snuh ([info]snuh) wrote,
@ 2007-05-25 15:14:00
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memorial day


This Monday is Memorial Day in The United States. It's a three day weekend for most workers and the unofficial beginning of summer.

You don't need to support the war to back the troops. Some people join to earn a college degree, a few for the money, a small number to garner citizenship and others out of pure patriotism. Anyway you look at it, the military exists to protect the United States, though certain Commander-In-Chiefs have used them for their own selfish reasons. This is the day to remember all the fallen that gave their life for their country.

At times, a few Americans claim most of the military is filled with people that aren't able to find jobs elsewhere, that they're lacking in some way. Bullshit - the majority of military I've known are exceptional, responsible people that I find a step above the average American.

I don't support this war. I have five friends that served in Fallujah for the Marines. It was the scene of some of the most brutal firefights in modern day history. After a mortar blast knocked everyone off the ground, one of them survived only because he won the race against an insurgent for a rifle lying on the ground. He had just enough time to grab the firearm, point it towards him and pull the trigger. The man he shot in the face haunts his dreams ever since. This Marine was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and discharged. From that moment on, his life has been in a downward spiral.

Here's the story of Lance Cpl. Blake Miller, who the Bush Administration exploited and made the poster boy for the war, nicknaming him the "Marlboro Marine" after the above iconic picture was on the cover of most US newspapers. "I just don't understand what all the fuss is about," Miller said. "I was just smokin' a cigarette and someone takes my picture and it all blows up."


'Marlboro Marine': Home Front Woes
  • Back From Iraq, Suffering Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
    In November 2004, a photo of a U.S. Marine made the front page of newspapers across the country. The picture is still one of the best-known images of the war. But the man himself has moved on, and is having trouble adjusting to civilian life.

    Lance Cpl. Blake Miller of Jonancy, Ky., came to be known as the "Marlboro Marine" when his picture was splashed across the nation.

    The attention didn't get him any special privileges, and he served his entire combat tour before he and his unit were ordered home.

    The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith was there in February when Miller got to hug his mother upon his return.

    At the time, Miller told Smith, "I lost a few of some of my dearest friends. People don't understand how you can be so close to someone that you've only known for such a short time but, when you spend a year-and-a-half with someone, you know some things about them their own family doesn't even know about. People say that the Marine Corps is a brotherhood, and you truly do not realize that until you actually need your brothers, and that's when they're there."

    But, like many of his comrades, Miller wasn't able to completely put his time in Iraq behind him.

    While on duty during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, Miller suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and was granted an honorable discharge from the Marines in November.

    Miller's life is also different in another way. In June, he married his longtime love, Jessica.

    On The Early Show Tuesday, Miller told Smith, "For the most part, I mean, it was a big adjustment (when I got home) just trying to get in that mindset of being able to just roam, run around without fear of being shot at or where to look for danger. … It's unexplainable. I mean, just to go from that mindset to being able to walk around freely and just enjoy it."

    Miller said the trouble that arose during his Katrina duties happened on the USS Iwo Jima when a sailor mimicked the whistle of a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG).

    "For anybody to duplicate that sound," Miller told Smith, "they've had to hear it. Without even knowing what I'd done until after it was over, I snatched him up, I slammed him against the bulkhead, the wall, and took him to the floor, and I was on top of him."

    Miller went into therapy, but wasn't told right away that he had PTSD.

    "At first, they thought maybe it was the pressure of being on the ship," he said. "The more doctors I talked to, the more they came to the conclusion that (PTSD) is what it is. I'm continuing my therapy; continued up until the day I got out (of the service), actually."

    And Miller knows he's not alone.

    "A lot of guys have had way worse incidents from being in Iraq," he said. "And I guess it just — it troubled me due to the fact that their incidents may have been more severe, and they weren't suffering from the same things I was. I just didn't understand how it could affect me so dramatically and not affect some of these guys. But a lot of them deal with different ways.

    "The more and more I talk to (other guys), the more I found out there were a lot of Marines that are going through same or similar emotions. It's tough to deal with. Being in Iraq is something no one wants to talk about."

    While Americans celebrate the day with barbecues and parties, I hope they take some time out to think of those that gave their life for their country. The best way to honor them is to end this horrible war.



              Stan Ridgway: Camouflage - 16.60MBweb hit counter


  • (13 comments) - (Post a new comment)


    [info]im_not_marching
    2007-05-25 10:33 pm UTC (link)
    Amen.

    The worst myth about the left is how we don't support the troops when we say we want them home. It kills me.

    When I see a serviceman in uniform, I thank him. Always. They make an incredible sacrifice, regardless of their reason for joining.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-25 10:43 pm UTC (link)
    I hold life dear. I respect our troops so much that I don't want to see anyone of them die. How that got turned into, "If you don't support the war, you don't support the troops", I'll never understand.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]im_not_marching
    2007-05-25 10:53 pm UTC (link)
    Yes, I don't want to see any of them die *for no reason*. I don't want parents to get 'the call' or 'the letter' or the fucking telegram or however they do it these days for ABSOLUTELY NO REASON.

    It's gross, it's sick and it exploits those who are willing to give everything they have to stand up for the good things about this country.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-25 11:12 pm UTC (link)
    I wish I can remember all the stories I've read about parents of military that cringe every time they get an unexpected knock or a letter from the government land in their mailbox. The trauma family members go through is inexcusable.

    Did you know that former Defense Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, refused to sign any of those, "We regret to inform you... " letters? Even Bush was decent enough to put time aside to do so.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]dmlaenker
    2007-05-25 11:37 pm UTC (link)
    It's a magical definition of "supporting the troops" that has nothing to do with their material support and everything to do with sympathetic spellcraft.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-25 11:56 pm UTC (link)
    Joseph Goebbels aint got nothing on the Bush Administration.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]dmlaenker
    2007-05-25 11:35 pm UTC (link)
    I thanked them even at a protest where a marine told me to "fuck off and die".

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]im_not_marching
    2007-05-26 12:04 am UTC (link)
    Thank you for doing that.

    Yesterday, the disabled Veterans were on the corners here in Chicago requesting money with their cans and their poppies.

    I gave the 40$ I had on me and asked the gentleman, "Doesn't it upset you that you have to stand on street corners and beg for something this country should make a priority?"

    He said nothing, but hugged me. It's fucking disgusting the way we treat these people who are willing to give up every god damn thing for *us*.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-26 12:04 am UTC (link)
    The Chinese populace tried that after the Tiananmen Square protests. Many brought their kids up to the deployed military. They had the children bring along food and refer to them as "Uncle Soldier". Humanizing people is a great weapon against violence.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]im_not_marching
    2007-05-26 12:07 am UTC (link)
    What? People other than Americans are *people*?

    My favorite shirt ever is a shirt that says "God Bless America" with the America crossed out and "Everyone" underneath it.

    Well, my favorite shirt right now anyway.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-26 12:35 am UTC (link)
    A while back, I used to play in a band with a drummer whose father was a very talented Jazz keyboard player that earlier made a bit of a name for himself. He was a deep guy and after jamming with him, we started talking about the Cold War. I said, "The Soviets are just like us."

    He checked me hard and asked, "What do you mean by 'just like us'?" That stopped me right in my tracks.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]im_not_marching
    2007-05-26 12:13 am UTC (link)
    Do you mind if I link to this on Monday?

    You've said what I want to say better than I can.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)


    [info]snuh
    2007-05-26 12:36 am UTC (link)
    Now, that's a first because I'm a far better talker than writer! Please do.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


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