For one week I am highlighting commentary from one of OpTruth's Member Veterans in honor of Memorial Day.
Today, I offer a final piece by Iraq Vet Jon Soltz that was featured in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Soltz, a student at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public & International Affairs, is a captain on active duty with the U.S. Army's 2/312th Training Support Battalion, Charles E. Kelly Support Facility in Oakdale. He is an Iraq war Vet and senior adviser to Operation Truth.
First Person: Every day is Memorial Day
The observance of Memorial Day should be a reminder to all Americans of the sacrifices that regular people -- men and women -- have made in service to our country. This is still paramount today as the bodies of soldiers, one by one, return from Iraq after being killed in action. When I served in Iraq in 2003, it became clear that no matter how hard you trained or how well you were equipped that death could be imminent. It's hard, while deployed, for soldiers to process not only what they are going through but how they will deal with death once they return home.
I joined the Army, serving in Germany, Kosovo and in Baghdad with the 1st Armored Division. My unit had a soldier that I sent on a convoy killed by the enemy and many more were wounded. At the time, I was unsure how I would process this in the future. I returned home in September 2003 understanding that I had been lucky, understanding that in war, soldiers on both sides are always the losers. Countries and armies can be victorious through war; but in the process, soldiers always lose. We lose our arms, our legs, our hearts, our minds and, for some, our lives. But we understand one thing -- our survival was mostly by matter of luck.
Unfortunately for me, one of the hardest adjustments of coming home from war was dealing with my generation and the part of the American society that just didn't care about the war because it did not affect their lives. I didn't understand the part of our society that won't look beyond the yellow ribbon magnet on their vehicle.
It wasn't people's opinions that bothered me. It was their apathy and lack of understanding of what it means to be a soldier, what it means to serve in war and what it meant to return home.
We will never have a society that understands the sacrifice our soldiers make when we have a culture that doesn't encourage service and that looks at the military as a career you choose because you can't go to a college.
Memorial Day is a solemn day, not just another three-day weekend for a cookout. It's a day when you remember those who were less fortunate on the battlefield.
For soldiers it's a hard day, comparable to remembering the day of losing a parent, brother or sister. As I planned my weekend this year, I was offered a fun trip to Las Vegas. Two years ago, I would have gone. But now, I can't. Honoring and remembering those who have died in our country's wars is a duty of ours.
Most civilians have an understanding that we remember on this day. But for veterans, it's also a day for us to heal. Living with the fact that you could have died is a challenge. Today is a day to ease the guilt of survival. The guilt that war creates is hard for any soldier to understand or articulate and each person deals with it in his or her own way.
My current assignment provides constant satisfaction, but I have been troubled by one single issue. Training soldiers deploying to Iraq allows me to understand that my mission continues, but I spend a great deal of time discussing the current events in Iraq and scanning many daily papers. After two years of war, our dead have been subjected to Page A-15 or B-9 of most national newspapers. It hurts every soldier to know that if they die, America might forget them because they never really knew that they were killed.
Every day I read those names. For me, every day is Memorial Day.
Soldiers and veterans need to lead in ceremonies across America. If soldiers demonstrate the true meaning of this day, then we will encourage not only others to participate, but to show reverence on a daily basis.
Our fallens' ultimate sacrifice is a gift to our freedom, and our duty as a society is to remember them. In combat we have a saying: "Complacency kills." To every American, every newspaper and every television program, please don't be complacent in remembering.