THE REAL HEROES
(From left to right: Lieutenant Colonel McGarrity, Staff Sergeant Ramus, Staff Sergeant Rabe, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Martinez, Warrant Officer 1 Gochenauer,
Sergeant Hammontree, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mullen, and Major Stinson
Kneeling: Staff Sergeant Torres and Master Sergeant Hunter - Bagdad, Iraq)
In case anyone doesn’t know, the men and women who protect our nation every day serve voluntarily. They could be doing a lot of different things with their time. Almost any of those choices would entail little or no risk which stands in stark contrast to the peril many face each day in uniform. Meanwhile, because of their sacrifice, those of us in the United States have the luxury of going about our day, enjoying life, seeing friends, building careers, raising families, and all too often having days pass with nary a thought about how lucky we are and who is making this luxury we too often take for granted possible. Ask yourself, when is the last time you stopped for a moment and thought about how lucky you are to have the freedom to do all the things you did yesterday?
I’ve had many great moments with military folks, more so with Veterans of World War II and than current soldiers, but on each occasion I have come away wondering how I can in some way do something that would say to them, “thanks” for all you have done to make our nation better and safe. To wit: I was recently contacted by Chief Warrant Officer Ely Martinez, who is an Army man serving our nation in Baghdad. Ely had, somehow, heard about my book Rescuing Da Vinci, and wanted to know if he could get a signed copy as he was really moved to learn about the role of the Monuments Men during World War II. His email opened up a dialogue between us, which I have greatly enjoyed. One think lead to another, and in short order we sent him a gift of not one but twelve signed books, each inscribed to officers and fellow soldiers who were important to him and his life. To all readers: you can send a Fed Ex to Baghdad just as easy as you can to New York City (in fact, we used Media Mail due to the weight of the books), so don’t let that be an excuse for not contacting a veteran in theater.
A few weeks later I received confirmation from Ely that the books arrived safely and quite an expression of gratitude. He was happy; I was very happy to do something, anything, no matter how small, to say “thanks” to these remarkable young Americans. Hardly much a sacrifice on my part, but it made me feel good, plain and simple.
(Chief Warrant Officer 4 Greg Boen and Chief Warrant Officer 4 Curtis Harcus)
This morning I returned to my office after a long road trip of lectures and research to find a box sitting under my desk. In it was an American flag that was flown on the 25th of March by Bravo Company, 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, on a combat mission over Baghdad in my honor. They also gathered and sent me several photos holding my book….well, the photos speak for themselves as all good photos do. Talk about speechless….I never left my office or home to do this small gesture: these men and women haven’t seen their homes in months, in some cases longer. Still, I am SO grateful to Ely and his teammates for their thoughtful gift. I shall cherish it all my life.
To the brave men and women of Bravo Company, and all their compatriots, THANK YOU FOR “WALKING THE WALL”, FOR KEEPING US SAFE AT HOME. WE OWE YOU A DEBT WE CAN NEVER REPAY.