The Red Badge Of Poor Timing
Over the last few months, I’ve thought a lot about the wars we’ve fought. Although I’m aware of the significance of the conflict I was involved in I never fired a shot. I didn't do anymore than any of the other guys in my unit and even though I was wounded, my purple heart merely reflects unfortunate timing. People wonder how the traumatic attack and the loss of a close friend will affect me but although it’s been difficult, I can’t help but think about the men who saw a dozen friends fall around them as they stormed a muddy trench in France, or lost both legs to a landmine in the jungles of Vietnam. I’ve been through a lot in the last year but I’ve become acutely aware of the fact that there are tens of thousands of men out there who’ve been through far worse campaigns and lived through incidents as bad, or worse than mine half a dozen times or more.

The next time you think about the war going on today, whatever you may think of it, remember that there’s thousands of soldiers out there who’ve fought, and suffered, and lost more than we know, many of whom came home only to be cursed at and then quietly forgotten. Remember them now and as today’s soldiers return, regardless of how you feel about politicians and foreign policy, just be glad that there are men and women out there willing to serve their country as soldiers. Be grateful because there may come a day when your very way of life is threatened and it will be those people who will answer the call, it will be those soldiers that defend us.