I have a co-worker who has 2 sons that joined the army right out of high school. Her oldest joined a couple of years ago and is an MP in Korea. Her youngest is one year out of school and is now Army infantry. He is headed to Afghanistan (arrives there any day now). I told her I admired the bravery of her sons as they surely knew what they were getting into. She shared with me the story of her infantryman son coming into her room the day before his departure a few weeks back. In a moment of pure honesty he said to her, "mom, why did I have to think I was such a bad ass? I wish I hadn't done this." He expressed a lot of fear about what he was headed into, and while she is and should be very proud of him, they are both feeling a lot of regret. Her demeanor since he left has changed demonstrably. She is a nervous wreck. She will be for the next 2 years.
Seeing her stress and sacrifice got me thinking about how very little my life has been impacted by these wars. I don't think I'm out of the ordinary. Outside of her, I've known very few people personally who've been in combat these past 10 years. I have another co-worker that I do not know well, whose son survived a tour in Afghanistan then committed suicide upon returning home. She doesn't ever talk about it. A couple of the young men in my ward have served over the years and returned home safely. At times it is easy to forget that we are at war at all.
It makes me uneasy to think we can put the lives of so many men and women on the line, and so few feel any personal cost. It seems like war should hurt us all. War should be something so awful to a nation that it is always seen as our last resort. Maybe I'm off, and most of you have felt these wars personally? I'm curious where people stand.
Seeing her stress and sacrifice got me thinking about how very little my life has been impacted by these wars. I don't think I'm out of the ordinary. Outside of her, I've known very few people personally who've been in combat these past 10 years. I have another co-worker that I do not know well, whose son survived a tour in Afghanistan then committed suicide upon returning home. She doesn't ever talk about it. A couple of the young men in my ward have served over the years and returned home safely. At times it is easy to forget that we are at war at all.
It makes me uneasy to think we can put the lives of so many men and women on the line, and so few feel any personal cost. It seems like war should hurt us all. War should be something so awful to a nation that it is always seen as our last resort. Maybe I'm off, and most of you have felt these wars personally? I'm curious where people stand.
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