They are an ethical commitment echoed in the final phrase of the Pledge of Allegiance that all Americans are expected to know and honor: “with liberty and justice for all.” “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.“įor a true patriot, a true conservative, these words provide a mantra or creed to live by. What did these patriots say about the ethical principles and human rights that underlay the formation of a new nation? Photo by Serguey, used under CC Attribution 3.0 Unported license. How about Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Samuel Adams, and John Penn, who were among the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence? Liberty Bell. Ross Caputi, former Marine, founder of the Justice for Fallujah Project, and former president of the Boston University Anti-War Coalition What I remember most about that ride is realizing for the first time how willing most people were to praise us, and how unwilling they were to acknowledge the gory details of what they were praising us for. It seemed best not to speak about it, and no one did for the rest of the trip. killing people, destroying homes, and forcing civilians to flee into the desert.Īn awkward silence took over the van, and none of us said a word about what suddenly made us all feel so awkward. He told her about killing insurgents, about firing his AT4 rocket launcher at them, and about the extent to which Fallujah was destroyed when the operation was finished.īrendan’s mother, who had been so proud of us, suddenly became very uneasy, and I think for the first time she realized what she was so proud of us for. Without a shred of embarrassment he began to describe the combat to his mother. It was not long before Brendan began to tell his parents about Iraq and the highlight of our deployment, the operation for which we were all so famous-Operation Phantom Fury, the 2 nd Siege of Fallujah. His name was Brendan.īrendan’s parents were very sweet and when we climbed into their minivan to begin the long drive home, Brendan’s mother told us how proud she was of us and that we were heroes. There were several guys in my unit who were also from Massachusetts, and I caught a ride with one of them. My family could not make the trip to North Carolina, so when our command finally released us on leave I needed to find a ride to Massachusetts. Buses picked us up from there and drove us to our barracks.Īs we stepped off the buses wives and mothers came running to find their husbands and sons and hug them. We flew commercial from Kuwait City to Cherry Point, North Carolina. I remember an incident within the first week that we got back from Iraq.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |