The battle raged all around
But my mind it wondered
To another place in time
A day without this thunder
I did my job I fought, I killed
I survived another day
I see the dead in my sleep
Their lifeless bodies stare
Soldiers learn to move on
But it’s all an appearance
For their heart carries all the weight
Of everything they’ve done
________________________________________
Stare
I haven’t had the misfortune of seeing the body of someone I killed; I
hope I never have to face, that face. But I talked to a soldier
that told me about a day that he looked a man he had killed in the
face. I would mention his name but he asked me not to. Imagine
living with that in your mind for the rest of your life. I hope no
other Soldiers and Marines will ever have to face this terror
again. My heart goes out to all of those that have looked death in
the face.
On a mission in Mosul one night a group of Soldiers and Marines where
attached by a group of insurgents. Like good Soldiers and Marines
they fired back and won the battle. This night the Americans were
lucky no one died on our side. When the Soldiers and Marines went
to clean up the dead insurgent’s one of the Soldier’s found an insurgent
still alive. He called for the medic but the insurgent died
in front of him. He saw the man grasp for his last breath.
He told me he had been pretty pumped up and excited when the battle
started. He also said he was so excited and happy when the shooting
stopped. He knew he had hit this one insurgent so he ran over to
take his weapon away. He said the sight of the dying insurgent took the
wind right out of his sail. His stomach sank and his heart started
beating real fast. Reality is not always a good thing. He
told me he still sees the insurgents face in his dreams.
There are a lot of Soldiers and Marines who will have to live
with the things they did, in the name of their country. Soldiers
and Marines that did what America asked of them. It is the fault of
the American people as much as it is the fault of these Soldiers and Marines.
It is the fault of the newspaper reports for fueling the flames, by
telling stories that make the soldier look bad. The reporters for
telling stories that have not been verified. Anytime the news
reports anything, that can make it look like America supports the
insurgents or anything that makes our soldier look bad. I have no
problems with the news helping to weed out a few bad apples. But
the news doesn’t have a great track record when it comes to holding
back bad stories about Soldiers and Marines.
It is the fault of the politicians that sent us here and those that give
the insurgents more fuel to add to their hate. It doesn’t help
that are leadership fight over the smallest of things. There are
times that I believe some politicians are working for the
insurgents. What happen to admonishing senior officers in
private? The lives of Soldiers and Marines should not be used for
political gain, period.
What happens here is the responsibility of every American. But it is
not, the Soldiers and Marines fault. The Soldiers and Marines are
doing what their country is asking them to do. The Soldiers and Marines
are heroes. We as a country must welcome back the troops and
tell them how important their contribution to America has been. Help
them to fight there demons. Don’t let the Soldiers and
Marines fighting in Iraq, face anything that resembles what happen
in Vietnam. We as a country must help the Soldiers and Marines get
over, waking up looking at those faces.
Adding your comment:
7 old applause
