OUR TROOPS

Like most everyone of my generation, I have NO IDEA what war is like. I can’t imagine being in uniform, I can’t understand what it’s like to kill another man, even if he is trying to kill me, I can’t understand anything about battle. So, when I speak of the war in Iraq and the sacrifice the armed forces are making, I am speaking only of theory. That’s not to say the theory is wrong, but to be sure, it’s only from theory and NOT from experience.

Also, like people of my generation, I have family members who know exactly what battle and what being a soldier is like. And like many of my generation, I have mostly ignored these stories. It’s not to say I haven’t listened to them, it’s to say I have not THOUGHT about them. And that’s sad. I mean, really sad.

My grandfather was shot down over Germany in 1944. My dad’s dad was a B-17 pilot and had to bail out on a bombing run and was taken prisoner. Fortunately, he was treated well and was rescued by the WESTERN allies in 1945. My great-uncle, that being my mom’s mom’s brother, lost the bottom ¼ of his leg in the Black Forest of Germany. Uncle Fred was in a ½ track when it hit a landmine (calling Senator No, I mean Senator Gasbag, I mean Senator Patrick Leahy(D-VT)) and he lost the bottom part of his leg. I never gave it a thought as a child and by the time I would, he had died. My dad was in Vietnam. He was in the Air Force and was in Saigon during the 1968 Tet offensive, you know, the American victory that the liberal press spun into a defeat? He jokes about his time there, but, I’m sure he’s skimming over the real stuff he did there.

Why do I say this? Because the people reporting to us and commenting on the war in Iraq have no idea what our troops are going through. We need to remember that when people like Howard talk about the war in Iraq, when they pontificate about how poorly the United States is doing in Iraq, they are uninformed maroons. Even when I talk about the troops, I have no idea what they are doing or what it is like to be in Iraq.

So, ignore us all. Talk to someone, like my grandfather or my dad, ask them what it was like and what they went through. This will tell you how are troops are doing and what it is like. And remember what our troops are going through. They are going through this for YOU. They are going through this for ME. That’s something people Howard don’t even like to think about.