I have found myself frequently looking at some pictures my son sent me a few weeks ago. He is a front line combat Soldier in the Global War on Terrorism. He wrote a nice note in an email and attached a few pictures for me. He knows I like to see him. I haven’t 
talked with him over the phone in a very long time and I haven’t seen him in person for an even longer time.
The pictures of him are bittersweet. I love seeing the pictures of him. I like seeing my son. But every time I look at them I am sad. Every time I read that email I am sad.
Today, my daughter sent me a copy of an email he had sent to her. I read it and felt an overwhelming sadness. It wasn’t that he described horrible events in Baghdad or said things that told us about his activities there. It was an underlying longing that was evident in the email. In both of the emails. It was that underlying longing that broke my heart.
As has been the case with all the Soldiers in the Global War on Terrorism, his deployment has been extended. He is getting a promotion soon and has been offered a tidy sum of money to continue his military career. I have no idea what he will do about that. He seems to be torn about what he will do. It’s not the money or the war, it’s the way the war is being conducted. 
What officer wants to lead his men into battle and tell them they must not pull a trigger unless they can identify the person shooting at them as definitely an enemy combatant and that the person is definitely shooting AT them. Those are my words, not his.
The messages I see that he’s left on his friends myspace pages and his emails all indicate the longing in his heart to lead a ‘normal’ life. He lives vicariously through what he reads and sees on their pages. His life is anything but ‘normal’ right now.
We’ve all heard the expression ‘The thousand mile stare’. As far back as World War II there are photos that show that look in our Soldier’s eyes. I am sure if they had been able to take photographs we would see the same look in the eyes of Napoleon’s Armies or in the eyes of the Roman Legions.
That’s the look I see in my son’s eyes.
This privileged, entitled, ungrateful nation watches the war play out on television with detachment and disinterest. Network executives parlay their personal agendas into the news to enrich themselves. Powerful, wealthy Congressmen portray our Soldiers as monsters in order to attain more power and more wealth. Everyone seems to have something they can gain from slandering our Soldiers and our country.
It would do us well to remember that these are our nation’s sons.
Is it really okay with us for a Senator to declare our Soldiers murderers? Is it really okay to have a Congressman condemn Marines who defended themselves before they even have a chance for trial? The Haditha Marines have been tried and found guilty on television but there has been no retraction of the accusations made against them and they are just now having their voice heard in court. Yet we don’t hear about that like we heard about the accusations. Many people just take it as fact because they saw it on the news.
Is it really alright with us to allow the few of our nation’s sons and daughters to carry the weight of the Global War on Jihadists on their shoulders alone?
When will the rest of the nation quit playing politics on their already burdened shoulders? When will we stand up and tell our Senators and Congressmen that it’s not okay to build their careers at the expense of those few who defend them. When will this nation realize that there are al-Qaeda attacking our interests all over the world and there really IS a Global War only a few of our sons and daughters are engaged in. When will we understand the danger and come together as the once great nation that is the United States of America.
When will we open our eyes and look into our Soldiers’ eyes.
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:55 am
What a beautiful and heartfelt post! It brought tears to my eyes. Your words should be read by every single member of Congress every morning before they take their seats on Capital Hill. God Bless you, your son and your family. Thank you for raising such a fine young man.
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:18 am
We Can’t Let Our Heroes Down!…
Blue Star Chronicles has a post up that truly reminds us what we should be focusing on - not the idiots who make outlandish statements just to get some face time. Our focus should be on the soldiers….
May 22nd, 2007 at 11:52 pm
I live far from USA. I agree with you that USA is a great nation. However, I would like to share with you a couple of thoughts that might help you understand that thousand miles stare, or at least look at it from a different angle.
When we foreigners look at America, we cannot understand why or how such a great nation is so unconcerned about the way their rulers are chosen. Only one half of US citizens vote, anf a guy can become president with less than half of that votes. Only US citizens, not politicians, are to be blamed for this. This is something we deeply regret. The entire world is concerned about US government - seemingly far more concerned than US Citizens.
A second thought is, why such a great and rich nation has made the decission to depend so heavily on fossil fuels? The hydrogen-cell technology was invented in your country decades ago to power Apollo modules, and has become cheaper and more efficient every year. Your country burns more fuel than any other country in the world. US citizens are so thirsty to feed their large wagons that they don´t care if a few good Americans must die far away to keep their fuel flowing.
I can see only one reflection on that thousand mile stare: final, irreversible disappointment, resignation and disbelief.
We as foreigners have to endure this weird spectacle of the oil war, devised to provide a short-term patch over long term energetic issues.
It`s way too painfull. But in the end, we might all end-up with that same thousand mile stare.
Sincererly yours,
MJGA
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:04 pm
Thanks for speaking from your hard and to Mark I say this;
We aren’t that concerned with what You think. We are trying to survive. Take your judgmental elitist attitude and stick it.
It’s not an oil war you freaking moron.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:06 pm
I meant to type from your “heart” ….woops Mark had my blood pressure up.
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Mr Bob,
I am sorry if my words seemed disrespectful to you. That was not my intention. Honestly.
I posted a reply because I deeply respect your thoughts.
I just wanted to give you a sight from a different point of view.
But please, take into account that such a point of view does not belong to one freaking moron only. If you look outside your window you might discover an entire western world filled with morons like this.
Do you really think all westerners outside US are elitist?
I hope not. Most of us are poor and suffer this war in our stomachs. Just as our children.
We are also trying to survive. Not prevail, just survive in the most essential meaning of this word.
May 24th, 2007 at 5:55 am
while I too feel for our military I also believe they have been, as is often the case, abused by a government out of control. Our military is in a very sad shape. Our national guard, fallen apart. Extended terms of service, repeat terms of duty etc have caused untold damage not just to morale but to emotional well-being. The slugs in DC have once again caused great harm.
I say this as a guy who serv ed a few imes in our army, a father, a husband of many years, and an old retired guy, almost 78.
thanks for the fish
May 24th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Mark,
You speak as though you are in a poor third world country. You aren’t, you are using a computer, I imagine you probably have transportation and a place to live. Islamofascists want to kill you and me and we are trying to stop that.
Americans are just people with families who work every day to keep that going. Islamists want to kill us, so we are fighting them.
The US gives more money to poor third world countries than any other country in the world. We care. We also will fight when provoked. Now we finally have someone in charge who will cut us loose (in the military) to find the bad guys to kill or capture them and we are doing that every day, then get critisized for it.
Forgive me if I seem a little harsh or angry but I am. I am tired of this political bullsh*& from people who have their heads in the sand.
As soon as Iraq can take care of itself, we will leave en masse.
You don’t want us to, its too difficult, or you don’t like Republicans or whatever, I don’t know but if you think this is a war for oil, you are a moron or are ignorant willfully.
We aren’t taking oil, but we may be trying to get oil flowing to help the Iraqi’s. I will go and I will die if I must so you and your children can survive. It would be nice if you appreciated it, but that isn’t my concern.
Pretending people don’t want to kill everyone who isn’t Muslim is up to you, but don’t blame the US if they do.
Fred, thanks for your service but you too are wrong. I know many people in the reserves who are going the first time or have not been deployed. The foot soldiers are overworked yes, but pray for their strength and for the IRaqi’s who need to keep takign the ball and running with it. You sound hopeless. NONE of the guys I talk to in the Army or Marines sound hopeless. They know we are winning and must stick with it.