Thirteen days may seem like an awful long time to finish a marathon. But it’s pretty impressive for a paraplegic UK veteran who was told he’d never walk again. Not for personal pride of place, but for those who went before – and those still coming back – diminished in body, if not spirit.
Well done.
Update: Currahee!
I feel so very humbled reading of the spirit and fortitude of today’s warriors. I speak as someone who was involved in Vietnam, Grenada, Lebanon and Lybia. I am constantly amazed by their bravery and ability to overcome seemingly unsurmountable odds. Bless each and every one of them. May we as a nation both appreciate their sacrifice and bravery, and prove ourselves worthy of their sacrivices.
Lots of em around…just gotta look….(-*
Great story. I wonder whether those pinhead politicians, and others, who had the gall to imply that Gen. Petraeus was lying about the status of Iraq have seen this.
Great sacrifice and great courage. These stories never get enough coverage compared to the celebrity nonsense that fills the mainstream media.
It takes nothing away from this accomplishment, but Lex’s remark of those who went before stirred a memory. A marathon is a race of 26 miles.
Those who went before were the Roman legions. They marched roughly 25 miles per day (Magna Iterna), roadways and terrain permitting, carrying their own gear and of course with a train behind them laden with the heavy equipment, rations, water, etc…
At the end of those 25 miles the Expeditus, the scouts and such, rode ahead and selected a spot to camp. Caesar’s army in Gaul was eight legions, about 45,000 men, and in the span of perhaps three hours or so the men could construct their camp. An army that size would need about half a square mile, 320 acres or so.
A ditch about 3′ deep and 5′ across was dug around the perimeter, the earth piled to the inside to provide a rampart. Animals picketed, tents raised, fires started, etc…
Ponder that, folks. Get up at dawn, break camp, a 25 mile forced march (heavy and well-trained troops in the middle, the riff-raff to the sides and rear acting as a buffer in case of attack), dig a ditch 3 miles long, pitch your tent etc… before nightfall, stand watches, and do it all over again the next morning.
And doing it in sandals.
Then there was the forced retreat of the French under Napoleon during that brutal Russian winter, the march of the Army of the Potomac during that cruel winter at Valley Forge, the march by the US 3rd Army to relieve the 101st Airborne at Bastogne, the list is endless and goes back beyond the annals of time.
Major Phil Packer is upholding the finest traditions of our military men and women going back thousands of years. He is to be commended, yes, but let’s not forget the personal sacrifice and effort of those who went before that has gone largely unheralded.
– Max
That was the Continental Army at Valley Forge. The Army of The Potomac was one of the Yankee Armies during the War of Northern Aggression.
a/k/a… north of the M/D line …”The War of Southern Hubris”. Best
PS, No matter they were in both instances… The United States Army.
Awed.
I once did a mile on crutches…on a bet…one legged…right foot broken and in a cast. Thought I was gonna die. 2 miles every day for 13 days. Wow…determination.
The point is the cause he chose.
God Bless him and his kind.