(11-9-08) “You don’t forget war, you cope with it. What works for one person may not work for another.”
I heard this quote on a PBS program called “Medal of Honor”. The program told about Medal of Honor recipients and their stories & shared their experiences and viewpoints. It hit me hard especially considering that I have family in the military. I couldn’t help but think about Michael earning such a “reward” for showing his patriotism. Now I know that the possibility of him ever receiving that medal is nil to nothing. I don’t even want to think of him being in a situation that might earn him that or any other distinguished medal gained through battle experience. I’m sure that I am not the first person to ever feel that way. There are many people who have loved ones in the war and have been through this in the past. Nothing will change in the future regarding that sort of thing. This world constantly is at war with each other in one form or another and will be so until the end of time.
The program also made me feel pride for all the souls who have died for our country. There was one Hungarian immigrant in the program who received a medal…50 years after his acts of “heroism”. He immigrated to the United States after being freed from a concentration camp in WW2. He wanted to fight for the U.S. because he was grateful for what the “G.I. Joes” did for him. He had family members die in Auschwitz (I’m not sure if I spelled that correctly). He was placed in another concentration camp at the time. He fought in the Korean War and defended a hilltop from a Chinese advance…single-handedly, I might add (due to intelligence and planning) for 24 hours before he got back-up from his squadron. His sergeant sent him up there so that he could get rid of him. The sergeant was Anti-Semantic. Well, his plan failed and I’m glad of that. It was inspiring to hear from the gentleman who acted so “heroic” and defied the odds. I don’t care who you are…those are the kind of stories that people like to hear.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I do not think at all that what anyone who lays down his life for another person or a country selflessly is not heroic. The use of a double negative in my previous sentence proves that I think otherwise. The men who were honored and mentioned in this program however have a different opinion. They think that the word “hero” is thrown around too loosely. They don’t feel like heroes. They just feel like they did what they had to at the moment. That is why I have been putting the term “hero” in quotation marks…due to their opinions. I could share many stories about the gentlemen honored in the program and by our military over the years.
I do want to share the story of Mary E. Walker however. She is the only woman in history to receive the Medal of Honor. She earned the award during the Civil War. She was a civilian medic to Union soldiers. She was captured by the Confederates while in their territory and marched through the streets of a Confederate town (I forget which one). The reason for this was that the Confederates wanted to show the public what degenerate behavior the Yankees allowed. The degenerate behavior in question is the fact that she wore shorter skirts with pants on underneath it and did not act like a “lady” of the time should have acted. She had to nag and pester the military just to allow her to be a medic/surgeon to the soldiers. At the time of the war, she was one of 300 women doctors (not nurses) in the United States. That should tell you something about her strength of character and resolve to do what she thought was needed. I admire her strength. I would go more into her story shared on the program but I’m sure you don’t want a history lesson. Haha.
Going back to the quote mentioned at the beginning of this entry, I honestly feel like it can relate to much more than a literal war. It can also relate to a personal war. Sometimes a person goes through something so horrific and/or something so important to building their character that it can be viewed as a war. How one copes with their experiences, literal war or not, defines how their life will play out in the end. As for me, I have “ emotional shrapnel scars” but I refuse to let them rule my life. I refuse to let them control my daily decisions and actions. They will not get the best of me. They are in my life but they will not “become my life”. If there is anything you can learn from either of the stories I shared above, that is the best lesson to learn. Learn from history because it is liable to repeat itself (no matter what that history may hold).
Bloop is not working so I typed this on Microsoft Works. I wanted to get these thoughts down or they’d be gone forever. I know my brain, haha. This is not the type of entry you usually read from me. It actually gets down to the nitty-gritty of a subject rather than a surface view of my life. I felt like sharing my thoughts at this time however. I usually get online and type whatever pops out of my brain and don’t think so hard about a subject. That quote just grabbed me by the collar and screamed into my face. I thought if it affected me like that, it might affect someone else. Enough said. I’m leaving. “That is all she wrote…”--Robyn |
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