn't as well known.
One Marine who was there on that day was recently awarded the Navy Cross. This is unusual: the award is second only to the Congressional Medal of Honor. But this Marine doesn't think of himself as a hero. With typical understatement, he plays down his actions:
"There are heroes in life, but we are not it. We're just Marines," Lehew, company first sergeant, Company C, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), said after recalling the events of a dreadful day over a year ago.
Over at Marine Corps Moms, a young Marine half a world away writes home to his Mother:
Dear Friends and Family,
Growing up in a middle class upbringing as I did, you are in a way shielded from the horrors of life and death in war. Such innocence and ignorance is almost apart of your skin. Yeah, you hear of countries with oppressed people, the unfair justices, and deaths of many in the wars of the past. But you never get to experience or see the effects of it all. Well, today I finally had my first experience.
On September 5th, 2004, at 1630, the ceremony for the deaths of PFC Nicholas M. Skinner and LCPL Alexander S. Arredondo was held. Walking to the formation, feeling the punishing heat and the combination of sand and rocks below my feet, I was not prepared for the display...
In what is perhaps my favorite war movie, General Robert E. Lee counseled Pete Longstreet:
We do not fear our own death, you and I. But there comes a time... we are never quite prepared for so many to die. Oh, we do expect the occasional empty chair, a salute to fallen comrades. But this war goes on and on, and the men die, and the price gets ever higher. We are prepared to lose some of us, but we are never prepared to lose all of us.
The bravery of those who fight, who are wounded, and those who are left behind to wait and hope, is something that never ceases to amaze me. And then there's the third kind of hero: the kind who commit acts of valor every day: undecorated, often unrecognized, never expecting anything but the satisfaction of a job well done. This post is dedicated to our Armed Forces and to my good friend Maureen, and Jarhead Dad, and Deb over at Marine Corps Moms. All three have sons serving in the WOT. Thanks for all you do to support your sons and the military. And thanks to all our military families for giving this country such fine young men and women. Their quality reflects your own.
America owes all three kinds of heroes a debt we can never fully repay. Last Sunday I stood on the Senate lawn with a crowd of veterans who fought in Vietnam. When they returned, we never thanked them for their service. We never really acknowledged the sacrifices they made on our behalf. We stood silent when John Kerry blackened their good names and called them criminals, rapists, and murderers. When he called the cause they were so proud to fight and die for a mistake.
Let's not make the same mistake this time around. Please pray for their safety now and their speedy return home. And if you see them on the street, remember to say, "Thank you." And, "Well done."
Well done.
This entry is cross posted at I Love Jet Noise
