Hero. It’s such an evocative word. Our literature, movies, and pop culture references are littered with heroes, but most people have never seen one. Not in real life anyway. We can all conjure up images of the comic book character with super human strength, who wears a special spandex outfit, sporting a cape that billows in the wind. Or maybe we think of sports figures making multi-million dollar salaries. But most of us know that these aren’t real heroes. While they may perform amazing feats of athleticism or entertain us in the comic books or movies, nothing that these men or women do is of any real consequence to us.
Heroes do exist in real life though. You may think that have never met one, but there’s a decent chance that you have.
I am lucky enough to say though that I know what a hero looks like. I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of them. Having served for over 12 years in the Army, I found that I was surrounded by heroes on a daily basis.
I can understand if you wouldn’t know it if you did though. Most heroes defy our pre-conceived notions and expectations. They don’t jump over tall buildings in a single bound. They don’t wear super capes and flashy boots. They don’t have superhuman strength. Most of them aren’t even rich.
They come from all over America. They grew up in New England townships, or small Texas border towns. They come from big cities, suburban neighborhoods, and backwoods towns.
Some of them you will see at the mall trying to pick up girls. Some of them you will see at the local playground, watching their kids swing on the swings or slide down the slides.
They are young single kids like Brandon Titus. They are seasoned veterans like Sergeant Wayne Cornell or Staff Sergeant Jason Butkus. They come from all different races and ethnicities like Stephen “Jamaica” Richardson, or Oscar Sauceda.
Despite all the diversity, they share one thing in common. They are all proud Americans who were willing to lay down their lives for an ideal. They all volunteer to put themselves into harm’s way to defend something bigger than them. They defend their country, their families, and their brothers and sisters in arms from people who are willing to kill for the sake of suppressing others. They fought for freedom, to liberate others from tyranny, and to protect others from bad men. They are willing to pick up arms rather than stand by and let evil happen.
They come from a long, proud history. They stand in the ranks of proud minutemen who fought better armed and better trained soldiers to win independence for their country. They stand in the ranks of blue-clad militiamen fighting to rid a continent of slavery. They stand in the ranks of young men drafted into service to fight in the trenches and fields of Europe to stop the spread of a totalitarian nightmare. They stand in the ranks of professional soldiers who climbed the mountains of Korea, or waded through the rice paddies of Vietnam. They stand in the ranks of those who fought to throw a dictator out of Kuwait, or ensure starving children received U.N. food deliveries in Somalia. They stand in the ranks of men who searched the caves of Afghanistan for murderers who would use terror to spread their ideas.
I am proud to say that I knew such men. Today, I pray that each and every American would take time to remember these sons, brothers, and fathers for the sacrifices that they have made to make the world a better place. The world is not worthy of them, but it should be.
To Those Who Have Given The Last Full Measure Of Their Devotion, I Salute You.
Sergeant John Klinesmith
Sergeant Glenn Alison
Specialist Brandon Titus
Specialist Henry Risner
Sergeant Andrew Brown
Private First Class David Watters
Specialist Brian Baker
Specialist Dwayne McFarland
Sergeant Brent Swank
Sergeant Lindsay James
Sergeant Wayne Cornell
Specialist Stephen Richardson
Specialist Daniel Fuentes
Specialist Jason Morales
Private Oscar Sauceda
Specialist David Wilkey
Specialist James Adair
Specialist Camy Florexil
Specialist Daniel Leckel
Staff Sergeant Jason Butkus
“The cost of liberty is less than the cost of repression.” -- W.E.B. Dubois
No comments:
Post a Comment