A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
One of my good friends from High School I recently reconnected with sent this to me. I’ve highlighted the ones I’ve personally felt. The email version is accompanied with photos, which I’m sure you’ve seen.
WHEN A SOLDIER COMES HOME. . .
When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard…
to listen to his son whine about being bored.
to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.
to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.
to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night’s sleep.
to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.
to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.
to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.
to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they’re afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.
to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.
to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.
to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.
to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.
to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.
to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.The only thing harder than being a soldier. . .is loving one.
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Donna
We complain without even thinking about what our soldiers go through everyday over in Iraq or Afghanistan or wherever they are stationed. We are so spoiled in this country but those very soldiers are why we have the freedom to complain and be spoiled and have a good and free life! They even give Morton the right to complain and whine about them Ha!
God Bless all of our soldiers wherever you are and Thank You for fighting for our freedoms!
Isaac
I found a video of this with a song and pictures. http://youtube.com/watch?v=rEPIAremzFc
Jenn
I love them all!!!!
Clyde
Donna,
Good lives can be led withouth killing a million people. Freedom exists in the mind, its a state of being.
Everybody is free, nobody needs to die to achieve freedom. Freedom is here right now, the soldiers are fighting wars for people who just want to get richer.
Propaganda makes you think its for your freedom, were you less free before the iraq and afghanistan wars?
Have you seen the after effects of your wars in vietnam? Take a look, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3798581.stm
The only thing harder than being a soldier, is to drop the gun rather than kill another one.
Peace an Love,
Clyde
Isaac
Clyde,
You don’t seem to understand the “after effects” of Vietnam. My country is free because of it.
Look at YOUR own country, is the caste system making others free? Were the people in Afganistan and Iraq free before the US came? Are the countless people living under communisim free? Think about it.
Clyde
You can be free no matter where or what your circumstance is. Freedom is a state of mind.
The after effects of vietnam is a third generation of deformed children, three generations of deformed children perhaps this will help you understand the after effects of the vietnam war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuWwvRsIK5s
The cast system has been used in india to keep the poor poor and help the rich get richer. THe same way wars are waged against countries that cant defend themselves. Their oil is robbed their natural resources.
The Afghanis and Iraqs are in a state that is ten times worse than what they were before. Innocent woman and children are murdered and raped, today and tomorrow and until the marines stop doing it.
I would like you to kindly expalin how the “after effects of vietnam” a war that was lost helped free america?
Isaac
Clyde,
Perhaps you are blind and/or ignore the most obvious things. I do NOT come from America if you have not noticed.
Plus, I like to ask, in what way are the “Marines” you stated doing such things? Such things were ever so rare even in Vietnam and how are they doing it now? Try getting out of your high caste neighbourhood and live under an Islamic dictatorship.
Also, I don’t see how the war was “lost” in the military perspective. The Charlie’s arses were whipped until the dems handed victory to them.
You do not live in a country that is FREE because of the US, so I kindly suggest you do not argue with CJ (who IS a US Army soldier).
You think everything is in the mind? Well, then get this into your head, FREEDOM IS NOT FREE.
CJ
Clyde,
I’m not going to allow you to outright lie. I’ve frequently and plainly PROVEN that there is NO WAY a million Iraqis have been killed. It’s simply impossible mathematically even if Hitler had invaded instead of Bush. Therefore, everything you say after that is suspect at best, and downright wrong otherwise.
Clyde Fernandes
Im sorry people, if I offend you in anyway for I do not mean to.
But when I read the news today, another person dies this way. American iraqi, combodian pakistani, british libian, jew muslim, christian, they are all the same to me
So when they die I feel the pain, I dont know, my friends, don’t they all die in vain?
A barrel of oil or may two, keeping the peace? Maybe true for you.
But all I see is another dead you, it hurts me so for your my brother, yes its true.
I just wrote this for you! To let you know I wish no harm to you.
I just truly love all of you. Wish I could teach you all a lesson or two. For the lord said, love one and another for I have loved you.
Peace and love,
Clyde
Isaac
Clyde,
Ok, maybe the news you get may not be excatly accurate, but the issue I take with what you say, is that “freedom is a state of mind”. I disagree with that. Some people are just not as fortunate as we are.
