Honor, Above All

HONOR, ABOVE ALL

Sacrifice only acceptable when cause is a just one
Originally printed Sunday, August 3, 2003
in the Times Record News, Wichita Falls, Texas

I was a 17 year old senior. I knew that I wanted to serve my nation and, taking the lead of my brother-in-law, whom I idolized, knew that the Army was the best.

I visited the recruiter, knowing that I wanted to be a Ranger, just like him. But my ASVAB had different plans for me. I was bound for military intelligence in the field of linguistics. And had a condition that precluded my enlistment not been discovered, that is exactly what I would have done. My service would have to be directed down another, equally important avenue.

Last Monday, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I suppose most of us do a little soul searching around that certain day of the year. So I was particularly struck when, for research purposes, I learned that the average age of the fallen soldiers in Iraq came to 26.915 years of age.

I couldn't help but think, "there but for the grace of God...". These brave men and women are in a position where they are not allowed to question orders. They are unable to hold their commander-in-chief to any account. Their sacrifice ensures that I must. This is my duty. This is my service. And I do so, in honor of them.

Two-hundred-and--fifty is a number that some believe to be an acceptable sacrifice. But therein lies the problem. It is a number. It isn't 20-year-old Spec. Christian C. Shultz from Colleyville, Texas who died on July 11. Nor is it 21-year-old Petty Officer, 3rd Class, Doyle W. Bollinger Jr. of Poteau, Okla., who died on June 6 when an unexploded piece of ordinance went off in the area he was working. It isn't Pfc. Lori Piestewa of Tuba City, Ariz., who was one of 10 who lost their lives when they were ambushed while repairing stalled vehicles that had become seperated from their supply convoy. It isn't 51-year-old 1st Sgt. Christopher D. Coffin of Bethlehem, Pa., who died when his vehicle crashed into a ditch to avoid striking a civilian vehicle.

It is a number. It is cold. And it can never accurately humanize this conflict. It is an insult to the lives and deaths of these brave men and women to say that their sacrifices, and sacrifices yet to come, are acceptable.

And that leads me to the topic of sacrifice. Sacrifice is only acceptable when the cause is just and we are defending against pure evil. You will know when we are against that evil because the sacrifice will extend back home, to all citizens of America. Our biggest sacrifice, to date, asked by this administration? Go out to dinner; see a movie; spend lots of money on this tax-free holiday weekend. Um, you mean all I have to do is buy this pair of Nikes I've been wanting and I'm helping us to win the war?

Think again.

True sacrifices were made in this country during World War II, and that was against pure evil. That was against real threats to our homeland. Before "Operation: Stir Up The Beehive Of Muslim Fundamentalism," the only verified threat to our homeland was Osama bin Laden, a man whose al-Qaida network breached our vulnerability and brought us headlong into this brave new world. The administration can't find and end this man or his network. And the only place you'll find him, lately, is on the inside back cover of the Sunday Times-Record News Op-Ed section.

You had better be certain that the cause is just when you ask our brave men and women to sacrifice the promise of youth. They are unable to hold their commander-in-chief to any account. Their sacrifice ensures that I must. This is my duty. This is my service. And I do so, in honor of them.