And Johnny goes off to War…
“In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.” ~José Narosky
A couple days ago, I broke out my old ROTC shoes and polished them. At the time my intention wasn’t to think of the military, or to begin to grieve and worry about my friends in the services. I simply took them out of the closet to show Ethan a couple tips I learned about polishing shoes.
Of course for me the simple act of polishing and the smell of the polish itself took me back. It started off with just remembering getting ready for uniform days. I then progressed into remembering drill meets, inspections, and of course my fellow ROTC brats. I remembered their plans for entering the service and the hopes and goals they set for themselves. I wonder now how many achieved their goals. I know several didn’t. At the same time I know several who had no desire to join the military did join, and from what I’ve heard are doing quite well.
I’ve always thought the military is an interesting beast. Now, I’m not talking about their purpose to serve and protect their country; despite the fact that I’m against this war, I still realize the value of our service men and women. In fact I respect them more than I respect most others. I suppose what I find odd is the fact that these men and women pretty much sacrifice their lives to do this, even when some of them don’t agree with what they end up doing. Even more than that is the love that grows for their fellow soilders, the brotherhood that is with them for life.
I don’t mean to make this sound like I’m all the way pro-military either. The military is far from perfect (then again, what isn’t?). The most glaringly obvious example is Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Before the letters pour in let me say that I understand the reasoning behind it; I just don’t agree with it. There is also the fact that a few units disapprove of allowing your religion to read Pagan on the dog tags.
Be that as it may, I don’t mean to focus on the military. I mean to focus on those who make it up. You’ll notice my quote for the entry said “In war, there are no unwounded soilders.” This quote was for one of the guys in my old study group. He spent a year or better in Iraq. When he came back he wasn’t our same old guy. He had hardened, become cynical, and somewhat bitter. I don’t blame him, I hear his stories and wonder why he isn’t harder and even less who he used to be.
Also, that quote is for someone very dear to me who has decided to join the Army. I just hope that he’ll be able to retain himself, and that this will be the opportunity that he really wanted it to be. That quote and this entry is for all of those in the military. I hope and pray that the quote is wrong and you all do come home unwounded.
Until next time, I’ll be cutting yellow ribbons,
autumn
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