Are Soldiers dying in vain?

We Soldiers, Airmen, Marines, and Sailors don't ask you for much. We do the jobs we are assigned to do, regardless of what they are, and we don't ask you to thank us or even respect us - but it hurts when you don't. It takes a lot to hurt a Servicemember; we've got tough exteriors, but some things can cut us in a way that a bayonet never could. However, we've got a lot of discipline, which means that we won't show the hurt that some of our own fellow countrymen seem eager to heap upon us.

Make no mistake, though - we do feel it. Every time someone tells a tale of spitting on a veteran, we bleed a little for him. Every time someone refuses to acknowledge that we are needed by suggesting that we're second-class citizens with no other options, a tear burns in our eye - but we try not to let it fall. Every time one of our "battle buddies" bears the brunt of a protester's anger (whether we know them or not), we choke back the lump in our throats.

It also hurts when people suggest that my brothers and sisters in arms are dying in vain. I beg you, on their behalf, to please reconsider if that's what you think. Each one of us ...read full story