"Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but beggard that Nation that has and forgets them." -- Anonymous
In America, "support the troops" has been elevated to the status of an eleventh commandment. Whether for or against the Iraq War, we'd never forget our military heroes. Or would we?
Quick -- name the two Congressional Medals of Honor it's produced. If you picked Pat Tillman, you're mistaken (though it would have surprised no one if, had he lived, he'd won one). Try Army Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith and Marine Corporal Jason Dunham, both honored posthumously.
According to his presidential citation, Sergeant Smith, "moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force" before he was mortally wounded.
Corporal Dunham was attacked at a road check by an insurgent who leaped out of a car and unleashed a grenade. He "covered the grenade with his helmet and body, bearing the brunt of the explosion and shielding his Marines from the blast."
The point is not to shame Americans for their lack of both knowledge and acknowledgment of those who made the supreme sacrifice, whether for God, country or just their unit. In fact, broadly speaking, it's been since World War II that medal winners haven't been treated with the acclaim due them. The 50-year trend seems to have reached its apex, however, with Iraq.
Neglecting decorated members of the military who served in Iraq might strike a progressive or pacifist as a sign of opposition to our presence there. But lest we become "beggard," it might be worth our while to root out the deeper reasons that military heroism fails to register on our radar.
After World War II, America's most decorated veteran, First Lieutenant Audie Murphy, was treated to a hero's reception almost everywhere he went. It was tough to be a boy in the fifties and remain immune to Audie awe, a condition which didn't necessarily fade when we grew up. Such was Murphy's fame that it enabled him to serve as the star of a string of B-movie westerns even though he had little to recommend him as an actor other than his unnerving man-hunter gaze.
In his book, No Name on the Bullet: A Biography of Audie Murphy, Don Graham described the incident for which Murphy was awarded the Medal of Honor. Here are some excerpts: "hundreds of Germans swarming from the woods. They all had automatic weapons. . . . all alone out there. . . . he climbed onto the tank destroyer turret and began firing its .50-caliber machine gun. . . completely exposed to the enemy fire and there was a blaze under him.
"Twice the tank destroyer was hit by direct shell fire and Lieutenant Murphy was engulfed in clouds of smoke and spurts of flame. . . . He swung the machine gun to where 12 Germans were sneaking up. . . . [and] killed all of them at 50 yards."
Murphy's Medal of Honor citation attributed 50 Germans killed or wounded to his actions that day. In less than three years in the European theatre, thanks in part to the hunting skills that became second nature to him during his dirt-poor childhood in Texas, he was credited with killing a total of 240 Germans.
Another Medal of Honor winner who accumulated a high body count was oft-injured Lieutenant Colonel Matt Urban. His exploits didn't go unnoticed by the Germans, who called him "der geist" (the ghost) because it seemed like he kept coming back from the dead. Meanwhile, the war's top fighter "ace," Major Richard Bong, shot down 40 Japanese aircraft.
It's hard to believe there was a time when our pantheon of personalities wasn't too rarefied to accommodate decorated members of the military along with its usual deities from the worlds of entertainment, society and sports. In fact, during World War II, service in the war was a prerequisite to prevent an athlete from becoming a pariah and for a movie star to retain his fan base.
For instance, pitcher Warren Spahn won a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. Among Hollywood's most decorated representatives were character actors Neville Brand, who won a Silver Star and Purple Heart, and Charles Durning, the recipient of a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts.
Come Korea and the status of decorated soldiers began to wane. Hitting great Ted Williams was justifiably lauded for flying 37 combat missions, but who remembers any of that conflict's 132 Congressional Medals of Honor?
With the advent of the Vietnam War, the public paid less attention to decorated soldiers (by which we also mean members of the Navy and Air Force) than ever. It's hard to imagine that the exploits of those like First Lieutenant Stephen Karopczyc failed to make an impression. According to his citation, he "dashed through the intense enemy fire into the open. . . . exposed himself as he ran from man to man to give encouragement and to direct their efforts.
Russ Wellen is the nuclear deproliferation editor for OpEdNews. He's also on the staffs of Freezerbox and Scholars & Rogues.
"It's hard to tell people not to smoke when you have a cigarette dangling from your mouth." -- Mohamed El Baradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
it was very good. But in all fairness this attitude towards the ' heroes' is not new and not indigenous to the US. It was a prevailing attitude towards the heroes of the ' un generation purdue'- the ' lost generation' of the veterans of the WWI in the 20th and it is described by Hemingway, Remark and Oldington. It is a bad thing. But we here and now are just awakening to many-many bad things we happen to be guilty of and yes, that awakening is painful.
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Mark Sashine (42 articles, 19 quicklinks, 226 diaries, 3211 comments)
on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 9:16:41 AM
"Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but beggard that Nation that has and forgets them."
