Duty and Honor

Two weeks ago, I got a wonderful surprise. I received a text message from a young man I call my “adopted son.” (Note: Just so I make myself clear, I actually have two “adopted sons”, and one is celebrating his 21st birthday this week, so Happy Birthday, Justin!) Back to the original story, the text message said “I’m in KC. Give me directions to where your new office is.” That message came from Emmett, the young man on the bottom left of the picture.
Emmett was one of my daughter’s best friends in high school, even though he was several years older than she. He was also one of “my” wrestlers, my little family of boys and one girl (yes, I remember Elise!) that wrestled at Sumner Academy. They are all about to enter college, graduating from college, starting families, or in several cases (Emmett, Christian, Brian, Glenn and Andy) serving their country in various branches of the military. Christian is currently serving his 2nd tour in Kuwait, having served his first one immediately following graduation from high school. Emmett is serving in Kirkuk, Iraq, as is Brian.
Now Emmett was half way through his 1st semester of his senior year at Kansas State University. He is very involved in his fraternity and was an intramural wrestler there. He entered the Army Reserves while in high school. He completed his basic training and then went off to college, serving his one weekend a month and during the summers. Just as his reserve contract was supposed to end, he got word that he needed to drop out of school and pack his duffel bag for a trip to “the sandbox”. So close to graduating from college- he didn’t complain. The Army had helped put him through school and he was ready to do his duty. It’s a volunteer Army and he signed up for it. That is not to say, however, that he was chomping at the bit to go!
The day that he showed up at my office, the women were all going crazy. Emmett is larger than life in real life. He is quiet, smiles a lot, and has impeccable manners. (Note to all of you reading this who know Emmett, stop laughing!) As I took him around my office and introduced him to all of my co-workers, they were so impressed (both with his manner and his muscles!) My director kept trying engage him in a political discussion, asking who she should vote for. He politely told her that he didn’t talk politics. Then she asked him how the soldiers felt about the war and he once more politely told her he could not speak for all of the soldiers. Somewhat frustrated, she asked him how he felt about the war. What he said surprised even me! He told her we need to stay at least 2 or 3 more years to allow the Iraqi people a fair chance at democracy. He felt that so much of the government there is still corrupt, and many Iraqis truly hold out hope that the next elections might really make a difference. He works closely in the reconstruction with the Iraqi people and has seen how hard they are working to make things better and how many of them put their own lives, and the lives of their families, at risk to help the Americans help the Iraqi people.
All we ever hear is the soldiers all want to come home and the Iraqi people hate us being there, and blah, blah, blah. Why is it that the American press tells us only the stories they want us to hear, and seldom the stories about the good things going on. Yes, it is dangerous. Each and every time they get in a vehicle, not matter how armor-plated it may be, they put their lives at risk. Each time the military comes up with new technology to help stop the IEDs, the enemy comes up with new technology to beat our technology. It’s like a very dangerous chess game with some very serious consequences, and yet still this young man, barely into adulthood, can see something that we can’t. Hope!
I am the daughter of a US Marine who served in the 10th Amphibian Tractor Battalion in the Marshall’s and Guam. I am the mother and mother in law of two US Army Medics. I am the “adopted” mother of a US Airborne soldier with the 418th Cavalry Battalion. I couldn’t be prouder of any of them. People may disagree on how we got into this war, whether we should get out of this war, and who should be making these decisions. My personal opinion is- let the military fight the wars and let the politicians deal with Medicare, gas prices, health care, the tumbling economy and keep their noses out of micro-managing things where they don’t have any business imposing themselves into. Let the boots on the ground make the decisions, not those who sit on their high horses, collecting their big pensions and great health insurance, while setting record pork barrel spending bills. In the meantime, many of the military families are struggling to survive at home, at the same time their loved ones are struggling to survive abroad.
No matter how you feel about this war, or any war, remember that these are the people who put their lives on the line for us day and night, and make less money than many of you reading this. They do it voluntarily and with a sense of honor and duty, tempered, I’m sure, with a fear they may never see their loved ones again. Please take a moment to thank those in uniform when you run into them at church, in the airport, a restaurant, or wherever you may see them. If you meet a family member, thank them for their sacrifice too! Most of all, say a prayer they all come home safely.
I am so proud of Emmett. I am proud of the man he has become and proud of the job he is doing. I am also proud that, when his tour is over and he comes back to finish college and enter the world, he will do good things because he is a good man. I met his frat brothers at a BBQ over the weekend and was proud that he surrounded himself with good friends while he was away at school. And lastly, I am proud that this good man’s parents have shared him with me, “his adopted mom”, all of these years, as I have shared my daughter with them. This morning, Emmett is winging his way back to Kirkuk.
May he return home safely soon. God bless the troops serving all over the world, at home and abroad. May he hold their families close, and may he bring peace to this world soon!