Where do we get guys like this?

[Sailormon6]

Click on the following link to read about the recent Silver Star conferees.

Brutal Afghan fight earns soldiers 10 Silver Stars - Yahoo! News

[Dick Pluta]

I was stationed at Fort Bragg in the early 60s. Bragg is the HQ of Special Forces and, while we didn't have a lot to do with them, we occasionally crossed paths with them in the field during training. I can honestly say that, if I were ever in combat, these are the guys that I would want to have my back. Whatever it takes to get the job done, regardless of personal danger.

Another little anecdote. I have a good friend whose son is a Seal. He was in Gulf I. When he came back they had a welcome home party for him. He and his Mother greeted us at the door and we had the "What did you do in the War" conversation. He said they just helicoptered to a small, uninhabited island, shot it up and left. Later, when he and I were having a private conversation, I said "I'm glad you weren't in the middle of it. Your Mom was really worried". He replied "There are some things you don't tell your Mother".

Everyone who goes in harms way for us is a hero but these guya are truly special.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA
Nassau, Bahamas

[Cruisingdad]

Originally Posted by Sailormon6

Click on the following link to read about the recent Silver Star conferees.

Brutal Afghan fight earns soldiers 10 Silver Stars - Yahoo! News

That is a great story.

Brian

[sailaway21]

Unfortunately we don't get to read nearly enough stories like that in the vast majority of the press.

As to where we get such men; we raise them here and, in a country with an all volunteer armed services, they gravitate towards where their upbringing and sense of duty tells them they can be of service to their fellow citizen in a meaningful way. That they do so heroically would come as little surprise to their fathers, grandfathers, or even anyone just familiar with what love of country and fellow soldier can produce within men.

[xort]

where do we get guys like this...you can rest assured we DO NOT get them from our elite universities. Doubt that many at all come from blue counties across America. How many come from the inner cities of this land?
One thing is for sure, there are a lot fewer guys like this being raised in this country

[sailaway21]

Originally Posted by xort

where do we get guys like this...you can rest assured we DO NOT get them from our elite universities. Doubt that many at all come from blue counties across America. How many come from the inner cities of this land?
One thing is for sure, there are a lot fewer guys like this being raised in this country

Bull tookey!!! You just don't see them on the news or hear about them otherwise. They've never necessarily been a majority of our citizens and even their own families often do not know they are present at the dinner table. Nobody in Pat Tilman's family thought he was going to quit being a millionaire NFL player. The politically liberal historian Doris Kearns-Goodwin had no idea her son was going to quit school and enlist. Volunteer service strikes to the heart of the individual. And one of the beauties of being one of God's creatures is that we're all allotted our very own hearts.

That being said, there are regions and groups of peoples who volunteer fro military service with more than average regularity, and they do not tend to come from the university campus in general but some do and we should honor them all. There are just as many of them being raised, it's just no longer popular to observe so or respect such. Another symptom of the culture being taken over by the popular media.

[bubb2]

The Things that Make a Soldier Great

Edgar A. Guest


The things that make a soldier great and send him out to die,
To face the flaming cannon's mouth nor ever question why,
Are lilacs by a little porch, the row of tulips red,
The peonies and pansies, too, the old petunia bed,
The grass plot where his children play, the roses on the wall:
'Tis these that make a soldier great. He's fighting for them all.

'Tis not the pomp and pride of kings that make a soldier brave;
'Tis not allegiance to the flag that over him may wave;
For soldiers never fight so well on land or on the foam
As when behind the cause they see the little place called home.
Endanger but that humble street whereon his children run,
You make a soldier of the man who never bore a gun.
What is it through the battle smoke the valiant solider sees?
The little garden far away, the budding apple trees,
The little patch of ground back there, the children at their play,
Perhaps a tiny mound behind the simple church of gray.
The golden thread of courage isn't linked to castle dome
But to the spot, where'er it be -- the humblest spot called home. And now the lilacs bud again and all is lovely there
And homesick soldiers far away know spring is in the air;
The tulips come to bloom again, the grass once more is green,
And every man can see the spot where all his joys have been.
He sees his children smile at him, he hears the bugle call,
And only death can stop him now -- he's fighting for them all.

[jrd22]

Great article, great Americans. I wish that America was willing to celebrate her heroes by boldly displaying articles like this on the front pages of newpapers, and pictures of the soldiers on the cover of Time magazine.

John

[sailaway21]

Originally Posted by jrd22

Great article, great Americans. I wish that America was willing to celebrate her heroes by boldly displaying articles like this on the front pages of newpapers, and pictures of the soldiers on the cover of Time magazine.

John

Yeah, why do we get to read the snivellings of a Joe Klein on the Bush presidency that wasn't, when we could be reading things like this article instead? Line your bird cage with something else.

[Sapperwhite]

Originally Posted by Dick Pluta

I can honestly say that, if I were ever in combat, these are the guys that I would want to have my back. Whatever it takes to get the job done, regardless of personal danger.....


Dick Pluta
AEGEA
Nassau, Bahamas

There are a few 82nd guys around Sailnet.

I can say from first had experience that yes, those are the guys you want to have your back. Myself and two of my guys were attached to a team from 7th group in Afghanistan for four months. They are incredibly professional when "on the job", and cool as hell when not.

The way SF teams work became eve more apparent when I went back to doing missions with regular infantry. It was night and day.