Christopher Hitchens' column on a soldier who was inspired to go to Iraq in part by his writings, but lost his life in an IED attack there, is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. The story of this young man's life and his family is something everyone should read. Here is one excerpt that made a particular impression on me:
I became a trifle choked up after that, but everybody else also managed to speak, often reading poems of their own composition, and as the day ebbed in a blaze of glory over the ocean, I thought, Well, here we are to perform the last honors for a warrior and hero, and there are no hysterical ululations, no shrieks for revenge, no insults hurled at the enemy, no firing into the air or bogus hysterics. Instead, an honest, brave, modest family is doing its private best. I hope no fanatical fool could ever mistake this for weakness. It is, instead, a very particular kind of strength. If America can spontaneously produce young men like Mark, and occasions like this one, it has a real homeland security instead of a bureaucratic one. To borrow some words of George Orwell's when he first saw revolutionary Barcelona, "I recognized it immediately as a state of affairs worth fighting for."Please read it all. Hat tip: Right Wing News.
Permalink | E-mail This | Technorati Links | Sphere: Related Content | Digg this! | FARK It!
Filed under:
Iraq
Comments (7)
Now how am I gonna sleep af... (Below threshold)1. Posted by epador | October 8, 2007 3:19 AM | Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Now how am I gonna sleep after reading that? Great link, Lorie.
1. Posted by epador | October 8, 2007 3:19 AM |
Score: 3 (3 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 03:19
2. Posted by kim | October 8, 2007 4:54 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Gateway Pundit about Haditha. al-Qaeda set up the Marines and MSM played along.
Haditha may yet be the defining event of the war, but not in the way the New York Times would have it.
Truth shall out. No thanks to Pinch and Co.
============================
2. Posted by kim | October 8, 2007 4:54 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 04:54
3. Posted by kim | October 8, 2007 7:58 AM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Neo, at Gateway Pundit, has a marvelous comment:
Murtha, the only former Marine in America.
=========================================
3. Posted by kim | October 8, 2007 7:58 AM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 07:58
4. Posted by jp2 | October 8, 2007 2:33 PM | Score: -1 (1 votes cast)
Hitchens knew full well that this war, which he supporter vigorously, would lead to thousands of deaths.
Hopefully he'll turn the corner soon, since he still has a great brain despite the alcohol damage.
4. Posted by jp2 | October 8, 2007 2:33 PM |
Score: -1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 14:33
5. Posted by DJ Drummond | October 8, 2007 2:41 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Jp2, your level of reading comprehension once again displays itself, to your shame (assuming you still possess that faculty)
Mark Daily was a Democrat, who questioned the legitimacy of invading Iraq, yet when he weighed the matter, chose to serve his country and died for a reason far greater than anyone focused just on politics could ever hope to understand.
It's not about Hitchens, or the arguments, or the politics. Maybe one day you will be able to grasp that.
And maybe not.
Thanks Lorie, thank you, Mister Hitchens, and especially thank you Daily family for such a man as Mark Daily, and we are all poorer for his loss.
5. Posted by DJ Drummond | October 8, 2007 2:41 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 14:41
6. Posted by Scott | October 8, 2007 4:14 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
A great essay for an American man.
We should be proud our country can still produce men like this. This is what will save us.
Pax vobiscum, Mark.
6. Posted by Scott | October 8, 2007 4:14 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 16:14
7. Posted by LaMedusa | October 8, 2007 7:08 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Lorie,
Thank you for this link. A very moving and inspiring story.
7. Posted by LaMedusa | October 8, 2007 7:08 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on October 8, 2007 19:08