Our Forgotten Soldiers
It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to voice political views on this blog. So I won’t.
But even though I rarely watch TV these days, I felt compelled last night to watch the ABC special, “To Iraq And Back: Bob Woodruff Reports.”
Bob Woodruff was an ABC News anchor reporting from Iraq in January 2006 when his tank was hit by a roadside bomb.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury from which he has made a miraculous recovery. He was quick to point out that his recovery isn’t complete.
It’s easy to look at Bob, still so handsome and intelligent after such a devastating injury, and think that all of our surviving soldiers get a reasonable second chance.
Of course, that isn’t true.
His report showed one young soldier trapped in an unresponsive body, seemingly aware of his surroundings as he lay bedridden, unable to speak, his arms bent and fingers curled in unnatural positions. Still alive, but no longer living.
There are many more like him.
I always watched the Nightline specials where Ted Koppel showed silent pictures of our fallen servicemen and women. I felt I owed them that.
They looked like such vibrant young people, most barely out of high school. The loss of life and what might have been, the unfairness of such tragedy, is haunting at times.
But then we get on with our reasonably comfortable lives and our mostly petty problems and our soldiers are forgotten.
So today at least, this blog will not be about weight loss.
It will be about our soldiers. My insignificant and utterly inadequate way of saying, “Thank you.”
I owe them that.
I owe them much more. We all do.
They shouldn’t be forgotten.
Technorati Tags: iraq war, afghanistan, soldier, soldiers, troops, thank you
February 28th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Yes.
February 28th, 2007 at 11:37 am
It’s about time somebody said something about all the maimed and dying troops. We hear that Cheney’s all right, but no one talks about the people who died for him. Who are they? Why don’t we hear their stories?
February 28th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
I saw the program, too. It’s so sad to think of all those young people having their lives taken from them like that.
February 28th, 2007 at 3:16 pm
Well-said.
February 28th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Great post.
I had to hit pause a million times to get tissue last night!
February 28th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I felt so selfish when I saw that program. Here I am feeling sorry for myself because people call me fat and those guys are losing their lives or ending up with brain injuries and amputated arms and legs. It really puts things into perspective when you see what other people are going through.
February 28th, 2007 at 7:03 pm
Damn war.
February 28th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Great post. I agree completely.