Respecting those fighting in Iraq

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Cecil’s World in Print. Last week, we remembered Veterans Day, and today, I have more about our troops fighting for our freedom.
How many of you complain about things you have to do at work or around the house? I am no different. I complain if everything is not just right.
Well, this column is about more than 140,000 men and women who have to do what they are told to survive a war in a foreign country.
I get upset sometimes when my wife asks me to take out the trash during one of my favorite television shows, which is a simple request. The men and women fighting in Iraq can’t watch TV with their families or kiss their children good night or sleep in their own beds. But it’s thoughts like that that keep them going, hoping one day to return home to their loved ones.
I don’t know what it’s like to lose a son or daughter or father fighting in a war. Those fighting for our freedom live in a different world from what they used to. This is another great item someone sent to me by e-mail that I think is worth sharing with you. The author is unknown.

You stay up for 16 hours.
He stays up for days on end.
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
He goes days or weeks without running water and washes up with a Wet One.
You complain of a headache and call in sick.
He has blisters on his feet from walking miles in full gear and keeps going.
You put on your “anti war/don’t support the troops shirt,” and go meet up with your friends.
He still fights for your right to wear that shirt.
You make sure your cell phone is in your pocket.
He clutches the cross hanging on his chain next to his dog tags.
You talk trash about your buddies who aren’t with you.
His buddies are closer than a brother, and he would lay down his life for any one of them.
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He patrols the streets and mountains, searching for insurgents and terrorists.
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears his heavy gear, not daring to take off his helmet to wipe his brow.
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He gets to eat a cold MRE or beef jerky.
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He wears the same things for weeks, but makes sure his weapons are clean.
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He doesn’t have time to brush his teeth today.
You’re angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
He’s told he will be held over an extra two months.
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He waits for the mail to see if there is a letter from home.
You hug and kiss your girlfriend, like you do every day.
He holds his letter close and smells his love’s perfume.
You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He gets a letter with pictures of his new child, and misses the sound of its cry.
You criticize your government, and say that war never solves anything.
He sees the innocent tortured and killed by their own people and remembers why he is fighting.
You hear the jokes about the war, and make fun of men like him.
He hears the gunfire, bombs and screams of the innocent that he is trying to protect.
You see only what the media wants you to see.
He sees lives experiencing freedom and democracy for the first time.
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don’t.
He does exactly what he is told.
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes whatever time he is given to call, write home, sleep and eat.
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep, but gets woken by mortars and helicopters all night long.
You sit there and judge him, saying the world is probably a worse place because of men like him.
If only there were more men like him.
I hope someone will take time to send this to a soldier fighting in Iraq to let them know we have not forgotten about them. Come home soon, soldiers. See you next week, right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.