Wednesday, May 07, 2003

The May 19th issue of National Review has about the best article I've seen yet on the war. The article is titled "The Men Who Won the War," by Jim Lacey, and no matter your feelings on whether or not this was a just war (or your feelings on the National Review, for that matter), it is hard not to be moved by the bravery and humanity exhibited by American soldiers in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

A friend sent the text to me via email, and Anne I. has since located the article online. Here is an excerpt, which describes the immediate aftermath of the grenade attack on the 101st Airborne by one of their own soldiers:
Just minutes after the explosions, a perimeter was established around the area of the attack, medics were treating the wounded, and calls for evacuation vehicles and helicopters were already being sent out. Remarkably, the very people who should have been organizing all of this were the ones lying on the stretchers, seriously wounded. It fell to junior officers and untested sergeants to take charge and lead. Without hesitation everyone stepped up and unfalteringly did just that. I stood in amazement as two captains (Townlee Hendrick and Tony Jones) directed the evacuation of the wounded, established a hasty defense, and helped to organize a search for the culprit. They did all this despite bleeding heavily from their wounds. For over six hours, these two men ran things while refusing to be evacuated until they were sure all of the men in their command were safe.

Two days later Capt. Jones left the hospital and hitchhiked back to the unit: He had heard a rumor that it was about to move into Iraq and he wanted to be there. As Jones -- dressed only in boots, a hospital gown, and a flak vest -- limped toward headquarters, Col. Hodges, the 1st Brigade's commander, announced, "I see that Captain Jones has returned to us in full martial splendor." The colonel later said that he was tempted to send Jones to the unit surgeon for further evaluation, but that he didn't feel he had the right to tell another man not to fight: Hodges himself had elected to leave two grenade fragments in his arm so that he could return to his command as quickly as possible.
I could live a hundred lifetimes and not have that kind of guts.

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