" Poor is the nation that oft lies to fights wars, and beggard the nation that thinks a soldiers fight for survival is heroism"
You expect me to think Audey was fighting for America, or was he fighting to stay alive? And yet how much can a man do to prove heroism? In fact killing is the easy part. How much harder for him to throw down his weapon and engage the enemy without violence, without knowing the language, without hiding and lurking from tree trunks and holes in the ground? Seems to me there are heros everywhere in the USA, who don't need guns to show the way for humanity. Who is the stronger? Who is the real hero? Let's not pretend here.
Soldiers who claim they fight for you and me, really fight for themselves first, and if they really wanted to do good...they would be doing things that disavow war, disclaim war, refuse medals, and understand that if they don't; they are themselves the ideals of war and hatred.
Whether we call them foreigners and can't communicate is reason enough to be our enemy, what purpose is it to believe the other side would win, when they are as at fault. I will never believe that Iraq was the only lie to go to war. Certainly WWI and WWII, Korea and Vietnam were lies in action.
Commemorate Precept
The Media is the power in America; not the process of Democracy. Therewith we can understand that there is good or bad. And so how does Democracy stand upon that scale? I truly think good is good and bad is bad. There is no such distinction that good is bad or bad is good. This is the hypocrisy our current lives are driven by through this Bush administration and the Media liars who drive it. The conclusion is that it is not really about Democracy but about the way the Media has created its own 4th branch of government called the Right to Incite Violence Branch, all neatly packaged according to the precepts of free speech. Come on boys join our army and become men, become hero's.
Mind you free speech in the days of early yore was toward escalating the decency and right to do the good, which was to never put War before the issues of morality and goodness. That goodness is the ability and want to preach the end to conflicts, the urge to decommission and reduce military perceptions, and show the providence hand with its bounty and alms. The foregone has accepted that freedom of speech connotes the disregard of law and civility, in order to nurture the carnal desires of the flesh of men...meaning the perverbial clause you've sold your soul to the devil and his profits. A time will come when the people who have caused this great harm to our nation, will seek the capes of retirement as a shelter toward the collapse of their said intended purpose. For what good is it to continue the guise of carnal sanguity when there is never the perception of its goal which is real peace? In fact they fail; and the test of Democracy because of that, and sadly perish with the sins they have claimed. While laws state the books, and books state the men wherewith knowledge is in conflict with the values of society, the society that wanders away from its core of benevolence is and always will be conquered, whether by the use of the gun and its violent intent, or by the absence of mans integrity.
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Dom Jermano (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 40 diaries, 934 comments)
on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 9:43:48 AM
I believe that the citizen soldier should still be honored for heroic acts.Even though I believe this to be an illegal war of choice, it is not the military’s fault that the civilian leaders have put the military in this mess.
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Michael Chavers (38 articles, 0 quicklinks, 11 diaries, 160 comments)
on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 12:09:54 PM
is that when they swear to obey orders they place themselves under the control of someone else's judgement. And if there is one scoundrel in their chain of command that soldier needs to have a great deal of wisdom in order not to become a deadly instrument of harm.
Specifically, under the command of the President of the United States in the case of US servicemen and women these would have had to have been exceptional people to have refused to invade Iraq once the order was given the grounds that it was illegal and/or unconstitutional. Many of the troops were deployed to the region well in advance of the time when it might have been possible that the invasion might have been lawful (endoresed by the UN security council). At the time of March 2003 the majority of Americans (let alone the Congress) were not obviously opposed to the invasion of Iraq. I would not have opposed it had it had UN security council endorsement.
It is easy to respect the bravery, courage and sacrifice of someone who "lays down their life for their friends", but it is another thing to place oneself uncritically in the service of dishonorable and potentially dishonorable people. Iraq was not a just war. It was not a lawful war.
One might just as well (at least) respect the bravery, courage and self sacrifice of insurgents who are resisting an occupying force.
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Brett Paatsch (0 articles, 2 quicklinks, 16 diaries, 769 comments)
on Friday, October 12, 2007 at 6:22:57 PM
I had a father who overpowered by patriotism not yet 17 ran off to war. He had his 17 birthday as a prisoner of war on the Burma railway for 3years. He died of long-term injuries including what we now know was untreated PTSS 22 yrs later prematurely His only battles were firing at an enemy he couldn’t see.
He also said that heroism were usually as a result of circumstances and reactions. Medals were for acts of bravery not necessarily the man the result of normal men in extraordinary situations doing extraordinary things. Neither did they always reflect the true nature of the circumstances or the man. He compared a soldier who when pinned down by a machine gun nest ‘went troppo’ and wiped out the nest and Edward ‘weary’ Dunlop a surgeon who risked his life on a daily basis (in many ways) for the men on the Burma railway.
