Are You Being Served?

Via BlondeSense, an article about a marine who sacrificed his finger to save his wedding band, and via Talking Points Memo, an article about a 70-year-old retired army colonel who was recalled to service in Afghanistan. Reading these two stories reminded me of another recent article about a paratrooper who lost his leg in Iraq re-enlisting.

Often, stories much like these are linked to and quoted on Lefty blogs (including this one), with the purpose of illustrating the real cost of the war. Rarely, however, is there even a mention of the inevitable content of the soldier’s continued enthusiasm for the war effort. I cannot overlook this ever-present thread—so many soldiers’ desire to serve no matter what. The men in the very situations that make my stomach churn are ready to go right back for more:

Marine Lance Cpl. David Battle:

The 19-year-old suffered a mangled left hand and serious wounds to his legs in a Nov. 13 firefight in Fallujah.

[…]

Doctors were preparing to cut off Battle's ring to save as much of his finger as they could.

"But that would mean destroying my wedding ring," he said.

[…]

With his approval, doctors severed his finger, but somehow in the chaos that followed, they lost his ring.

Although Battle was disappointed, his wife, Devon, said she was honored.

[…]

He hopes to eventually return to the Marines, and to replace his wedding ring, but that will have to wait until he recovers.

Retired Army Colonel Dr. John Caulfield:

Dr. John Caulfield thought it had to be a mistake when the Army asked him to return to active duty. After all, he's 70 years old and had already retired - twice. He left the Army in 1980 and private practice two years ago.

"My first reaction was disbelief," Caulfield said. "It never occurred to me that they would call a 70-year-old."

[…]

He is one of about 100 over the age of 60 known to be serving. The Department of Defense couldn't provide exact figures.

[…]

Caulfield said he is glad to be able to help.

"I've been a soldier for 25 years," he said. "When your country asks, you do it."

His wife of 47 years, Patricia, said she thought a cruise through the Panama Canal they took after he gave up his private practice would be the most adventurous experience they would have after retirement.

"I feel a lot more comfortable than when he was in Vietnam," she said. "This is a great way to finish his career."

Army Pfc. George Perez:

Perez, 21, lost his leg to a roadside bomb in Iraq more than a year ago, but despite the phantom pains that haunt him, he says he is determined to prove to the Army that he is no less of a man — and no less of a soldier.

"I'm not ready to get out yet," he says. "I'm not going to let this little injury stop me from what I want to do."

Perez is one of at least four amputees from the 82nd Airborne Division to re-enlist. With a new carbon-fiber prosthetic leg, Perez intends to show a medical board he can run an eight-minute mile, jump out of airplanes and pass all the other paratrooper tests that will allow him to go with his regiment to Afghanistan next year.

[…]

Doctors initially tried to save part of Perez's foot. But an infection crept up his leg, and Perez agreed to allow the amputation below the knee joint.

"I was going to stay in no matter what," he recalls telling the surgeons. "Do whatever would get me back fastest."

Perez was left with a rounded stump that fits into the suction cup of the black carbon-fiber prosthetic leg.

When he arrived at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., for his rehabilitation, Perez asked a pair of generals who visited his bedside if it was possible for him to stay in the Army.

"They told me, 'It's all up to you, how much you want it,'" he says. "If I could do everything like a regular soldier, I could stay in."

I have considered, as have (I believe) many on the Left, my horror at the injustice of stories like these indicative of my support of the troops. I was consistently rankled by accusations that liberals don't support the troops, and I believe still that the concern I hold for the men and women who serve is genuine, and can mutually coexist with my disdain for the war in which they fight.

I am, however, beginning to realize that I do not understand the troops. The men quoted above are inexplicable to me.

The troops and their families supported Bush, for reasons I admit I simply cannot begin to comprehend. I am not from a military family, though people with my name have died defending this country. I am hopelessly confused by stories of homeless vets and poor treatment of soldiers, which seem to beg for my outrage, and stories like those above, which seem to ask for the same. Yet the men to whom the latter stories belong harbor no offense.

Support of the troops, like every other issue we collectively face, seems to be drawn among ideological lines. The Right sees it in black and white—either you support the troops or you don’t. (Troops who sour on the military are seen as nothing short of traitorous.) The Left sees it in shades of gray—each soldier’s experience is unique; some will believe in their mission, and some will question it, some will be left with ruined lives after losing limbs, and some will return to the battlefield as triumphant bionic men.

It is inconceivable to someone on the Right that a man mistreated by the military or critical of its aims during his service could be rightfully angry, yet still be a patriot. (See: John Kerry.) It is inconceivable to someone on the Left that a man who scavenges for scrap metal to arm his vehicle could vote for Bush, believe in the mission, and be anxious to get back to the battlefield should a serious injury remove him.

I feel that perhaps it's impossible to claim support of the troops when you don't really understand them, and in that sense, perhaps no one on either side can quite earnestly make that claim. In furtherance of the very worthy—and intimidating—goal of wrapping one's head around what our men and women are experiencing over there, I recommend the Operation Truth blog, which offers a perspective different from that you might see on the evening news.