I became draft age in ’75 as America’s direct military involvement in the Vietnam conflict had essentially ceased. I had considered enlisting but did not feel I could trust my government with regards to those it might determine warranted killing.
I was reminded of this when my friend’s son Adam, part of Marines 1/5 for the fall of Baghdad in the second Gulf War, returned home from Iraq. When I cautiously asked him about his experiences in a combat zone, the first words out of his mouth were, “We killed people for no reason.”
I learned from him that even with very specific rules of engagement, innocent people would die. A vehicle would approach his checkpoint too fast, too erratic, and not heed signals to stop or slow down, and he and his fellow Marines would fire upon the vehicle and its occupants. He told me about the time he did just that, and when he went to inspect the vehicle, it was full of dead and wounded women and children, some of whom were screaming or crying or moaning, in terror or pain or anguish.
He bears no physical scars from his tour of duty, but is on PTSD status. I was traumatized by merely hearing of some of his encounters over there. I can only imagine the toll it takes actually living them.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button."I think it's wrong to conscript our youth, against their will
When there's plenty of our citizenry, who really like to kill" - 10,000 Maniacs "Anthem For Doomed Youth".
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
May 27, 2020
1
The real way to support our troops and honor the dead from past wars is to fight like hell to stop the next unnecessary war of choice, which all of ours have been since WW II.
TomMcGiverin
Level 8
May 25, 2020
2
This regularly comes to mind when I hear the standard phrase about "fighting for our freedom." The best way to honor veterans in my mind is to not use them as cannon fodder in illegal and immoral wars. But we are conditioned to see our militarism as noble regardless of the reality in so many ways.
Earlier today MSNBC was promoting the Ulysses S. Grant special that airs tonight on the History channel. One of the panelists was praising Grant for his ability to bounce back when discussing his exchange with General Sherman after the battle of Shiloh.
:-----:
‘Well, Grant,’ said Sherman, ‘we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?’ ‘Yes,’ Grant replied, ‘lick ’em tomorrow, though.'
:-----:
The panelist then made what I thought was an awkward pivot by saying that was embodied in the way we persevered in Iraq, as if that war had similarly justifiable aims. We've been exporting our killing what seems like forever. It needs to stop, for our veterans' sake, and for the sake of our victims.
WilliamCharles
Level 8
May 25, 2020
1
These modern wars are never about our freedoms. They are about empire, for some country's natural resources, their geopolitical important location, and/or our multinational corporations expanding their markets. People who believe the wars are about protecting our freedoms make easy cannon fodder for the military to join the rest of the troops who join as victims of the poverty draft.
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