There have been at least five separate occasions in Iraq where soldiers, Marines – even a Navy sailor – have literally “jumped on the grenade” for their comrades, making the ultimate sacrifice. Some of us have been instructed that “there is no greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends.”
The gift of life, a second chance.
It can also be a burden. The survivors can feel guilty – even resentful.
Heroic acts mark every war; among the most remarkable involve self-sacrifice. “What a decision that is,” says Frank Farley, a Temple University psychologist who studies bravery. “I can’t think of anything more profound in human nature.”
Survivors, while deeply grateful for their lives, find the aftermath complicated. According to interviews with a dozen surviving soldiers, sailors and Marines, there remains an overpowering sense of guilt and an unspoken feeling that they need to be worthy of the sacrifice.
Some day this will be over, one way or another. If we muddle through to something recognizable as a victory, it will not happen all at once, but over time. The turning point will only be recognizable in retrospect. Exhausted from our disputations we will be tempted first to argue over the cost, and then to heave a sigh of relief and move on to something else – single payer health care, maybe, or carbon offsets. When it has come to such a pass that anti-war protesters can in their passion stoop to defacing our sacred monuments, there may be no spirit left for triumphant parades and ticker tape. Those we sent forth in increasing numbers will return in increasing numbers until finally few are left and we will only rarely think on them.
If we withdraw in humiliation and disgrace, we will all be tempted to cast blame among ourselves. Blame for the bloodbath that will surely follow, blame for the loss of prestige and influence, for what may in time be recognized as the beginning of a long decline. Blame too for all those we sent forth to risk their lives for us whose dedication to the cause we could not ultimately match.
In either case we will see the holes in the line where strong young men and women once stood, see the wounded emerge from their hospitals with lifetime burdens, see the grieving families. And we who sent them forth will feel a burden of our own. We will know that all of them gave some and that some of them gave all and that not all wounds are visible. We will feel a kind of guilt of our own. We may even be tempted to resent them.
We must not.
We must instead remember them, tell their names, tell the stories of those who loved so much that they gave their own lives. There will be many, of course, too many to list. But we can start with these:
Jason Dunham
Michael Mansoor
Ross McGinnis
Rafael Peralta
James Witkowski
John 15:13
Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith, United States Army
Thank God for these men – as to the guilt, it shouldn’t be a bad thing – one can’t be sensible of guilt unless one first loves. That’s how the “defacers” get away with trumpeting that which should be shameful.
Major Douglas A. LaBouff.
7 Jan 06
RIP my friend.
You will not be forgotten by me.
This is a level of courage that defies definition, description or anything else. I would hope that, with time, the survivors would come to celebrate their “survival day” as a tribute to the sacrifice of the one who saved them. Mourn him, yes. But celebrate the life he gave at the same time.
The life he gave, for us. Sounds rather Christ-like doesn’t it. And I don’t have a problem with that, I don’t see that comparison as blasphemous at all. Seems appropriate -these men gave their lives to save the souls of their friends, their countryment – and the souls of millions of people they’ll never know.
Wow.
The answer is simple, but demanding:
Lead worthy lives of purpose , the best way we can
No one of us can do more. None of us should wish to do less.
The lost souls who wish us to do, and be, less than what we ought to be, as individuals and as a Nation –they are the real enemy.
amen
That is a very profound and beautiful post, Lex. I had never really stopped to think about the emotions of the men who were saved by their brave comrades. Thank you for that perspective.
To Lt. Ron Winchester, USMC. First USNA grad to be killed (by an IED) and in my heart always.
May your family find peace in my tribute. I will never forget you.
SSG Eric Vick, USA. KIA 1 April 2007.
He was a couple years behind me in a high school. I remember thinking back then that he had a lot of growing up to do.
I guess he did it.
the emotions of the men who were saved by their brave comrades.
Their comrades at their side aren’t the only ones who are saved by their actions…
Web Reconnaissance for 09/21/2007…
A short recon of whats out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day…so check back often….
See a video about SPC McGinnis HERE.
Were do we get such men?
The History Channel made a good program about Rafael Peralta. I watched it for the second time this past Wednesday 0600-0700. I suggest all watch it if it is re-aired.