Thank God for the internet!

[Thierry Martin]

Average worker vs. Military man

----Your alarm goes off, you hit the snooze and sleep for another 10 minutes.

He stays up for days on end.

-- -- You take a warm shower to help you wake up.

He goes days or weeks without running water.

-- -- You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.

He gets shot at, as others are hit, and keeps moving forward.

-- -- You put on your anti war/don't support the troops shirt, and go meet up with your friends.

He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.

-- -- You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.

He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.

-- -- You talk trash on your "buddies" that aren't with you.

He knows he may not see some of his buddies again.

-- -- You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.

He walks the streets, searching for insurgents and terrorists.

-- -- You complain about how hot it is.

He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.

-- -- You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.

He does not get to eat today.

-- -- Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.

He wears the same things for months, but makes sure his weapons are clean.

-- -- You go to the mall and get your hair redone.

He doesn't have time to brush his teeth today.

-- -- You are angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.

He is told he will be held an extra 2 months.

---- You call your girlfriend and set a date for that night.

He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.

-- -- You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do everyday.

He holds his letter close and smells his love's perfume.

-- -- You roll your eyes as a baby cries.

He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and wonders if they'll ever meet.

-- -- You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.

He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own government and remembers why he is fighting.

-- -- You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of the men like him.

He hears the gun fire and bombs.

-- -- You see only what the media wants you to see.

He sees the bodies lying around him.

-- -- You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.

He does what he is told.

-- -- You stay at home and watch TV.

He takes whatever time he is given to call and write home, sleep, and eat.

-- -- You crawl into your bed, with down pillows, and try to get comfortable.

He crawls under a tank for shade and a 5 minute nap, only to be awakened by gun fire.

-- -- You sit there and judge him, saying the world is a worse place because of men like him.

If only there were more men like him !!

The Guru has spoken

[Thierry Martin]

Freedom is Not Free / War Is Hell

A Story of Six Boys


Each year I am hired to go to Washington, DC , with the eighth grade class from Clinton , WI where I grew up, to videotape their trip. I greatly enjoy visiting our nation's capitol, and each year I take some special memories back with me. This fall's trip was especially memorable.


On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history -- that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II.


Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, "Where are you guys from?"
I told him that we were from Wisconsin "Hey, I'm a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story."


(James Bradley just happened to be in Washington, DC , to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who has since passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible Monuments filled with history in Washington , D.C. , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)


When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)


"My name is James Bradley and I'm from Antigo, Wisconsin my dad is on that statue, and I just wrote a book called "Flags of Our Fathers". It is the story of the six boys you see behind me. "Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team. They were off to play another type of game. A game called "War." But it didn't turn out to be a game.


Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don't say that to gross you out, I say that because there are generals who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old.


(He pointed to the statue) "You see this next guy? That's Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene's helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph... a photograph of his girlfriend. Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. Boys won the battle of Iwo Jima Boys. Not old men.


"The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the "old man" because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn't say, 'Let's go kill some Japanese' or 'Let's die for our country.' He knew he was talking to little boys. Instead he would say, 'You do what I say, and I'll get you home to your mothers.'


"The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona. Ira Hayes walked off Iwo Jima. He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, 'You're a hero.' He told reporters, 'How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?' So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes died dead drunk, face down at the age of 32 .. ten years after this picture was taken.