Saturday, June 04, 2005
Lessons Of War
The best comes right from the horses mouth. In this case, Dadmanly, and his son.
Dadmanly posts on what he and his unit have learned from this deployment.
And then he posts an essay by his son on the flag. The boy is nine.
Dadmanly posts on what he and his unit have learned from this deployment.
As we assemble at our Demobilization Site for the last time in our current configuration, with all our new friends, true brothers and sisters in arms, it will be hard to say those last goodbyes. We will want to linger, but will long more for our families and homes and a return to our lives before mobilization.I probably should not crack a joke based on Dadmanly's fine prose, but I need to remind him that the original Ocean's Eleven (the Rat Pack) was about a returning military unit pulling the heist. I am hoping that is a lesson Dadmanly did not learn.
It reminds me of the final scene in Ocean?s Eleven, when the partners in crime go their separate ways. They are satisfied (and rewarded) by their work to be sure, but there is an air about them of that feeling, if not sadness exactly, maybe a warmly felt regret of remembrance. That by going back to our first homes, we have to say goodbye to this home away from home, not buildings, not tents, not FOBs and Palaces, but the home that was the fellowship with our fellow Soldiers.
And then he posts an essay by his son on the flag. The boy is nine.
So now with my dad in Iraq and my heart towards God all I can say is the flag stands for all.That brought a tear to my eye and gave me the best hope for the future of this nation I have had in a long time.