Dad was indifferent to his chest full of medals (one was for bravery) but marched most ANZAC days (Veterans Day) the emphasis was on mates. Surviving war was for him about mateship…sticking by your mates and they stick by you.He often said that you quickly take the view that all you really want is to do your duty and go home as near as intact as possible.
In fact he advocated in the next war I should choose “B” Company. Be company for those who stay and be here to give company when they get back. He went a patriot and returned anti war.
It is inevitable that we should honour our military vets regardless of the theatre of war….they have risked their lives in answer to the call from the country. From this position I see no difference between them and those who do likewise at home i.e. Fire-fighters, police et sec.
How about the fiery who risks his life to dash into a burning building to save three children? Is he any less brave than the machine gun nest hero? Likewise the heroic beat cop that spends 30 years risking his life working in a dangerous area comparable to a lesser ‘weary’ Dunlop?In this way reduce the emphasis on war (legal/illegal, moral/immoral). The emphasis would be on life threatening service to the people instead of immorality of non territorial threatening wars (see Charter on just wars)
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Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments)
on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 2:32:30 AM
History indicates the need for a standing army, what we seem unable to learn is the right use of force. Currently we seem engaged in a war that strokes one man's ego and fills the pockets of many others with the treasure of our country, which happens to have been REMOVED from the pockets of the citizens. Hero's? I've been in the military and also served in the fire department and never noticed anyone doing anything we were not trained for and expected to do if the situation required. It's like calling someone with cancer a hero, they are just dealing with their reality the best they can.
I have a nephew in the Marines. He had a great time playing paintball when he was younger, now he is being prepared for his second tour in Iraq. The first one gave him the experience of having his best friend's brains splattered all over his face. Certainly he does not think he is any kind of a hero. He's not quite 20, if I live long enough I will get to see the damage that has been done to him.
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Roger (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 283 comments)
on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 8:52:23 AM
A standing army is one thing as is the right to defend one’s self these are rights under the ‘Charter of a Just War’. This international charter doesn’t sanction adventurism or wars to enhance financial opportunities. It is these type of wars that have alienated the US and as a consequence created most of the USA’s current international problems. Think of it this way if you continually poke a snake with a stick (despite its natural reaction to flee) it will strike with the intention to eliminate the perceived threat.
If a nation has a culture of militarism and bellicosity can become self perpetuating i.e. military are revered beyond their role IN society they eventually become the reason FOR that society e.g. the ancient Spartans.
If one is to break the link with war then it must be replaced with an alternative another opportunity for ordinary people to garner community respect (Psych 201 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, Sociology 101 Theory of social interaction).
Theoretically the military are doing a job for which they’re trained. But there’s a big difference between training and the real thing. This same distinction can be made for the inherent risks for Fire fighters and Police. An enemy’s bullet can kill just as surely as friendly fire, some individual publicly going ‘postal’ or unsuspected chemicals exploding in a fire which are ‘all in a day’s work’.
I see no logical reason why their service shouldn’t be celebrated or more respected in the final analysis it’s the high risk service to society that is being recognized. Simply put not every can physically or mentally cope with such essential services so the rest of us should respect the service of those who can and do.
Medals are for service or acts of Heroism where that heroism took place are irrelevant. ‘Soldiers’ don’t choose their theatres anymore than fire-fighters choose their fires. When the latter get citations the citation don’t differentiate where the fire was (which suburb or even who it was that they may have saved) only that an act of bravery.
Why then should armed service courage be differentiated by theatre? I suspect this is for the political reasons of selling particular conflicts. My concern is for the vets after the hype has faded and all that is remembered is that the middle east war wars a war without honour.
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Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments)
on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 7:23:11 PM
This is what happens when the meaning of the awards is discredited. I got an Air Medal for hours aloft (no combat involved) and everybody in my unit wore the Distinguished Unit Citation for modest accomplishments that rarely involved any risk. Bronze Stars went to just about every officer who set foot in Vietnam. They give a Purple Heart now to noncombatants. Pat Tillman got a Silver Star to cover up his murder at the hands of his comrades. Plus, there's very little valor to recognize these days, what with the kevlar vests and shoot-first rules of engagement. Part of the destruction of the armed forces at the hands of the right wing.
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Steve Fournier (31 articles, 17 quicklinks, 5 diaries, 41 comments)
on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 11:11:11 AM
I suspect that this is why my dad was ambivilent to his medals . Two of his medals were theatre medals, one was for overseas one other was for over 4 mths military servce. But the last was for bravey...he never told me why he got it! The approach I offer would reinstate the meaning of the medals
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Andris (4 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 532 comments)
on Saturday, October 13, 2007 at 7:28:56 PM
