Thursday, April 8, 2010

Dad 222

Courage is something we cannot see, smell, feel or even completely understand yet it abounds all around us! I have thought often about courage because as Americans our history is loaded with tremendous acts of courage! It is found in many forms, for example Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela demonstrated a great deal of courage in their effort to establish racial equality! The father of our nation showed great courage in separating from Great Britain and ultimately fighting a war for our freedom. Again Abraham Lincoln held our nation together with his courage which cost him his life. From Bunker Hill to New Orleans, Gettysburg to San Juan Hill, the Ardene's to Normandy, Guadalcanal, and Inchon, From Ripcord, Hamburger Hill to Panama, Kuwait, Iraq and now on to the Tangy and Korengal Valleys and Kandahar in Afghanistan courage is a constant companion! John Wayne who was in movies reflective of most of the battles describes courage as "Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway!" Or as Mark Twain said "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear." Either way it happens everyday in Afghanistan, by kids. Many of these young men are only 19, 20 and 21 years old and yet they go into the wild everyday without hesitation. Zach is one of them and as Lisa has posted earlier go to youtube and check out 173rd Afghanistan 2009/2010. My heart goes out to all the families who live as Lisa and I do those like Mary and Judy who have loved ones deployed. But I know it will be ok because Zach is Superman and there is no Kryptonite in Afghanistan! I love that boy and have the utmost respect for him and all of them. I will close with a quote from Winston Churchill "Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt... We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job." Finish the job and come safely my son!

1 comment:

  1. What a great post Galen, although I have burst into tears from reading it.... I wish I had just an ounce of the courage our boys have.. man Im proud of them... dont know why Im crying but thanks for the post. You are so right.
    Man where did these kids come from?????

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