- Oct 24, 2000
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Note: If you are or have ever served with the United States Armed Forces, this thread is NOT directed at you.
Last weeked, I started reading the NY Times Bestseller, Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. This book is about the Marine invasion of the Japanese island Iwo Jima as told by the son of one of the men who raised the flag on that island.
Now, I am not one who cries easily, but by page 12 I was in tears. I am now half way through the book, and if you thought the Normandy Invasion or Battle of Bastogne were horrific, you NEED to read this book. If you admired LT. Ronald C. Speirs from Band of Brothers, then you'll also admire just one of the many men described in a paragraph in this book:
How they got there was a portrait of American victory in microcosm. They got there with courage best exemplified by Tony Stein's head-long charge.
Stein was a twenty-three-year-old corporal from Dayton who became the first Medal of Honor winner on Iwo. For the risky mission he'd armed himself with a stinger gun, a light machine gun he'd taken from an airplane and adapted into a rapid-fire gun. When his comrades were stalled on their dash by concentrated Japanese fire, Stein stood upright, drawing the enemy's fire and allowing his buddies to get into position. But Stein was just getting warmed up. His next move was to charge the nearby Japanese pillboxes, alone. He did it several times, killing twenty of the enemy in close-range combat. Out of ammunition, he threw off his helmet and shoes and hurried barefoot to the beach to resupply himself. He did this eight times, carrying a wounded man to safety on each trip. Later in the day he covered the withdrawal of this platoon to the company position, though his weapon was shot from his hands twice (p. 166-167).
Twenty-three-years-old! Younger than me! Speirs, Stein, so many names of brave men. 566 men died and 1,775 were wounded during that first day of battle on Iwo Jima...and the battle would rage for thirty-five more days!
---
You can't help but be inspired by such acts of bravery, and you can't help but think about the boys and girls in the foxholes in Iraq and Afghanistan today. And for me at least, I can't help feeling guilty for having such a cushy life: nice house, fun car, great job, nice computers, an online forum to post on, while men and women have died and are dying to secure the freedoms I enjoy.
Just wondering if anyone else experiences similar feelings.
Last weeked, I started reading the NY Times Bestseller, Flags of Our Fathers by James Bradley. This book is about the Marine invasion of the Japanese island Iwo Jima as told by the son of one of the men who raised the flag on that island.
Now, I am not one who cries easily, but by page 12 I was in tears. I am now half way through the book, and if you thought the Normandy Invasion or Battle of Bastogne were horrific, you NEED to read this book. If you admired LT. Ronald C. Speirs from Band of Brothers, then you'll also admire just one of the many men described in a paragraph in this book:
How they got there was a portrait of American victory in microcosm. They got there with courage best exemplified by Tony Stein's head-long charge.
Stein was a twenty-three-year-old corporal from Dayton who became the first Medal of Honor winner on Iwo. For the risky mission he'd armed himself with a stinger gun, a light machine gun he'd taken from an airplane and adapted into a rapid-fire gun. When his comrades were stalled on their dash by concentrated Japanese fire, Stein stood upright, drawing the enemy's fire and allowing his buddies to get into position. But Stein was just getting warmed up. His next move was to charge the nearby Japanese pillboxes, alone. He did it several times, killing twenty of the enemy in close-range combat. Out of ammunition, he threw off his helmet and shoes and hurried barefoot to the beach to resupply himself. He did this eight times, carrying a wounded man to safety on each trip. Later in the day he covered the withdrawal of this platoon to the company position, though his weapon was shot from his hands twice (p. 166-167).
Twenty-three-years-old! Younger than me! Speirs, Stein, so many names of brave men. 566 men died and 1,775 were wounded during that first day of battle on Iwo Jima...and the battle would rage for thirty-five more days!
---
You can't help but be inspired by such acts of bravery, and you can't help but think about the boys and girls in the foxholes in Iraq and Afghanistan today. And for me at least, I can't help feeling guilty for having such a cushy life: nice house, fun car, great job, nice computers, an online forum to post on, while men and women have died and are dying to secure the freedoms I enjoy.
Just wondering if anyone else experiences similar feelings.
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