One thing about getting to be my age – You start seeing the children of friends, family, and acquaintances reaching the age of eligibility for military service.Listed below are the names of four young men entering the Marine Corps and one entering the Navy. All of them are fine young men of high ideals, abilities, and prospects without a hint of sadistic motive within them, who have decided for one reason or another to enter military service at this difficult time in our history. A couple of them I’ve known since they were little children; one of them before he was even born. It feels like yesterday. I have three sons of my own, the oldest being 10, and this is very sobering for me…
I can tell you that they all come from wonderful, faith-filled families. You couldn’t even say that there was anything in particular in their upbringing that would point them in this direction. In a couple of cases, I would have even guessed the opposite.
Whether a reader here is opposed to the war or supportive of it, whether one is a pacifist or a pragmatist, I hope you will join me in praying for their safe return home, their ability to stay true to their ideals and consciences, and for their loving families as they endure their absence.
Pfc. Frederick K...., Jr.- Will be deployed to Anbar Province, Iraq on February 5, 2007
Pfc. Conor S... – Awaiting deployment to Iraq
2nd Lieutentant Michael G.... - Graduate, NROTC Virginia Tech – Awaiting deployment to Iraq.
Lawrence S...., Jr – Sophomore, NROTC University of Notre Dame
Ensign Thomas H.... – Graduate, NROTC M.I.T. – Deployed to Persian Gulf on January 21, 2007
Semper Fidelis and Godspeed...
7 comments:
It is possible to make a distinction between war itself and those who serve, I think. I'm against war, but my grandfather was career military and my friend Fr. Quinn was a marine in vietnam before he became a Jesuit, and a chaplain in Iraq. I hope your friends stay safe.
Thank you, Crystal, I really appreciate that.
My cousin was serving in Iraq for a couple of years.
Although I'm not a 100% pacifist, I'm close to it. Still I respect the commitment and sacrifice that our soldiers are making and recognize that the overwhelming majority of them are performing their work with bravery and responsibility. I pray that they (all the troops, and your friends in particular) stay safe and come home soon.
I think there are a lot of hypocrites on the left and the right who are quick to talk about how much they support the troops when in reality they see them as little more than pawns in an ideological battle. Still, I am happy that justifiable anger of people on the antiwar side of things does not express itself now against the troops like it did during Vietnam.
Thanks, Liam.
You're right. If there was one thing we learned from Viet Nam (and it may have only been one thing, apparently), it was how horribly we treated the troops for something that was not the fault of the vast majority of them.
Jeff,
Thanks for posting this. Please let us know from time to time how they're doing, so I can remember to keep them in my prayers. I will especially remember Frederick K.
I pray the others don't even have to go.
Are you aware of the "Appeal for Redress" movement that's started up among active-duty soldiers? Over 1,000 signed a letter that was delivered to their congressmen and senators a couple of weeks ago. It said, simply: "As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."
Here's a Washington Post article on the group, with some interesting observations about their own experiences over there.
Jeff,
Thanks for posting this. Please let us know from time to time how they're doing, so I can remember to keep them in my prayers. I will especially remember Frederick K.
I pray the others don't even have to go.
Are you aware of the "Appeal for Redress" movement that's started up among active-duty soldiers? Over 1,000 signed a letter that was delivered to their congressmen and senators a couple of weeks ago. It said, simply: "As a patriotic American proud to serve the nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to support the prompt withdrawal of all American military forces and bases from Iraq. Staying in Iraq will not work and is not worth the price. It is time for U.S. troops to come home."
Here's a Washington Post article on the group, with some interesting observations about their own experiences over there.
Thanks William. In Freddy's case, I think it was especially tough, because I think he went ahead and enlisted without even telling anyone in his family that he had it on his mind. It has been extremely tough on his parents.
The Appeal for Redress is interesting. I'm sure there will always be guys who come down on all points of the spectrum on this, but I'm glad that more of these guys are speaking out, making their opinions known, and running for public office.
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