One Soldier's Story: Part 6
I've begun a new project here at Patriotically Incorrect. My cousin (we'll call him John) is an Army Reservist and I would like to support him by serializing his story, mostly in his own words. If you missed the beginning of this story, you can link to it here. Thanks for reading.
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From: PI's Mom
Subject: Fwd: Five years ago
Date: April 2004
To: Family
John wrote me from Iraq with a response to a memorial I'd written for his father. Fair warning: This will bring tears to your eyes.
From: PI's Mom
Subject: Fwd: Five years ago
Date: April 2004
To: Family
To the survivors of Martin,
As I attended a meeting this morning, I was reminded that today is the anniversary of Martin's burial, which was (appropriately, according to his children) on April Fools Day. (I think it had something to do with his habit of zigging when everyone else zagged.)
At the meeting, a friend remarked that when the church finds someone who has no interest in amassing wealth or power, it doesn't know what to do with him, so it makes him a saint. I thought, of course, of Martin and of the original Martin, who cut his cloak in two to share with a beggar.
Here are the Bible verses I read at Martin's grave on the anniversary of his death:
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand , Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me : I was in prison and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee? or thirsty and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in? or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Matthew 25: 34-40.
The last verse, of course, is the one found on an index card taped to Martin's
mirror. It has since been referenced on his tombstone and adopted as a email signature by his son John.
Let's hear it for our brother!
Love,
PI's Mom
From: John
Date: April 2004
To: PI's Mom
Subject: RE: Five years ago
Dear Aunt [...],
Just checked my email. Thank you for the touching message. You are certainly
the poet laureate of the [extended] family. :-) For me, my father lives on in my
conscience. He gave me such a clear picture of right and wrong, a moral
compass to live by. And he always did his own thing. So when I found myself
running a cell block with 300 inmates in an Iraqi prison and encountered a
tough situation, I would think to myself, "What would Dad do?" :-) My mantra
at the prison was that I would tell the prisoners, every day, "I respect you
-- your religion, your culture, your way of life, everything -- I respect
you." And of course, they had to show me that same level of respect and if
they didn't they would be punished. I never had a problem. Never once had to
call for backup. On my last day, some of the inmates actually cried and tried
to kiss me when I told them I was leaving. Then, days after we turned the prison over to a new MP company, there was a riot on my old cell block and an inmate was shot and killed by the MPs. Very sad, tragic... You know I've made it through this thing (so far) without ever having to fire a bullet. And I think I've treated every Iraqi I've encountered with dignity and respect. I think my Dad would be proud of me...
In any case, thanks again for the beautiful message. And I hope to see you at [my sister]'s wedding!
Love,
John
7:56:43 AM 
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