For freedom is never free. (452 hits)
Category: Politics -> IraqRating: 1.43 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by plushpeach <kristineethomas.at.yahoo.com> (View user info) at 2004-07-16 10:31:02 EDT
On most topics I am not someone who is easily moved. There are a few hot buttons but it takes a while for me to get heated. You are about to read one. This is another lengthly post. consider yourself warned.
I spent all of last night and most of this early morning speaking to a man that was like a father to me. He is dying from cancer. It won't be much longer until he will be too ill to speak at the lengths to which we talked last night. He developed cancer from Agent Orange, while fighting in the jungles of Vietnam. He was a POW there, and shared stories with me that I had never imagined. I'm going to share some of what was said today because I think it is important for today's youth to know about the horrors human beings are capable of. I do not think anyone should forget that war is not pretty and that the men and women of our armed forces deserve our gratitude and support.
When PFC Robert Williams first arrived in Vietnam it was the summer of '68. Fresh from boot camp, he had in no way been prepared for what he was about to be thrown into. Robert spent the next several months watching his fellow soldiers die in unspeakable manners. It was everyday life to hear of a friend who wouldn't return with the rest of the platoon alive and whole. Not that anyone would return from Vietnam feeling "whole", even the ones who walked out without visible injury.
In 1970 Robert, now a Sergeant was out with a small platoon of troops doing routine patrol, when they were ambushed and taken prisoner by the NVA (North Vietnamese Army). After they were marched 160 to 175 miles without stopping to rest, they were brought to the compound where several other soldiers and Marines were being held. Of the 23 that originally started the march only 14 survived. The NVA had killed many of the troops for no apparent reason. Several who had sustained injuries during the ambush were too injured to make the walk.
In a way it was a relief to reach the compound. They finally could rest. Except the NVA wouldn't let them sleep. Patrols were made every hour or so to keep the POW's from getting any sleep. They were separated from each other and put into "tiger cages". It is a roughly made bamboo cage three feet high, four feet wide and six feet long. While there Robert watched as they tortured a black soldier. They cut his the skin off his face and arms and abdomen, while he was alive, because they wanted a trophy from a black man. Robert had tears in his eyes when he said this. The screams from that man, whose name he never learned, have stayed with him all these years. One of several recurring nightmares he still has is of that happening to him. That was perhaps the worst thing of being a POW. The screams of tortured men so close, but you couldn't do anything to stop it. He was a POW for four years until they released him in 1972.
The hardest part was coming home. There was no ticker tape parade for these returning men. There was no heroes welcome with pretty women being grabbed up and kissed of war long past. Instead Robert was cursed at, spit at, and called a" baby killer" among several other things. It almost seemed like better treatment in the camp. That his fellow Americans would turn their backs on the men, who would fight for their freedom, was beyond comprehension. The American public didn't support that war. And they didn't understand and support the troops coming back.
Robert wouldn't tell me most of the things he witnessed while in Vietnam. To even think about it was too hard for him. This man, who had always been my rock, was sobbing like a child. The reason he was revisiting these daemons form his past is that he is worried about this new war we find ourselves in. Another war that the American public seems to have little or no interest in. A war that few, if any, support or wanted. A war that is panned by the media. A war too familiar in feel and attitude to the one he never really stopped fighting. You might argue that the men and women of today's military are volunteers. They signed up for it didn't they? This is true. Whatever their reasons for joining the military, they do a job that many of us couldn't or wouldn't want to do. They are willing to lay down their lives for the freedom we all enjoy in this great nation of ours. So if your choice is to hate this war and hate the President, that's ok. You don't have to support the war, nor support the President. But please, support our troops.
User Reviews
Submitted by Avals (user info) at 2004-07-16 15:50:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
As already mentioned, Lojope has posted pretty much the same thing here http://www.ubersite.com/m/36869 . However, I appreciate you did this in tribute to your friend.
I agree with your point wholeheartedly. Soldiers do not represent the leaders and their political agendas; soldiers serve their country and follow orders. As such, there is no reason to cast the blame on them if you don't agree with a particular war or the way it's fought. That's not to say that soldiers do not ultimately carry responsibility for their actions, just that even when blaming them on the basis of these action, they should be carefully examined before pronouncing guilt, and certainly there is no reason to cast blame for command decisions out of their control on the soldiers.
However, I don't see how freedom has anything to do with this. The way I see it, neither Vietnam nor Iraq have anything to do with the fight for freedom. Sorry, but the title grates.
Submitted by plushpeach (user info) at 2004-07-16 12:51:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
If he was released in 72 it wasnt 4 years
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Whoops! I just re-read that part. Sorry I meant he was in Vietnam for 4 years, until his release in 1972. My bad.
Submitted by Random Joe at 2004-07-16 12:31:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
If he was released in 72 it wasnt 4 years
Submitted by Crash (user info) at 2004-07-16 12:10:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Crash, I agree with you to a point. The scorn should not fall to soldier who is obeying orders. If any should fall it should be to the one giving the orders. The ones carrying it out are the ones left with nightmares, and pschological scars for the rest of their lives. I'll have to check out that link. Thanks though for you last comment.
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Not trying to be a wanker and I'm certainly not passing judgement on your friend in the least. However, it's not really as simple as a soldier simply following orders. Humans aren't robots and don't simply stand still until given a command to perform an action. My own personal experience has taught me that interpretation of orders is often a dangerous gray zone. And the most heinous of acts can fall under a catagory of actions that could technically be defined as within the boundaries of an outstanding order.
I don't really want to get into examples and the like, nor am I trying to persuade you into thinking something contrary to your current opinion. Just know that soldiers are people, they make mistakes. We all live with our mistakes even if we never own them. That perhaps troubles soldiers more than anything else they experience. It is the constant second-guessing that stems from acting under the worst circumstances with very little time to contemplate the full ramifications of one's actions.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:50:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No tribute will ever be enough.
He is fortunate to have a friend like you.
Submitted by danieldandy (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:26:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
sounds like a good man. hats off to ya.
Submitted by plushpeach (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:15:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Crash, I agree with you to a point. The scorn should not fall to soldier who is obeying orders. If any should fall it should be to the one giving the orders. The ones carrying it out are the ones left with nightmares, and pschological scars for the rest of their lives. I'll have to check out that link. Thanks though for you last comment.
Submitted by Crash (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:09:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
And I'll add that some of things that have to be done as a soldier deserve some scorn. I don't think you can level the full responsibility at a soldier, especially one that was drafted. But I also don't agree with the philosophy that all is fair in war. We are all accountable for our actions regardless of where or under what circumstances. As for civilians spitting on soldiers, don't judge a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes. A nice win win scenario.
Submitted by plushpeach (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:07:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
The whole "support your troops" argument has been made.
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I realize this is a much talked about subject. And that the pros and con of all things realted to the war ahve been discussed ad nauseum. However I was moved to write this out of respect and love for this man.
Submitted by Crash (user info) at 2004-07-16 11:03:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Same thing happened here
http://www.ubersite.com/m/36869
Submitted by I_Have_a_Kristen_Fetish (user info) at 2004-07-16 10:51:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by sunjunkie04 (user info) at 2004-07-16 10:44:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Thanks
Submitted by AlahAckbar (user info) at 2004-07-16 10:42:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
+2 until the last paragraph. The whole "support your troops" argument has been made.
So unlike any post about supporting troops, bush, kerry, michael moore, etc. that automatically garners a -2, I give you +1.
Didn't make me smile, but did make me think.