Soldiers & their sacrifice: Does the left get it?
Above, firefighters stand at attention Sunday as Patriot Guard motorcycle riders pass as part of an escort for a hearse carrying the body of Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, who was killed in Afghanistan.
If you listen to the Democrats who constantly criticize the war in Iraq, you’d think we are doing our service men and women a great disservice to force them to fight a war they don’t want to fight. We consistently hear left-minded types argue against the war in Iraq by saying we need to bring our troops out of harm’s way immediately.
Consider liberal Democratic activist Bob Fertik — co-founder of Democrats.Com — who turns against members of his own party if they supported the war in Iraq. In a plea on his website, Fertik says of Tennessee Congressman Lincoln Davis, a Democrat:
On 5/10/07, Rep. Lincoln Davis betrayed the voters and troops of Tennessee’s 4th Congressional District by voting to continue George Bush’s disastrous Iraq War forever. Democrats.com is looking for an “aggressive progressive” Democrat who will challenge Davis in a Democratic primary in 2008.
Betrayed the troops? By voting to continue the war in Iraq? Has Fertik, or any of his fellow activists on the left, considered what the troops want?
Without a doubt, there are plenty of soldiers who want to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are a few who say we shouldn’t have been there to start with. But the overwhelming majority support the war effort, and the justification for it.
I’ve interviewed many soldiers returning from Iraq, and to a man, they’ve all said the same thing when I’ve asked them if they felt their duty was worth it: “Yes.”
Consider Bear Myers, a Marine who was recently honorably discharged after his Humvee was hit by an IED in Iraq, leaving him with only partial use of his left arm. Myers was engaged in his 3rd tour of duty in Iraq when the incident occurred. His friend, Marine Cpl. Rusty Washam, was killed in Iraq 2 years ago when his own Humvee was struck by an IED. I asked Myers whether he’d return to Iraq if he could, expecting him to be bitter. His answer? Without a doubt, yes. He didn’t beat around the bush about the original justification for the war; Marines shouldn’t have been in Iraq in the first place, he said. But now that they’re there? “If we leave now, all our efforts have been in vain,” he said. “The politicians and the media don’t get it when they talk about bringing the troops home. The troops don’t want to come home until the job is finished.”
If anyone had reason to be bitter, it would be Cpl. Washam’s mother. Beverly Washam’s family has a long-standing military tradition. Her husband was a career military man, and her brother-in-law died in Vietnam. All 3 of her sons served, or are serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2005, she and her family was jolted by news that her middle son, Sgt. Dustin Washam, had been wounded in Iraq. Fortunately, the injury wasn’t life-threatening, and Sgt. Washam returned to duty. But only a few months later, on Valentine’s Day 2006, her youngest son, Cpl. Washam, and fellow Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Barnes, died when their Humvee was struck by a roadside attack. She and her husband received the news during a Valentine’s dinner.
As she and her family mourned, it was important to Beverly Washam that her son’s friends and neighbors know that he was proud of the work he did, and that he had died in defense of his country.
“He was very proud of what he was doing,” she said. “He felt like he was making a difference in those people’s lives. It was a job to him, just like anybody, except that his was a little more important.” Cpl. Washam was just weeks away from the end of his 2nd tour of duty, but planned to volunteer for a 3rd tour. “We talked about it (three days before his death),” she said. “He was going to volunteer to go back to Iraq one more time. He just felt like he was helping those people and he was proud of what he was doing.”
Consider Sgt. Tom Stephens, a school teacher who left his civilian job for a tour of duty in Iraq as a member of the National Guard.
“There are good things going on over there,” Stephens says. “Every day, groups go out with authorities to establish government and establish a better way of life. But the media doesn’t portray these things. For the most part, people know that the media sensationalizes things, but they don’t know to what degree it is and what the other end of the stick is. They don’t see the good things. We’ve seen what’s happening. When you see the politicians getting up on TV and saying the Iraqi troops aren’t ready and blah, blah, blah, we’re seeing the reality.”
“They never show the hope,” says Sgt. Tom Tinin, also a school teacher who did a tour of duty with the Guard. “When you go out there on those humanitarian missions and you see those kids, you get the feeling that, hey, there’s hope.”
Sgt. George Harless agrees: “The media portrays mostly the bad stuff,” he said. “I think that’s really disappointing. I talked to a Kurdish guy who told me that Saddam forbade them to speak in their native tongue. And if his soldiers caught them speaking their language, they’d just shoot them in the head. These guys were glad that we were there.”
Sgt. Mike Brown says the war was justified. “They talk about weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “I saw pictures where Saddam had gassed innocent women and children. As far as I was concerned, he had to go just for that. The war was worth it.”
“It’s a shame that American GIs are dying over there, but I think back to what I learned in school and about what happened when America was forming,” Stephens added. “How many people came from Europe and fought on American soil and died so that we could have what we have today? Therefore, maybe this is our turn to help some other country reach a level of prosperity and to have a better way of life. I don’t think American GIs are dying in vain.”
Sunday, a scene that has become all too familiar in small towns across America played itself out once again in my hometown: Hundreds turning out for a solemn affair as the body of another fallen soldier was escorted home. This time, it was Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, who was among 9 soldiers killed by Taliban militants last week in the deadliest attack on U.S. forces there since 2003. Among the many who turned out were soldiers who had themselves served in Iraq and Afghanistan. They could’ve used the event as a platform to criticize the war efforts, but they didn’t. Why? Because they understand that ending the wars prematurely will mean that the lives of their fallen comrades were sacrificed in vain.
One has to wonder: As the troops insist that continued fighting is justified, does the left get it?
Firefighters hang a large American flag high above U.S. Hwy. 27 in northern Tennessee as part of a tribute arch under which the body of Cpl. Jason D. Hovater passed on its final journey home.