Did you know that the term G.I., referring to armed services personnel, stands for government issue? As a U.S. Navy Hospital Corps petty officer, I once cared for a patient who had fallen asleep on the beach and had to be hospitalized for second-degree burns over much of his body. Upon release, he was disciplined for destruction of government property.
Since the armies of the pharaohs, enlistment has meant the reduction of human beings to tools of warfare. Whatever had to be done to create these walking weapons was done to them. Whatever damage was done to their souls was fortunes of war and wounds of combat. In all that time to now, only the technology has changed.
Whether or not you believe these casualties were a worthy investment in the fortunes of our nation is an argument for another time and I hope we have it honestly and soon, but make no mistake, they are casualties.
We must not shame ourselves by discarding them and we can only degrade ourselves by daring to judge them for what they have become at our behest. If we are to emerge as better than a disgraced and failed empire, we must begin now to honor their sacrifice with a dedication never to forget that there are no unwounded soldiers.
Harold R. Pettus
Everett
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