Never Forget Our Fallen Heroes
With each step, my boots felt heavy as I walked toward the Camp Fallujah auditorium. It was another scorching day in Iraq and I had the unenviable job of escorting media to a memorial for the four Marines and one Sailor killed in a suicide car bombing attack. It was late June of 2005.
It’s difficult to put to words what Memorial Day means to me because I cannot forget what it feels like to stand in front of a row of “Fallen Soldier Battle Crosses” – inverted rifles with fixed bayonets, topped with a helmet with dog tags draped and boots placed in front. These Marines and Sailors gave their lives in defense of our country and our way of life in the dusty streets of Fallujah.
Weeks after the attack you could still see the burnt asphalt and tiny bits of debris on MSR (Major Supply Route) Mobile. Five were killed in the suicide car bomb attack and 13 were injured. It was one of the worst attacks directed at female service members in Iraq.
Freedom is not free and never was. Our nation was born through the blood, sweat and tears of our Founding Fathers and Continental Army, Navy and Marines.
Each service member takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. We are a nation where “all men are created equal.” Last week, Congress finally took the first steps toward ensuring that these are not merely words, but reality. Congress voted to include repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the Defense Appropriations Bill for FY 2011.
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is a law that shows that sometimes even the greatest nation in the world can fail its citizens and its ideals. Over 14,000 men and women have been discharged under DADT since its inception in 1993. I am one of the 14,000. But it is never too late to do the right thing.
This Memorial Day marks nearly five years since my tour of duty in Iraq and is a few weeks shy of that memorial service in Fallujah. Never forget those service members, regardless of their gender, race or sexual orientation, who gave their lives to keep us free. And never forget that we must all be defenders of our collective freedoms.
Semper Fidelis.
05-31-10 By SLDN Military Advisory Council member and former Marine Corps Capt. Julianne H. Sohn |
1 Comments
Comments for this entry are closed.Robert D Derr on May 31, 2010 at 10.52 am
Blood of the fallen is neither sweet nor biter to the earth. The wind disperses equally the cries of the dieing. They know not the sex or if hero or enemy of the dead.