I am writing this blog from the midst of
Helmand Province, Afghanistan at Camp Leatherneck. The casual observer will note
that the relation of the facts here and what is put out via the " Established
Media" are two vastly different things.
I recently ordered a book titled " The
Blogs of War" which is an account of War Blogs from Iraq & Afghanistan. War
Blogs have provided an avenue of unfettered information on what happened here
and in Iraq since 2001.
The book starts with Chapter 1, titled "
Some Must Go To Fight the Dragons". It is a perfect metaphor as
in our country, only some go and fight the Dragons. The rest sit in comfort and
watch the effort from the sidelines while some political types try to adjust the
battle from the far side of the world with a 7500 mile long screw
driver....
Either way, the account is a must-read to
give the reader a greater sense of what it is like to be under fire on the field
of battle and what our warriors go through.
As part of the book, the author quotes a
famous speech given by the Athenian leader Pericles after the first battles of
the Peloponesian war. We need to ensure that our country remembers why we have
Freedom in this day - It is because " Some Must Go Fight The
Dragons..."
I am humbled to be among those who have
gone & fought the Dragons. My present status is acting in prime support of
the Dragon-Fighters, and I share the AOR with them each day.....it is a singular
privilege and one of the great perks here.....to be among such great Men &
Women each day.
A quote from
Pericles' Funeral Oration
" I would have you day by day fix your
eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the love of her;
and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her glory, reflect that this
empire has been acquired by men who knew their duty and had the courage to do
it, who in the hour of conflict had the fear of dishonor always present to them,
and who, if ever they failed in an enterprise, would not allow their virtues to
be lost to their country, but freely gave their lives to her as the fairest
offering which they could present at her feast.
The sacrifice which they collectively made
was individually repaid to them; for they received again each one for himself a
praise which grows not old, and the noblest of all tombs, I speak not of that in
which their remains are laid, but of that in which their glory survives, and is
proclaimed always and on every fitting occasion both in word and deed. For the
whole earth is the tomb of famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns
and inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an
unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.
