My uncle participated in the Normandy invasion at Omaha Beach. He rode on one of the landing crafts that dropped off the soldiers. His job was to go in the water and retrieve whatever men were wounded. He had less than ten minutes before the boat headed back to the ship to pick up more soldiers to drop off, again and again. Some were already dead and some died in his arms, including his best friend. It broke his heart but he did it because we leave no man behind was the basic military tenet that united them all. He recovered, eventually, but it took a long time. Every June 6th, until the day he died at 84, he stopped at a Catholic Church to light a candle for those left behind. That this core value of military service has been challenged by elected men and women who have shown themselves to be of little value, is a national disgrace. Using the return of a POW, no matter the circumstances of his capture, to get a leg up politically on the 2014 elections is an outrage. They deserve to be publicly shamed, not the Bergdahl family that is now the subject of such hatred, it is breath-taking in its malice. My heart goes out to them and I hope that their joy at finally being reunited is not diminished by a bunch of heartless politicians and conservative media enablers only interested in making political points, even if it means corrupting the timeless and honorable military principle to leave no man or woman behind. Mary Scott, NY, Comment in the NYT
Posted on: Fri, 06 Jun 2014 21:14:28 +0000
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