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Aug 31, 2006
The average age of the military man/wmoan, is 19 years. He/she is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances, is considered by society as half man/woman, half boy/girl. Not yet dry behind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer, but old enough to die for his/her country. He/she never really cared much for work and he would rather wax his/her own car than wash his father's; but he/she has
never collected unemployment either.

He/she's a recent High School graduate; he/she was probably an average
student, pursued some form of sport activities, drives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady girlfriend/boyfriend that either broke up with him/her when he left or swears to be waiting when he/she returns from half a world away.

He/she listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap or jazz or swing and the sound of a 155mm howitzer.

He/she is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when he/she was at home because he/she is working or fighting from before dawn to well after dusk.

He/she has trouble spelling, thus letter writing is a pain for him/her, but he/she can field strip a rifle in 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time in the dark.

He/she can recite to you the nomenclature of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either one effectively if he/she must.

He/she digs foxholes and latrines and can apply first aid like a
professional.

He/she can march until he/she is told to stop or stop until he/she is told to march.

He/she obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he/she is not
without spirit or individual dignity. He/she is self-sufficient.

He/she has two sets of fatigues: he/she washes one and wears the other.

He/she keeps his canteens full and his/her feet dry.

He/she sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never to clean his/her
rifle.

He/she can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes, and fix his/her own hurts.

If you're thirsty, he/she'll share his water with you; if you are
hungry, his/her food.

He/she'll even split his ammunition with you in the midst of battle
when you run low.

He/she has learned to use his/her hands like weapons and weapons like they were his/her hands.

He/she can save your life - or take it, because that is his/her job.

He/she will often do twice the work of a civilian, draw half the pay
and still find ironic humor in it all.

He/she has seen more suffering and death then he/she should have in his/her
short lifetime.

He/she has stood atop mountains of dead bodies, and helped to create them.

He/she has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and is unashamed.

He/she feels every note of the National Anthem vibrate through his/her body while at rigid attention, while tempering the burning desire to 'square-away' those around him who haven't bothered to stand, remove their hat, or even stop talking.

In an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home, he/she defends
their right to be disrespectful. Just as did his Father,Mother Grandfather,Grandmother and Great-grandfather, he/she is paying the price for our freedom.

Beardless or not, he is not a boy,little girl.

He/she is the American Fighting Man/Woman that has kept this country free for over 200 years.

He/she has asked nothing in return, except our friendship and
understanding.

Remember him/her, always, for he/she has earned our respect and admiration with his/her blood.

And now we even have women over there in danger, doing their part in this tradition of going to War when our nation calls us to do so.

As you go to bed tonight, remember this snapshot.. A short lull, a little shade and a picture of loved ones in their helmets.
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Posted: Aug 31, 2006 2:07pm

 
 
 
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Author

Valerie l lurie
female, age 56, single, 2 children
Tilton, NH, USA
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