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Memorial Day in Iraq
May. 25th, 2009 10:26 am Here, it's pretty much another day. There are no sales, no parades, just work and early release for us.
A lot of people have made the ultimate sacrifice, or have suffered because a loved one is never coming home.
I truly believe that our time in Iraq will have a lasting effect on our soldiers, our Army as an organization, and hopefully our country. I hope in the long run that it will be a positive one, that it will be worthwhile.
I hope it, because we have paid a price, in our dearest blood. Those who have died here, and in Afghanistan - but also the people they left behind, the people who watched their loved one, their friend, or even just someone they knew get on a plane, and come home in a flag-draped box. And there are some, who have never come home. There are some whose fate we may guess, but we don't know. The price was also paid by those who came back with wounds, both seen and unseen - those who struggle with artificial limbs and those who struggle with demons that only they can see and describe. Some have managed to overcome their wounds and move forward. Some have not, and on this day when we remember our servicemembers, we need to remember them too. Let their sacrifice and struggle be something we learn from, something to help us do better by those who come after them. There will be more.
I'm not so sure whether the difference we make here in Iraq will be a lasting one, or whether it will last without us here. I hope that it will, because of the price we have paid, and because I genuinely wish for the Iraqis to have a stable, safe country, where little kids don't get killed by IEDs and where working in a government position doesn't get you assassinated.
Memorial Day is not a day for politics - it is a day to remember, and honor, our servicemembers.
To my brothers and sisters in arms - if you're in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other other places where we have Americans in harms' way, stay alert and stay safe. If you're at home, do me a favor - sleep in and fire up the grill, because we've earned it.
DV
A lot of people have made the ultimate sacrifice, or have suffered because a loved one is never coming home.
I truly believe that our time in Iraq will have a lasting effect on our soldiers, our Army as an organization, and hopefully our country. I hope in the long run that it will be a positive one, that it will be worthwhile.
I hope it, because we have paid a price, in our dearest blood. Those who have died here, and in Afghanistan - but also the people they left behind, the people who watched their loved one, their friend, or even just someone they knew get on a plane, and come home in a flag-draped box. And there are some, who have never come home. There are some whose fate we may guess, but we don't know. The price was also paid by those who came back with wounds, both seen and unseen - those who struggle with artificial limbs and those who struggle with demons that only they can see and describe. Some have managed to overcome their wounds and move forward. Some have not, and on this day when we remember our servicemembers, we need to remember them too. Let their sacrifice and struggle be something we learn from, something to help us do better by those who come after them. There will be more.
I'm not so sure whether the difference we make here in Iraq will be a lasting one, or whether it will last without us here. I hope that it will, because of the price we have paid, and because I genuinely wish for the Iraqis to have a stable, safe country, where little kids don't get killed by IEDs and where working in a government position doesn't get you assassinated.
Memorial Day is not a day for politics - it is a day to remember, and honor, our servicemembers.
To my brothers and sisters in arms - if you're in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other other places where we have Americans in harms' way, stay alert and stay safe. If you're at home, do me a favor - sleep in and fire up the grill, because we've earned it.
DV
