I taught any number of young men and women who volunteered for the Armed Forces upon graduating – as far as I can remember, they covered every branch: Navy, Coast Guard, Army, Air Force and the Marines, but more Marines than any other branch. For 18-year old’s, I suspect that the romance of that Service is compelling.
Many came back to talk with me after Boot Camp, after deployments, after combat; a handful, broken, all changed deeply beyond what would have been the case if they had chosen differently. Here’s what I mean – all of those who came back were more serious, more disciplined, more thoughtful. These were 20- and 21-year old’s. A few were bitter, one seemed to have collapsed within himself, another utterly clear-eyed and very reflective about what he had seen and done, and all were more mature. It was as if everything trivial had been squeezed out of them. I thought of them again this week while reading about the US men and women at the Kabul Airport during the evacuation.
These … stories.
A common description of physical courage – it is the act of running toward trouble, not away. They ran into crowds, towards danger, into the blast zone. They rescued men, women and children who would not have made it to safety without them. They went back into the crowd after the explosion. They kept their poise in unimaginable carnage.
I do not think we deserve these kinds of men and women right now, not the frivolous, entitled nation we have become. Their example should not only cause us to lift our standards about what measure of honorable conduct we should expect from our politicians, and everyone else, and they should humble us and provoke our thankfulness – look what kinds of human beings we can still produce. My God.
