You're standing in the middle of a small third world town, somewhere in Kuwait. Run down buildings that are on the verge of collapsing stand to all sides.
Standing next to you is your battle buddy, your new best friend. Everywhere you go, everything you do, he is at your side. You are a member of the United States Army, and you couldn't be more proud. You know that you would take a bullet for your battle buddy in a heart beat, and the comfort of knowing that he would do the same warms your heart.
As you round a building, one of the same ones that you've rounded every day for the past eight weeks, you notice a little girl starting to walk towards you. You look at this girl and all you can see is innocence, just a poor girl in a poverty stricken nation. She's not more than waist high on you, her long brown hair tattered and nappy. Smears of dirt and filth cover her face, but through all the dirt, her eyes shine an image of pure inculpability.
As she gets a good five feet from you, her right arm extends as to offer you a gift. Her tiny fingers are wrapped around something that you cannot quite make out, so you and your battle buddy begin to walk towards her. Still not making out what she has in her hands, your battle buddy kneels down to accept the gift.
She looks up at you, then to him, and instantly you snap out of your picture perfect world and realize that something is horribly wrong. You scream at your battle buddy to run, but by then it is too late. She has already dropped it. She turns and runs, scurrying off into the maze of buildings behind her.
In that instant, your entire life comes before you. Your family, your friends, the plans you had, the wife you have at home, the children you never had. All of the things you wanted in life, they all seem so distant... so faded.
In that instant, as your knees buckle and your mind goes completely blank, you come back to reality. Only a split second has passed, but it feels like you've been floating on a bed of clouds for eternity. You reach to grab your battle buddy to start running, but he is not within reach. He is on the ground, screaming at you to run. He dove onto the grenade, your best friend, the person you've spent virtually every waking moment with ever since you shipped off to this forsaken land. You finally realize what had just happened, and you know there is no other choice. You don't say anything to him, you don't have to. The look he gives you, and the look you return, gives a lifetime of explanation.
You turn to run, and only get about four feet before you dive to the ground.
The explosion rattles your ears and sends chunks of dirt and rock into the air. You are familiar with the sound of a grenade, but this one sounded different. This one was accompanied by screams, screams of which you have never begun to imagine.
Immediately you rise to your feet and look down behind you to where your battle buddy had been lieing on the ground. You realize where the screams were coming from... right where he is laying. The kevlar vest that you put on every morning completely protected his torso. His midsection was kept whole, but as you try to give him a little comfort, you cannot help but know that he will not survive. His arms and legs are completely torn to shreds, shrapnel embedded inside his skin.
Your life was spared, but the life of your closest friend was taken from you. His family, his dreams, his future, were all sacrificed to save yours.
..
This is a true story of what happened last week to my best friend's brother and his battle buddy. I do not consider myself a writer, so please do not critique what I wrote.
The next time you say "Well, that's what you signed up for" to a member of our military, please think of this. This is not what they signed up for. He will be living with the screams of his best friend ringing in his ear every night. He will be living with the images of his best friends torn body etched in his mind. He will be reliving the nightmare of what happened forever. This isn't just some movie, this is reality.
My best friend will be leaving the country in March to go to Iraq. She will be in the same type of hostile territory that her brother is in. I hope that you can all spare some time to pray for her and the rest of our soldiers that are risking their lives to do what they believe is right.
