“I tell them that in World War II, kids that were 16 and 17 years old were lying about their age so they could get into the Army and fight in the war,” Graham says. “There were 16 year old kids who died on Iwo Jima so that you could have this lifestyle you have now with your nice locker rooms and using the best equipment. Can you imagine kids nowadays making a commitment like that?"
Yes, I can. And so can my eldest. Only he was 18, not 16 or 17, holed up on a remote hilltop when he and 20+ others, some of whom were also only 18, were assaulted under the cover of early morning fog by a force of over 200 Taliban intent on overrunning their outpost. They somehow managed to shed their "entitlement" to beat back the attack, inflicting heavy casualties with no losses of their own.
This will rub some the wrong way, but I tire of the constant maligning of this generation. Different times, different perspectives, different responses....but there are no less heros and fine young men and women today than there were yesterday.
This is a link to the story of the engagement discussed in my post, should anyone be interested: http://northshorejournal.org/s...uished-service-cross
You’ll have to forgive my failing memory….there were 19 US soldiers, only 105 Taliban, and my son was 20, not 18 at the time.