Phillip Carter, who served in Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division, write an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times that explains the different yardsticks that are used to measure people and their actions. The two measures are not the same in the military world as they are in the civilian.
Frequently over the last two months, my friends have referred to me and other veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan as "heroes." This has disturbed me a great deal, forming another sort of alienation that is likely to become particularly acute this Veterans Day. American society venerates all soldiers as heroes, yet we in the military reserve that label for those who truly go above and beyond the call of duty. To us, the ordinary soldiers who merely served in harm's way, the label feels like a garish shirt — it neither describes us well nor fits us comfortably.
During peacetime, I remember wondering how I would perform under fire for the first time. I vividly recall my first raid in Iraq, when my team hit its first improvised explosive device, thanking God and my training that I did not wet my pants in fear. We stand in awe of those who, at the moment of truth, can muster the moral and physical courage to stand above the rest by rushing to a wounded comrade or into a hostile building.
Heroic legends, from the stories of Homer to the modern-day medal citations in Iraq, are passed on from sergeants to privates, captains to lieutenants. We mark these men and women with ribbons and medals to reward their heroism, but also to establish these warriors as role models whose example might encourage the rest of us soldiers.
Civilian society venerates its heroes too, often for similar reasons. Who can forget the example of the firefighters and police officers who rushed into the burning World Trade Center on Sept. 11? But in today's society, the mere act of volunteering for military service has somehow mutated into a heroic act.
Less than 1% of our country wears a military uniform; fewer still have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Instead of being seen as a duty that should be borne by all, military service has been transformed into an elective chosen by the few. Today, with America at war, the burden of service is heavy, but it is not wide. Small military communities such as Oceanside, Calif.; and Clarksville, Tenn., feel the human cost of this war, but they are unusual in America. And so we lavish praise on those who make this decision, regardless of whether their choice is owed to personal patriotism, ambition or a quest for opportunity.
Read the whole thing. It is very evident how different the yardsticks are to those who serve. Coming from an Army family I see the differences if only vaguely since I was not allowed to serve myself. Carter is quite correct that the standard for being a hero within the armed forces is exceedingly high. My son touched on this same subject when he wrote of seeing the elephant.
I read your son’s letter and will contend that he has very much “seen the elephant.” He has gone into Harm’s Way, even if harm did not come to him. That is the measure.
As to whether Soldiers/Sailors/Airmen/Marines are heroes, it serves us well to call them that. In my reading of history, heroes are the result of someone being in the right place at the wrong time and making a tough decision that his or her life is worth less than the mission or the folks aroound him. Volunteering for the military is the quickest way to be put in that situation. In my military career, no one who set out to be a “hero” became one and many who never wanted more than to see their families in peace became heroes.
So, let us call you heroes.
In just about every meaningful way your son has seen the Elephant.
One cannot have shit blow up in front of them and still function and not have survived the meeting with the _weight_ of war. Things blow up, go wrong or get shot up and you still must carry on. He did so.
War, armed conflict, weighs heavily on the shoulder of those who face it. Every single decision you make means the prospect of a person you’ve worked closely with not coming home. Ever.
The people that that detract our military, and those who lead it, have no damn idea. Deciding for war is no damn fun because _you know_ that people will die. And _you know_ exactly how horrible it is. And you know, because you’ve held a widow in your arms, how much it hurts.
But you know that some things just need to be done. That _you_ volunteered to do the things that protect all that we value back home. What do you call that if not heroism?
I used to call it duty. Something all Americans used to cherish.