I am sorry for my apprent outburst, but I like you to know, that evil has to be destroyed. God loves the people but hates the sin, and he has given us hatred to hate what he hates, not people, in that I agree.
The people in Iraq are much happier now if you had not noticed.
So in closing, please remember,
“Hatred is God’s greatest gift to humanity”– Warhammer 40k.
Ryan
Everyone else feels the same Clyde. However, that is not a good political talking point, given that the people you want to blame for it are not the ones at fault.
Amie
My husband wanted to add, hearing someone complain about American tap water not tasting good.
Wiyaka
As another Vietnam combat veteran, I’d like to say this. What I experienced as an army Pathfinder in ’67 and ’68 has been with me for over forty years. If it weren’t for the ones that have cared, both family members and friends, I wouldn’t be here today. My partner has talked me out of the suicidal thoughts and helped me see the good things that came out of my being there.
No, I’m not sorry for what I did. I couldn’t have done it differently. I know because I’ve scrutinized that year. better than an investigator ever could.
Amie, I know about the tap water. Pushing floating water buffalo dung aside in a rice paddy to get water for drinking is an experience we never forget. Even if the water purifcation tablets are put into the water, the thought of the dung remains with you. BTW, thanks for being there with my brother. I’ve always said that family members that are there for the vets desesrve a medal for supporting us and sometimes keeping us alive. We know that not all wounds are visible.
Nam Vets like myself put up with being sworn at, spat at and called names. With nephews, neices and friends that have served since, I try hard to let them know how proud I am of them. Disrespecting the troops for going is one of my pet peeves, even if I disagree with the reasons they go to war.
Anyone that thinks soldiering is easy has no idea of what it’s like. Anyone thinking that we don’t relive our experiences has never been truly close to a combat veterean. I’m living proof that those who love a soldier, sailor, or anyone that ever served in the military has a tough job. Thank you all for caring so much.
CJ
Wiyaka, thank you for your service and welcome home, brother!
Wiyaka
Thanks CJ,
I just did my job as best I could with what I had available.I have a few more things to add to the list and an explanation of why.
1.To not break out laughing when I hear someone say, “I’m tired of wearing the same old clothes all of the time”. These people should wear the same uniform for a tour of duty. Laundry was when it rainedd or we crossed a river.
2. To hold your tongue and anger as someone complains about the taste of food prepared for them. Obviously those people never ate C-rations as a steady diet.
3. To not say something to someone complaining about dinner being late or interupted. These folks never had the ‘pleasure” of being mortored, rocketed or shot at while trying to inhale food quickly.
4. To not laugh out load at people complaing that their lawn isn’t perfect. Our present vets would like to enjoy even a patchy lawn. Me? After using a machete wile in the jungles? My lawn’s in need of cutting I suppose, but if I can see overr the top of it to get to the Jeep, kennel or mailbox, I don’t care.
5.To keep quiet when people complain about the high temperates or lack of rain. Try living in a desert where you roast during the day and freeze at night! By the same token, those complaining about too much rain haven’t been through monsoon either. Nor have they had to tie themselves to atree to avoid getting swsept downhill during a typhoon. So, quit grumping about the weather. I don’t want to hear it.
6. To keep my mouth shut when people complain about a small leak in their roof. That’s nothing to having to try making a poncho hootch during the daily downpour of monsoon.
7. To not let my hackle up when people complain about long hours at work. The military is on duty 24/7, some even when home on leave. Many of us were and still are.
This is the most important one to me and others that have survived anytime in real combat. To not make a public scene when we see “military imposters”. Too often, people, for whatever reason within their psche, who wear military badges, awards and or uniforms that they don’t have a legal right to wear. Fortunately, the Stolen Valor Act of 2005 is helping teach some of these frauds a lesson. http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press/2007/sep/operationstolenvalor.html
Leah
I think that all soldiers, and the families of soldiers, have a hard time adjusting. They gain a new perspective on life while they’re fighting for our country, whether good or bad. It’s not up to us to redicule our troops, but instead to try and understand their perspective.
God Bless Our Troops!