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This man is a hero. Not only because he served his country so honorably, but for the time, care, and consideration he took to codify his values and morals in hi

This man is a hero. Not only because he served his country so honorably, but for the time, care, and consideration he took to codify his values and morals in his diary. This one hit me hard, especially now that I have a son. To think, there are so many children out there who will never see or get to meet their fathers again. I know it's not the same as a father, but I hope these kids find mentors or guides to try and make sense of the hand they've been dealt.

qntty 8y ago
Joining the military doesn't make you a hero
- phkahler 8y ago
  No, but volunteering to go with your guys because you know they have a better chance with you there counts for a lot more than making snide comments about a dead man on the internet.
- stronglikedan 8y ago
  No one said it does, but the military does afford one plenty of opportunities to become a hero.
monkeynotes 8y ago
Without judgment of this particular loving human; Why is it considered heroic to go to war without questioning the men sending you there? The war in Iraq was pointless and based on dubious logic which turned out to be a lie. Men considering going to another country far away to kill other men should think deeply about dedicating their bodies and family's futures to the fortunes of cowards. I obviously do not know this man's mind, but it is just so painful to read about such pointless waste and consider it as heroic. He was brave, courageous, loving, compassionate, but ultimately his death was a huge pointless tragedy in yet another war fought for assholes. Show me more heroes who stand up against this nonsense. Heroes who save lives by objecting to taking them. That's where our mindset needs to be to stop the horrors we constantly project to far shores to prop up our corrupt insidious military industry and line the pockets of dire schmucks. </rant> RIP, sorry for hijacking a sad story to vent.
- senorjazz 8y ago
  I agree. The societal view that joining the military and dying is a just and selfless act worthy of our thanks and praise has to end. More so when justification is to protect "our interests" and "our way of life" - when said way of life is to better ourselves due to the exploitation of others. Until the military is seen for what it is, war will be continual and cyclical until we destroy this planet and make it all but inhabitable.
- jpamata 8y ago
  The US has a million troops, only around ~40,000 are deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria[0]. The majority of the military are deployed elsewhere, serving either as a deterrent (such as those in South Korea) or help with nation building, foreign aid, and peacekeeping (ex. anti-piracy, protecting trade routes). There are those who are unfortunate enough to be sent by politicians to the war zone at one point of their career. And when that happens, you may not agree with the politics but it is still part of your duty to follow. There is no room in the military for going against commands, else it would render the organization ineffective. Every country needs a military and whether you think that they are heroes or not, these are still people making a necessary sacrifice. Someone has to do it. Oftentimes, the media likes to only show the wartime aspect of the military, making people think that those who join the military are there because they want to kill. Nothing could be any further from the truth. [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-deployments-may-2017-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-deployments-may-...
- Recurecur 8y ago
  > Why is it considered heroic to go to war without questioning the men sending you there? In the military, it is not your position to question the government. It is your duty to follow orders. > The war in Iraq was pointless and based on dubious logic which turned out to be a lie. It was certainly not "pointless". It was based on the following: - Saddam was a bad actor who hated the US, and would readily provide materiel for use against the US - Iraq was known to have stockpiles of WMD - It was thought possible to transform Iraq from a dictatorship to a democracy that appreciated the US None of those points is in doubt. Aside from a possible nuclear program, Iraq was known to have weaponized anthrax and various chemical agents. Our allies including Britain endorsed the same intelligence. You might remember the celebrations in Baghdad when the US forces arrive and Saddam fled. Or the jubilation Iraqis showed after voting the first time. Time will tell how things work out in the long run, but it's hard to argue that Iraq is worse off today than it was under Saddam Hussein. Has everything worked out perfectly? No, but there have been many sub-optimal moves since the war started, including BO pulling out prematurely and on an announced schedule. Just remember, it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback...
Cthulhu_ 8y ago
I think it wasn't so much serving his country that made him go back and volunteering tbh; nobody should be going to Iraq or even joining the military for that, given how the US has no business in those countries. I do think he's a hero for looking after his other soldiers though, for helping those that took the propaganda and nationalist bait and joined the military - perhaps also because they had no other (career) opportunities. The military does something weird to people.
- monkeynotes 8y ago
  The military very much conditions minds into believing the bullshit that is 'glory for your country'. It is just as much bullshit as religious crap like 'glory for Allah' and we need to point this out when we see it. Dedicating yourself to fight for your country is just as fucked up as fighting for your god. Both ideals are a sham propagated by people who sit comfortably and take much relish in the ego boost that is commanding cannon fodder. Make no mistake, many of these people are legitimate borderline psychopaths who want nothing more than their name in history books. The same people legislate for the sake of getting their names on a successful bill. They care not for anyone but their crony group and themselves. They bray in parliament like demented asses, and bark and howl in Congress like the pack of wolves they pretend to protect you and I from. The whole show is a shameful fraud, and it's shame on us for not identifying the lot of them for who they clearly are. We are all heading toward calamity once again, lead by the same psychopathy that has polluted the human condition for thousands and thousands of years. We can all see it coming day by day and yet we think the water isn't yet hot enough to do something about it before we become soup.
  - senorjazz 8y ago
    Best summed up by some angry solider shouting at the crowd to move back "WE'RE HERE FOR YOUR FUCKING FREEDOM NOW BACK UP" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syrv6eygmNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syrv6eygmNY
guessthejuice 8y ago
He may be a hero to us, but he is also a coward to a lot of iraqis. For all the sympathy we conjure up for our own, we too easily forget the suffering of others. To put things into perspective, about 4000 americans died as a result of the iraq war. Over a million iraqis died. Hundreds of thousands of children died in the iraq war. And hundreds of thousands of iraqi children grew up without a father because of the iraq war. I guess it's all perspective. But I doubt most of the world would consider him a hero.

