The value of war

Brian Bresnahan:

Pro-War?

“All of us denounce war – all of us consider it man’s greatest stupidity. And yet wars happen and they involve the most passionate lovers of peace because there are still barbarians in the world who set the price for peace at death or enslavement and the price is too high.” Ronald Reagan.

By now you’ve probably seen the picture of a Marine Lieutenant Colonel presenting a folded American flag to eight year old Christian Golczynski at the funeral for his father, Staff Sergeant Marcus Golczynski, killed on March 27th in Iraq. It’s an incredibly moving photo that has been widely circulated around the internet and on national newscasts.

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There are bonds created with those who stand by your side in a combat zone. There is an inherent relationship, a tie, to others who may not have been at your side, but were also there. Sometimes they alone get it. Only they can understand.

I’ve witnessed their bravery, yet I still stand in awe of all they accomplish and so willingly sacrifice.

How can you not love them? You can’t help but to, so it makes their deaths difficult to grasp at times.

How personal their passing is varies for each of us, but those who’ve been there and stood with them understand the significance of their sacrifice and feel the impact of their loss. Probably not at the level their families do, but none the less, the loss of our nation’s finest young men and women impacts those of us who’ve also served.

So it goes with the death of Staff Sergeant Golczynski. So it went with the passing of Lance Corporal Brent Zoucha a year ago. So it goes with the loss of each during the Global War on Terrorism. Their deaths are not taken for granted, nor do they occur without emotion on behalf of their comrades.

These losses and experiencing a war first-hand can accelerate the process by which one fully comprehends that war is “man’s greatest stupidity.”

Yet wars occur because evil permeates the world, and we, with our fallibility and finite wisdom, choose war when we see it as the last or the best option when an aggressor sets the price for their version of peace too high.

We then, inevitably, find ourselves grappling with the deaths of those who commit themselves to standing between us and the barbarians. But we also, as General George Patton pointed out, “Thank God that such men lived.”

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It is worth reading in full and do not miss the picture.

What Brian is describing is the bond that is developed by working with people you know would die for you. While such phrases may be heard in civilian life, you know that most people would not make that sacrifice. In fact they would do everything in their power to avoid it. It is one of the things that make Marines so special. They have the character and courage to do difficult things in circumstances that most people would run from, and they do it for all of us.