Soldiers
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gegro
Re: Soldiers
i cant believe i just read all that crap. anyway, that is what they SHOUlD have been signing up for. they are signing knowing that they may have to give their lives for their country, and thats exactly what that guy did. the dude that survived survives to fight another day, and too may someday die, so idiots like you can downplay their roles. if you object, then what did they sign up for?their intentions, if not to serve their country, must have been for pay. they probably used the military to pay their tuition for school, using the country never thinking they would have to pay the country back with their services. what did they sign up for if not to fight? if not to die? bunch of anti-war pansies. you mother fucker should be out there too. i have been to iraq, i have seen this shit. dont sit there and tell me this isnt what they signed up for. dont tell me they didnt know the risks involved when they signed up and were serving. you are insulting everyone in the uniform by that statement. everyone is aware of the risks involved, and are willing to take that risk due to bravery and courage. dont give me this shit making it sound like he didnt know what he was doing. your last statement "risking their lives to do what they believe is right". the fuck happened to you?! dont call it a risk bitch. its not a risk if its something you believe in. what is life without freedom? nothing. putting lives on the line isnt a matter of risks. it isnt an issue of body count and casualties because lives are priceless. and the thing is, so is the cause of fighting. its not a risk they are taking, its a cost, a price they are paying for us. as for your brothers friend, shame on him. that little son of a bitch is a fucking moron. his fucking friend died to save his life, and now what does he do? he shits himself at night. the fuck man. thats the thanks he gives to a friends life? shit? tell that asshole to put himself together, and stop being such a pussy. yes, shit happened to him and he saw things and felt things he shouldnt have ever had to feel, that is, unless he were a soldier. tell him to stop reliving the nightmare, and instead take care of the things he has to. his friend didnt save his life just so he would become a huge pussy. sure this all may seem harsh and incensitive and i may seem like an asshole for saying all this but you said it yourself, "this isnt just some movie, this is reality". if that wasnt waht he was signing up for, then he got a wake up call, because that whether he knew it or not, that was exactly what he was signing up for. what, he thought it was going to be a walk in the park? no, not at all. i was in iraq too, and we had strict orders at one point to shoot anything that moved - inlcuding women and children - exactly for such reasons as your story indicates. i wasnt there and i didnt have to be to tell you this, but from what youve said in your story, this shit never should have happened. what the fuck i ask you were they doing approaching this girl. they wanted a cheap fuck or something? they should have capped her ass the second they saw her. at least take normal protocal damnit. the shit they were doing getting so close. so mister weedologist, go fuck yourself and stop writing stupid stories making service men look like morons. go fuck your friend a few times before she leaves, cause if shes as dumb as her brother, she aint coming back.
Re: Soldiers
Incoherant bullshit, try forming a paragraph so that I don't have to decipher it.
Take a step back and look at what you said. I'm not going to judge your words or try to change your mind, I have more respect for someones opinions than you. I'm saying to take a step back because your opinion is shared by the minority. The overwhelming majority of people who have been there, done that, see this the same way that I do.
I've had about two dozen people in the armed forces read this, and not one of them shares your opinion. They do not believe that something of this nature is making them look like morons. They know that they did not sign up to watch their friends die. They knew it was a risk, but that is definitely not the reason why they signed up.
I was not saying that phrase the way you took it. I was simply saying that the reason they signed up was to help. They were fully aware of the risks, but not one of them ever once thought to themselves that they'd see their best friend ripped to shreds by a grenade dropped by a child. They knew it could happen, but they never thought it would.
eh, I'd go through your post and attempt a reply at certain topics, but it's too damn unorganized to take the time. I respect your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from, just don't think that your views are the only views.
Take a step back and look at what you said. I'm not going to judge your words or try to change your mind, I have more respect for someones opinions than you. I'm saying to take a step back because your opinion is shared by the minority. The overwhelming majority of people who have been there, done that, see this the same way that I do.
I've had about two dozen people in the armed forces read this, and not one of them shares your opinion. They do not believe that something of this nature is making them look like morons. They know that they did not sign up to watch their friends die. They knew it was a risk, but that is definitely not the reason why they signed up.
I was not saying that phrase the way you took it. I was simply saying that the reason they signed up was to help. They were fully aware of the risks, but not one of them ever once thought to themselves that they'd see their best friend ripped to shreds by a grenade dropped by a child. They knew it could happen, but they never thought it would.
eh, I'd go through your post and attempt a reply at certain topics, but it's too damn unorganized to take the time. I respect your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from, just don't think that your views are the only views.
Re: Soldiers
Gegro, you look like a moron and an asshole with that reply. I'm one who laughs at movies when shit like this happens, but it's a movie, so it doesn't matter. Speed, however is talking about REAL pain, not some story glorified by Hollywood, he's not reading about it in a paper, he's got ties to someone who experienced this. I might be totally against what the U.S. Government stands for and how they represent themselves to other countries - a bully who shoves their nose into every one else's business. But the people that see everyday what I've only seen on screen or in books or in (lol) video games, they deserve our respect and admiration. If you want to talk shit, sign the fuck up. I don't wanna hear "I've been to Iraq", lamer, I can type that too but it doesn't make it true. Have some respect.