qntty 8y ago

Joining the military doesn't make you a hero

phkahler 8y ago
No, but volunteering to go with your guys because you know they have a better chance with you there counts for a lot more than making snide comments about a dead man on the internet.
stronglikedan 8y ago
No one said it does, but the military does afford one plenty of opportunities to become a hero.

monkeynotes 8y ago

Without judgment of this particular loving human; Why is it considered heroic to go to war without questioning the men sending you there? The war in Iraq was pointless and based on dubious logic which turned out to be a lie. Men considering going to another country far away to kill other men should think deeply about dedicating their bodies and family's futures to the fortunes of cowards. I obviously do not know this man's mind, but it is just so painful to read about such pointless waste and consider it as heroic. He was brave, courageous, loving, compassionate, but ultimately his death was a huge pointless tragedy in yet another war fought for assholes. Show me more heroes who stand up against this nonsense. Heroes who save lives by objecting to taking them. That's where our mindset needs to be to stop the horrors we constantly project to far shores to prop up our corrupt insidious military industry and line the pockets of dire schmucks. </rant> RIP, sorry for hijacking a sad story to vent.

senorjazz 8y ago
I agree. The societal view that joining the military and dying is a just and selfless act worthy of our thanks and praise has to end. More so when justification is to protect "our interests" and "our way of life" - when said way of life is to better ourselves due to the exploitation of others. Until the military is seen for what it is, war will be continual and cyclical until we destroy this planet and make it all but inhabitable.
jpamata 8y ago
The US has a million troops, only around ~40,000 are deployed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, and Syria[0]. The majority of the military are deployed elsewhere, serving either as a deterrent (such as those in South Korea) or help with nation building, foreign aid, and peacekeeping (ex. anti-piracy, protecting trade routes). There are those who are unfortunate enough to be sent by politicians to the war zone at one point of their career. And when that happens, you may not agree with the politics but it is still part of your duty to follow. There is no room in the military for going against commands, else it would render the organization ineffective. Every country needs a military and whether you think that they are heroes or not, these are still people making a necessary sacrifice. Someone has to do it. Oftentimes, the media likes to only show the wartime aspect of the military, making people think that those who join the military are there because they want to kill. Nothing could be any further from the truth. [0] https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-deployments-may-2017-5 https://www.businessinsider.com/us-military-deployments-may-...
Recurecur 8y ago
> Why is it considered heroic to go to war without questioning the men sending you there? In the military, it is not your position to question the government. It is your duty to follow orders. > The war in Iraq was pointless and based on dubious logic which turned out to be a lie. It was certainly not "pointless". It was based on the following: - Saddam was a bad actor who hated the US, and would readily provide materiel for use against the US - Iraq was known to have stockpiles of WMD - It was thought possible to transform Iraq from a dictatorship to a democracy that appreciated the US None of those points is in doubt. Aside from a possible nuclear program, Iraq was known to have weaponized anthrax and various chemical agents. Our allies including Britain endorsed the same intelligence. You might remember the celebrations in Baghdad when the US forces arrive and Saddam fled. Or the jubilation Iraqis showed after voting the first time. Time will tell how things work out in the long run, but it's hard to argue that Iraq is worse off today than it was under Saddam Hussein. Has everything worked out perfectly? No, but there have been many sub-optimal moves since the war started, including BO pulling out prematurely and on an announced schedule. Just remember, it's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback...

Cthulhu_ 8y ago

I think it wasn't so much serving his country that made him go back and volunteering tbh; nobody should be going to Iraq or even joining the military for that, given how the US has no business in those countries. I do think he's a hero for looking after his other soldiers though, for helping those that took the propaganda and nationalist bait and joined the military - perhaps also because they had no other (career) opportunities. The military does something weird to people.

monkeynotes 8y ago
The military very much conditions minds into believing the bullshit that is 'glory for your country'. It is just as much bullshit as religious crap like 'glory for Allah' and we need to point this out when we see it. Dedicating yourself to fight for your country is just as fucked up as fighting for your god. Both ideals are a sham propagated by people who sit comfortably and take much relish in the ego boost that is commanding cannon fodder. Make no mistake, many of these people are legitimate borderline psychopaths who want nothing more than their name in history books. The same people legislate for the sake of getting their names on a successful bill. They care not for anyone but their crony group and themselves. They bray in parliament like demented asses, and bark and howl in Congress like the pack of wolves they pretend to protect you and I from. The whole show is a shameful fraud, and it's shame on us for not identifying the lot of them for who they clearly are. We are all heading toward calamity once again, lead by the same psychopathy that has polluted the human condition for thousands and thousands of years. We can all see it coming day by day and yet we think the water isn't yet hot enough to do something about it before we become soup.
- senorjazz 8y ago
  Best summed up by some angry solider shouting at the crowd to move back "WE'RE HERE FOR YOUR FUCKING FREEDOM NOW BACK UP" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syrv6eygmNY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syrv6eygmNY

guessthejuice 8y ago

He may be a hero to us, but he is also a coward to a lot of iraqis. For all the sympathy we conjure up for our own, we too easily forget the suffering of others. To put things into perspective, about 4000 americans died as a result of the iraq war. Over a million iraqis died. Hundreds of thousands of children died in the iraq war. And hundreds of thousands of iraqi children grew up without a father because of the iraq war. I guess it's all perspective. But I doubt most of the world would consider him a hero.