They did not join to be heroes.
They joined because they could not find jobs. Or they joined because they wanted to go to college and they needed the money. Or they joined on a lark. Or they joined because they were young kids who wanted to be men and women, and they thought it would toughen them up. Or they joined because they loved their country with a kind of puppy love, an idealistic, simplistic, love that did not yet know the meaning of sacrifice. Or they joined just to get away from home.
But they did join, that was the main thing. They made the commitment and they took the oath.
When they got joined, it was nothing like they thought. They thought their enemy was on the other side. Instead they found their first enemy was the drill sergeant at basic--angry, tough, demanding, uncompromising. They all hated him at first, but he wasn't there to be liked.
As the training went on, they discovered the reality of the world, that their instructors were not the enemy. The first enemy was themselves. They groaned at every reveille. They groaned through every pushup, and every four mile run. Their bodies ached and rebelled. But they prevailed. They fought their way through homesickness, loneliness, doubt, and fear, and they won. They beat themselves.
Along the way they made friends -- boys becoming men and girls becoming women--all becoming soldiers together.
Their unit became a new family, as precious to them as the family they left at home. They did not think of their country, some abstract idea, or the dangers ahead. They only thought of those buddies around them that they loved, and the wives, mothers, brothers, sisters, and girlfriends they left behind.
When the time came to go to war, they went out of obedience,. Obedience was the true fruit and the true gift they were given in all those weeks of basic training. They had learned to be part of something greater than themselves, which is what it means to be mature. They were no longer boys. They were men, who bore their part of the burden of the world.
There is no good war. War is the closest thing to hell on earth, where those who fight are both the tormented and the tormentors. It is dead bodies, broken limbs, weeping mothers and crying children. Anyone who glorifies war glorifies hell. Anyone who wishes for war wishes for hell. No one sane wants to be there.
But when their time came to put their lives on the line, they stood. They did not stand there because they loved their country. Most did not know why they stood, or the exact nature of the cause for which they fought. They stood there because of their buddies. They stood there because of those at home, whom they all, on both sides felt were in danger. Most of all, they stood there because they wanted to stand for their own honor, so that they would not be cowards. Their fear of being a coward was greater than their fear of death. The months of training and preparation had given them that honor and self respect, and now the honor and the man had become one. They were inseparable.
That was the point when the boys and girls who had become men and women became heroes, and their honor became greater than life itself.
Wars are fought for all kinds of reasons. Some of our wars were fought out of necessity. Others we have stumbled into needlessly. No one is wise enough to say with certainty which one was which. But wars and the military have given us one gift that is greater even than freedom itself. It has produced men and women of honor who will sacrifice and serve others the rest of their lives.
So God bless our troops. God bless our veterans. We thank you and the military for the gift of lifetime heroes.
They joined because they could not find jobs. Or they joined because they wanted to go to college and they needed the money. Or they joined on a lark. Or they joined because they were young kids who wanted to be men and women, and they thought it would toughen them up. Or they joined because they loved their country with a kind of puppy love, an idealistic, simplistic, love that did not yet know the meaning of sacrifice. Or they joined just to get away from home.
But they did join, that was the main thing. They made the commitment and they took the oath.
When they got joined, it was nothing like they thought. They thought their enemy was on the other side. Instead they found their first enemy was the drill sergeant at basic--angry, tough, demanding, uncompromising. They all hated him at first, but he wasn't there to be liked.
As the training went on, they discovered the reality of the world, that their instructors were not the enemy. The first enemy was themselves. They groaned at every reveille. They groaned through every pushup, and every four mile run. Their bodies ached and rebelled. But they prevailed. They fought their way through homesickness, loneliness, doubt, and fear, and they won. They beat themselves.
Along the way they made friends -- boys becoming men and girls becoming women--all becoming soldiers together.
Their unit became a new family, as precious to them as the family they left at home. They did not think of their country, some abstract idea, or the dangers ahead. They only thought of those buddies around them that they loved, and the wives, mothers, brothers, sisters, and girlfriends they left behind.
When the time came to go to war, they went out of obedience,. Obedience was the true fruit and the true gift they were given in all those weeks of basic training. They had learned to be part of something greater than themselves, which is what it means to be mature. They were no longer boys. They were men, who bore their part of the burden of the world.
There is no good war. War is the closest thing to hell on earth, where those who fight are both the tormented and the tormentors. It is dead bodies, broken limbs, weeping mothers and crying children. Anyone who glorifies war glorifies hell. Anyone who wishes for war wishes for hell. No one sane wants to be there.
But when their time came to put their lives on the line, they stood. They did not stand there because they loved their country. Most did not know why they stood, or the exact nature of the cause for which they fought. They stood there because of their buddies. They stood there because of those at home, whom they all, on both sides felt were in danger. Most of all, they stood there because they wanted to stand for their own honor, so that they would not be cowards. Their fear of being a coward was greater than their fear of death. The months of training and preparation had given them that honor and self respect, and now the honor and the man had become one. They were inseparable.
That was the point when the boys and girls who had become men and women became heroes, and their honor became greater than life itself.
Wars are fought for all kinds of reasons. Some of our wars were fought out of necessity. Others we have stumbled into needlessly. No one is wise enough to say with certainty which one was which. But wars and the military have given us one gift that is greater even than freedom itself. It has produced men and women of honor who will sacrifice and serve others the rest of their lives.
So God bless our troops. God bless our veterans. We thank you and the military for the gift of lifetime heroes.
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