Hug a Soldier Today as we celebrate those who served to protect our liberties I wanted to share a small story in my life. I am however writing this first paragraph after I wrote the body of this post. I am warning combat veterans that this may be a tough read. As I wrote it I tried to describe a circumstance, but I was alarmed at how much it took out of me. Its graphic so please take heed. It was just after Thanksgiving 1993; I was attached to a United Nations unit providing protective services to diplomats and high ranking military leaders in Sarajevo. The U.S. was not officially involved in combat operations on the ground. In fact, there were few American soldiers serving on the ground at all, but the No Fly Zone was paroled heavily by U.S. warplanes serving in a NATO mission to deny the enemy use of the skies. My mission in Bosnia varied day-to-day, but I remember the bitter cold of the winter there. I remember three weeks living in a sewer beneath the city as we safeguarded above ground structures from subterranean threats that never presented themselves. Mostly, I recall insanity and hopelessness all around me. The war had cleansed the country of military age men, largely, leaving children to pick up arms and old men to battle them. This was a religious war and although the deadly cold would freeze the weakest ones, they still could not find comfort sharing a barrel fire or firewood. December served me the most chilling reminder of my mortality. I was in a HUMVEE manning a .50 Caliber machine gun. The air so frigid from a prolonged cold snap, I found it unbearable to stand upright in the turret of the turret. I would crouch down inside and the squad commander would order me to get back up. I was one of five in the HUMVEE, One of five soldiers attached to a UN unit. None of the others in the HUMVEE spoke English as a first language. It was a bad situation from the start. I crouched down again, sneaking short blasts of warm air, the cold air freezing the scarf to my nose and mouth. Ice crystals formed around my face. Brittle cold. Anger fired off at me again from the front seat and I popped back up into my fighting position behind my weapon. Along a dirt road we drove on a hillside. To the right of us a drop off into the woods and to the left of us a hillside up a steep slope. We drove somewhere, but I cannot recall where or why. I ducked in again, my eyes burning from the cold. Then a shot rang out, but before I received the ringing in my ears. The soldier to my right, who I never knew beyond this patrol, was hit by a sniper. The round came through the door from below and it stole his life in an instance. Had I been standing, which I had been a only a moment before, I would have most certainly been dead as the round exited beside the turret. I always feel very odd on Veterans Day. I was never drafted, but volunteered for a job really. In fact I put my butt on the line without understanding the full gravity of the choice I had made. I was very lucky a few times and I was likely much luckier than I knew. There is no glamour in war. Even in times of peace, the military is not glamourous. It is constant training, repetitive training for something soldiers simply dont understand until they are faced with a deployment. I was scared as hell every time I went somewhere. I was a sick to my stomach, headache-having wimp, but in the heat of the moment the training guided me. I survived because my leadership cared enough to teach me the best they could. Twenty years later I am much softer in my heart than I was then. To those I served with, thank you for having my back. To those who served before and after, thank you. To those who love those who came back different, stay strong and thank you. Hug a soldier. They still carry with them a bunch of crap. We served to help those who could not help themselves and to protect those who never knew they needed protection. America will forever be strong because U.S. soldiers love her so much. God bless the U.S.A. P.s. These photos are not mine. I did not carry a camera. It wasnt a vacation.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 03:25:33 +0000
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