Some fight to prove themselves or to avenge an injury to their country's honor or their own.
#Ad wars kc professional
Some fight because they are professional soldiers and proud to do the job they have been trained to do. Some perceive other interests of the state in their summons, less noble or selfless perhaps, but serve out of a sense of patriotic duty. Some embrace the cause their nation summoned them to fight. Some defend the right and some the wrong. In the end, all soldiers fight for the same cause. It is the last subject that interested me as I tried to describe the relationship between Robert Gould Shaw, who you might remember was the white commanding officer of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry Regiment in the Civil War, and the African American volunteers he had the honor to co mmand. Commercial opportunity aside, I reference the book because in several chapters I tried to explain briefly my thoughts about war its nature and paradoxes the mistakes that are often made the attributes of successful commanders, the experience of fighting, and the unique purpose that is the combat veteran's. It's available in better bookstores everywhere and at for $25.99, a bargain at twice the price. If you will excuse a few moments of shameless self promotion, I want to quote from a passage I wrote in a book published last week, entitled, Hard Call, which examines a number of historically important decisions and how and why they were made. But the most important thing we share, the bond that it is ours alone is very difficult for others who have not shared our experience to understand. It is in part appreciation for having sacrificed for a cause greater than ourselves relief for having your courage and honor tested and affirmed in the fearsome crucible of combat pride for having replaced comfort and security with misery and deprivation and not been broken by the experience. What we share is something harder to explain. But few of us are so removed from the experience to mistake it today for a welcome thrill. We might be proud to have overcome the paralysis of terror. That exhilaration, after all, is really the sensation of choking back fear. Neither do we share nostalgia for the exhilaration of combat. Only a fool or a fraud sentimentalizes the cruel and merciless reality of war. Whatever gains are secured, it is loss the veteran remembers most keenly. Nothing, not the valor with which it is fought nor the nobility of the cause it serves, can glorify war. When nations seek to resolve their differences by force of arms, a million tragedies ensue. We do share a secret, but it is not a romantic remembrance of war. But as most veterans know, war is an experience we would not trade and we would rather not repeat.
You might conclude mistakenly that the secret bond veterans share is that we enjoyed war. Unless you are a veteran you might find it odd that I would be indebted to the Navy for sending me to war. The Navy was and still remains the world I know best and love most. I consider my inclusion in their ranks to be one of the great honors of my life. I do not mean to dismiss the virtues of the professional soldier. Many of you were kids when you saw combat. You did what I did and more but without the advantages of training and experience that I possessed. I did what I had prepared much of my life to do. And when you came home, you built a better a country than the one you inherited. You answered the call when it came took up arms for your country's sake and fought to the limit of your ability because you believed America's security was as much your responsibility as it was the professional soldier's. Your ambitions might not have led you to war the honors you sought were not kept hidden on battlefields. And so it was nearly pre-ordained that I would find a place in my family's profession, and that occupation would one day take me to war. Their respect for me was one of the great ambitions of my life. My grandfather was a naval aviator my father a submariner. I was blessed to have been born into a family who made their living at sea in defense of our security and ideals. I'm always grateful for the opportunity, and pleased to be in the company of Americans who have had the burden of serving our country in distant lands, and the honor of having proved your patriotism in difficult circumstances.
This is not the first time I have had the honor of speaking at your convention. Thank you very much for that warm welcome, and for inviting me to address you.
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