The face of a nation...

It is often hard to sketch out a topic with some regularity for this blog.  Ostensibly it is a military blog with items of interest to the military community.  At times it is a political blog, a skeptic’s blog, a technology blog, a gaming blog, a personal journal and once in a while it is humorous.  It is many things, but most of all it is a collection of thoughts set out for consideration. 

 

It is a source of validation for my own sanity and reason.

 

It was my birthday Saturday before last.  It was also the day that Joseph Patrick Dwyer, an Army medic, died in Pinehurst, North Carolina.  Dwyer was thirty-one years old.  A marker I have long since passed.  He is notable for many things, but will be remembered as the image of American fighting forces in Iraq.  The picture of him running with a wounded Iraqi child was a perfect representation of our armed services. 

 

His battle clad form (complete with eye glasses) topped by a visage painted with concern for the well being of a child sprinted across a war zone – seeking safety and succor for the injured boy.  He joined the Army after the events of September 11^th.  His service was recognized with the award of the Combat Medical Badge (CMB).

 

What I find most compelling about the loss of this young man is the level of sacrifice he offered to his nation, his fellow soldiers and Iraqi citizens.  There are so many messages contained in this one life that it would be worthwhile to reflect upon it in relation to our own.    

 

I spent the fourth of July in the mountains of western North Carolina.  I sat on the street in Hendersonville and watched their small parade roll past me.  There were no marching bands and only a small color guard from the American Legion at the head of the parade.  The entire parade consisted of beauty queens in convertibles, car clubs, the Salvation Army disaster truck and a trailer full of Cub Scouts.  Ironically, for the whole of the one mile route – no one was on foot.  It was a pleasant, innocent scene.  The event was a striking contrast to operations which are no doubt underway in Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

Later while driving to lunch, we passed a collection of Women in Black – protesting the actions of our government in this conflict (actually any conflict).  They stood outside the old courthouse and held their signs.  In their hats and tailored black dresses, they could be any collection of mature women prepared for a solemn outing.  They stood with black placards waving to the odd automobile which passed them by.  Citizen Prime offered an encouraging wave.

 

I smiled to myself.  It is only through the actions of citizens like Mr. Dwyer that we can engage this open, often painful, discourse.  It is, in fact, this very sort of sacrifice which preserves the rights of the people to question and challenge their government. 

 

Mr. Dwyer’s actions were undertaken of his own free will.  They were born of a concern for his family and his nation.  His path led him to demonstrate to the world the breadth and depth of American compassion and resolve.  Ultimately, he made the final sacrifice.  Not on the battlefield of a foreign land – but at home in the realm of the mind.  It is possible for someone to give too much of themselves, until nothing remains to sustain them. 

 

I say to those who are going or have been in harm’s way – look to your own spirit and to that of your comrades.  As much as the flesh will bear, the mind carries wounds as well.  Do not let them fester.

 

For PFC Dwyer, his war is over.  He now stands in the sacred space of those who bear the burdensome tasks of this nation, willingly and with honor.

    

 

 

Crews Brave Enemy Fire to Save Soldiers...

Not too much to comment on today - however, a little reminder of personal courage and sacrifice is worth contemplating.   

 

 Crews Brave Enemy Fire to Save Soldiers
Tue, 22 Jan 2008 10:28:00 -0600

Crews Brave Enemy Fire to Save Soldiers By Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Mills, USA Special to American Forces Press Service CAMP STRIKER, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2008 - Medical evacuation crews from Task Force Marne faced down enemy gunfire to deliver five injured soldiers in Iraq to safety Jan. 18. A Black Hawk helicopter sits in a field as seen through the windshield of a second Black Hawk on a Jan. 18, 2008, mission to rescue soldiers injured in an attack. Photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Victoria Wade, USA (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The crews from the 3rd Infantry Division's Company C, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, were called in when a patrol of Stryker vehicles from the 25th Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team was attacked. The Black Hawk helicopters flew to the site, only to find that the easiest place to land -- the road the Stryker vehicles were on -- had not been cleared of possible improvised explosive devices. The medevac crews were unable to contact the ground forces or an Apache team from 12th Combat Aviation Brigade in the area. After circling the area scouting for a place to land, the crews landed in a field adjacent to the road, Army Capt. Samuel Fricks, operations officer for Company C, said. Fricks, from Morrow, Ga., was a pilot in the second of the two medevac aircraft. "After landing, my medic, Staff Sgt. (Robert) Congdon, departed the aircraft and linked up with ... Staff Sgt. (Aughe) McQuown," Fricks said. The two Army medics went to the site of the attack and soon returned to the helicopters with three injured soldiers. As they returned to the Stryker for the remaining two injured soldiers, Congdon said, they began taking fire. "I just grabbed the patient and grabbed McQuown and we went into the Stryker," said Congdon, a native of Las Vegas. Bullets struck the Stryker and around them as they went for the cover of the armored vehicle. Congdon reset the Stryker's radio to the medevac frequency, then took off his flight helmet and put on a Stryker crewmember's helmet so he could talk to the aircrew. When the call came over the radio that his medics were taking fire, Fricks said, he was not sure what to think. He did not know where the fire was coming from, but he figured that since the helicopters were down below the level of the road in the field, he was not in too much danger. "The only thing we knew was that Staff Sergeant Congdon was taking fire," Fricks said. As they waited for the two medics to come back with the remaining patients, a third medic, Sgt. Donald Dedmon, from Foreman, Ark., in training as a flight medic, ran back and forth between the two aircraft to treat the injured soldiers already on board. Dedmon was midway through his training to be certified to operate as a lone medic on a medevac mission when he found himself suddenly responsible for patients on two different aircraft. "I was keying on the patients," Dedmon said. "Afterward, it kind of came into perspective." Fricks had been linked up via radio to the circling Apaches, and he relayed Congdon's directions to bring in 30 mm machine cannon fire to suppress the enemy shooter. Back at the Stryker, Congdon and McQuown were attempting to get back to the aircraft with their patients. "We lowered the ramp (of the Stryker) to get out and be able to get to the aircraft, and (the sniper) started shooting," Congdon said. McQuown, a native of Florida, picked up one patient while Congdon and an infantry soldier helped the other patient, and they broke for it. "They ran out of litters, and the guy was shooting at us," Congdon said. "The longer we wait on the ground, the worse it is on the patient, so at some point we had to just leave and get the patients to the hospital." The medics loaded the remaining two patients on the medvac birds. After a quick count of heads to make sure no one was left behind, they departed while the Apaches continued to lay down suppressing fire. "The five patients we hauled all survived," Fricks said. He said watching the two medics struggling to bring their patients to safety was almost like something you'd see in a Hollywood production. "I just thought it was awesome," he said. Company C is part of Multinational Division Center and is based out of Baghdad International Airport, with aircraft at several locations in and around the Iraqi capital. (Army Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Mills serves in public affairs with the 3rd Infantry Division's 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade.)

Related Sites: Task Force Marne/Multinational Division Center Multinational Corps Iraq Multinational Force Iraq