UNCOVER!!! Now there will be a moment of silence for prayer for (and reflection on the sacrifices of) our Troops in harm's way.
COVER!!! My reserve unit is in mourning with our C.O. (Commanding Officer) for the death of her son, in Afghanistan. We all know that when we, or our loved ones, embark on a term of military service, this is a very real possibility.
My own mother, with tears in her eyes, asked me to promise not to volunteer for Vietnam. She said that her greatest fear was that she would outlive one of her kids. I guess she would have been upset with me, because I signed up for OCS (Officer Training) and rotary wing flight school. Had I finished OCS, next stop would have been "chopper" school & guess where they needed "chopper" pilots, in 1967?
Guess God had other plans because I was injured in training & by the time I returned to training & washed out (of engineer OCS, because the math requirements were out of my league {probably could have made it thru infantry, but the waiting list was too long & one of my "buds" was going to tutor me, but while I was recuperating, he graduated}) I didn't have enough time left, to go to "The 'Nam". Instead, they sent me to Ft.Campbell, Ky.
The 101st was in 'Nam & they were sending a lot of the "short-timers", especially those returning from 'Nam there to ETS (End Term of Service).
The drill we did at OCS got me assigned to an honor guard, for the Fallen and (probably) resulted in one of my present functions, as "defacto Drill Master to my assigned units. It was good duty, other than the weeping & wailing, which was understandable but still depressing. We did our best to give last honors to our comrades & were well-treated, everywhere we went. I don't recall a single protester at one of our services. I guess we had a better class of anti-war people, back then.
I've said all that to say this, anytime someone embarks on the "Profession of Arms", which is one of the noblest callings in existence, they, and all of their loved ones know that they may die on foreign soil, in a violent manner.
While we all wish that SFC Chris Bush had finished his tour and his term of service and lived a long & happy life, "He Died Fighting Evil" is a better epitaph than many people will have. Just as I believe that God is just, I have to believe that people who give their lives fighting evil have a special place in His heart because, Oh, yeah, His Son did it, too!!!
I believe that anyone who emulates Jesus, in this manner finds that He forgives a whole lot of prior transgressions. Their rewards are likely to be (and deservedly so) far above anything we can imagine. I'd bet SFC Bush received the "Key to the City".
In a reply to my condolence e-mail, the commander said that right now she is "...just another mother, who has lost a son to war." I think she is much more than that. I think that her examples of courage and service (nurse, scout leader, military reservist, caring for a son rendered quadriplegic by a drunk driver) & I don't know what (but I suspect many) more examples, such as her having overcome personal illness that makes me feel like a whiner, had a profound impact on Chris.
I would bet that her example (&, maybe others in his family) played an important part in shaping the character of a young man who (contrary to the Bravo Sierra (B___ S___) spewed by the left, that the military is the only option for the uneducated and societally oppressed & dis-advantaged) was (obviously) highly intelligent and (I believe) a master gunner and a gunnery instructor, who could have found a comfortable assignment, stateside, but chose to deploy (as I recall) multiple times, so that he could "Fight the Good Fight" and give his Troops the benefit of his knowledge and leadership. That is a characteristic of the "best of the best", dedication to the mission and to the welfare of their Troops.
The military and the country are much poorer with the loss of this fine young man and exemplary Non-Com (non-commissioned officer) and those of us who carry, or have carried the colors can only pray that, one day, the civilian population can sufficiently value the sacrifices of the "Best of The Best" and their families.
UNCOVER!!! May all of the Fallen, who died in a cause they truly believed was just, find peace with their brothers and sisters until we all stand the final muster before the Commander In-Chief Of Us All!!! And all God's children, in one LOUD voice said, AMEN!!! May God Bless Y'all & May God Bless America!!!
COVER !!! That concludes this Memorial Service. You are dis-missd. Sgt. Mack, out.
