via Tim) A 19-year-old Marine is going back to Iraq for his second tour because of his sense of duty to his country. Shockingly enough, some of his peers don't even realize that we still have troops in Iraq; America's short attention span is this Marine's biggest fear: "It gets to me. It's almost like 9/11. Everyone started throwing flags up on their cars, but now it's fading out. Same old news every night." So he's volunteered for two more tours, going back a little braver, a little wiser, and a little stronger because he's a Marine and that's what Marines do.
He's also another servicemember who has parents who'd rather use their appearance in the newspaper to express their distrust of the current administration instead of pride and gratitude for their brave child. His mother: "'I don't know if there are weapons of mass destruction,' she said. 'If this is based on a lie, I'm gonna be really [angry].' Getting rid of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was a good thing, she said, but, 'Is that worth the lives that have been lost over there? I have no idea. I don't want to lose my only son for a cause that might be a lie.'"
Her son's response?
Isaiah doesn't think highly of the folks who constantly question when troops expect to find weapons of mass destruction.
"I think they should shut their mouths. You can't even find an AK-47 in someone's home because they can hide it so well," Schaffer said. "They really don't know what they're talking about."
He stands firmly behind the president--and wishes Americans would stand just as firmly behind him and other troops.
"President Bush sent us over there for a reason. And from a Marine's outlook, you start something, you finish it," he said.
"God willing, we'll finish it."
Godspeed, Marine. As my husband's company says, "Get 'er done!"
Posted by Sarah at March 3, 2004 01:53 PM | TrackBack