Imagine you are 22 years old. You're still a kid really in so many ways. And then your country sends you off to a foreign land to fight for the freedom of those people and the people "back home". Imagine then that you are caught up in a fire fight and then get shot in the head.
Perhaps now you are imagining why the headline on this story is "amazing weekend".
Well you see I was at an event on Friday and Saturday. At the same hotel there was also a military banquet. I ended up with sore hands thanking everyone I met for their service to our great nation.
Late in the evening, I stepped outside for some air and there was this young man. He looked extremely young, but was in fact 25. That says more about me than it does about him! He was a sergeant in the Army and was in full dress uniform.
We got to chatting when I noticed an almost perfectly round - about the size of a nickel - circle of baldness towards the back of his head. I asked him if his buddies had played a shaving prank on him. "no", he said. "I was shot in the head" as he proceeded to show me the entry wound on the left side of his temple. The exit wound was the patch of baldness.
He told me he had undergone brain surgery and then I noticed the purple heart bar on his uniform standing proudly at the top of a whole host of other medals.
In some respects he is a lucky guy. He is perfectly normal with no impairment of his functions following his brain surgery. He has in fact been back to combat since his recovery and would go again.
He told me a lot of things in the hour we spent together. He told me about military members of other countries and how they joke with each other all the time "our Army is better than your army". And he also told me how all that stops and how they all come together and respect the traditions of either the religion or the country involved during what they call "angel flights". These are the flights that bring the bodies of our dead heroes back home.
We also talked about Fort Hood. I could see how angry he was about that. I asked him what made him the most angry about it and he said "the excuses". Take note apologists!
It was perhaps one of the most amazing hours of my life. I was honored to be in the presence of this young man and I hope he and I stay in touch. I was also struck by the sense of THIS is exactly the kind of person we want on the wall. Each generation produces more of them and the sacrifice they have all made for our freedom should never go without comment.
If you wish to comment on this blog, you can do so at simontalkshow@gmail.com
The picture of the Purple Heart is a link from knol.google.com
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