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gegro
Re: Soldiers
speed, your response is such a contradiction "incoherent bullshit" followed by "im not going to judge your words". anyway, you said it yourself "I do not consider myself a writer, so please do not critique what I wrote" yet youre sitting there blasting away at my format. well, a little late for you not judging. anyway, i dont know why you are fussing about me thinking i have the only views. obviously i didnt think that, since i was replying to someone else's views - yours. and i wasnt trying to change your mind. im not. theres nothing to be changed. you have your views and thats fine, i was just putting mine out the same as you were, so settle down. and hobo bill, "show some respect"? how about you kill yourself and show everyone some respect. "I can type that too but it doesn't make it true" where is your respect now? youd rather side with the pussy wagon than me? that is fine, but that is utterly disrespectful. i have given my services to my country, but it doesnt matter coming from you, since we dont know each other. YOU bitch sign the fuck up. YOU bitch shut the fuck up. this was a disscussion between two parties who HAVE truly faced the pains and sufferings of war - me and speed. YOU are the bitch thats only been exposed to glorifications of hollywood, the paper, and video games. your self projection on this topic has revealed more about you than you wanted so back the fuck up. you see the US as a bully? wtf is your problem. dude, saddam fuckin slaughtered millions and invaded iran, and he was let loose to live even after the gulf war. he then went on killig and violating UN policies one right after another. whatever the fuck is your problem. YOU hobo bill are obviously the one stuck in your hollywood dream world.
Re: Soldiers
rofl.. blah blah blah.. I was turned down by the armed services for having scoliosis and a blown knee from high school football, or I would be out there right now shooting motherfuckers and thinking of you. Like I said, anyone can type "I've been to Iraq"... You're right, I don't respect you, you gotta earn that shit around here, and all you've done is attack someone else's opinion instead of just giving your own. I don't like the way our country is run, so yeah, I see the US as a bully, and there are quite a few ppl who would agree. As far as projecting my self into this topic, wtf are you talking about? I can't even reply to your run-on shit, so when you learn how to properly rebut an argument, come on by and post again. "bitch"
Re: Soldiers
Oh, and "where's your respect now?" Where it's been from the beginning of this thread - with Speed's best friend's brother.
Re: Soldiers
speed, your response is such a contradiction "incoherent bullshit" followed by "im not going to judge your words". anyway, you said it yourself "I do not consider myself a writer, so please do not critique what I wrote" yet youre sitting there blasting away at my format. well, a little late for you not judging.
That wasn't a contradiction, go back to school buddy. I said your words were incoherant bullshit, which is the truth. If you'd learn how to form a proper paragraph, it would be much easier for me to decipher your points. Until then, what you write is incoherant bullshit.
On the other hand, the points that you are trying to make (whether incoherant or not) are the things that I will not judge.
I will definitely blast away at someones format who cannot seem to string together a paragraph or who won't put in the extra four seconds to make their statements legible. The not critiquing what I wrote was more meant for the "I'm not a writer, I don't know how to put things into words such as the way of Stephen King, or whomever" aspect. Not the grammatical aspect.
YOU are the bitch thats only been exposed to glorifications of hollywood, the paper, and video games.
This sentence right there is my entire argument as a whole. The people that join the military KNOW that they are going to face death. They accept that fact. They know they are going to go see people die, they know that they are going to be in the middle of it. They brace themselves for it, but can never truly understand what it is they are getting themselves into until they get into the battlefield and see someone die. It's simply hollywood, only real. Until that point, someone doesn't really know what they are getting into.
anyway, that is what they SHOUlD have been signing up for. they are signing knowing that they may have to give their lives for their country, and thats exactly what that guy did.
That is not what they should have been signing up for -- nobody truly knows what they are getting into when they join. Hell, the majority of the people that join and even go to these countries never ever have to deal with such things as what happened to these two people. I'm not downplaying anyones roles. If you can go into battle, watch someone get slaughtered (not killed, slaughtered), and not have nightmares for the rest of your life, then good for you. I'm proud of you.
For the rest of us, my best friends brother included, the images of that day would haunt us for the rest of our lives.
That wasn't a contradiction, go back to school buddy. I said your words were incoherant bullshit, which is the truth. If you'd learn how to form a proper paragraph, it would be much easier for me to decipher your points. Until then, what you write is incoherant bullshit.
On the other hand, the points that you are trying to make (whether incoherant or not) are the things that I will not judge.
I will definitely blast away at someones format who cannot seem to string together a paragraph or who won't put in the extra four seconds to make their statements legible. The not critiquing what I wrote was more meant for the "I'm not a writer, I don't know how to put things into words such as the way of Stephen King, or whomever" aspect. Not the grammatical aspect.
YOU are the bitch thats only been exposed to glorifications of hollywood, the paper, and video games.
This sentence right there is my entire argument as a whole. The people that join the military KNOW that they are going to face death. They accept that fact. They know they are going to go see people die, they know that they are going to be in the middle of it. They brace themselves for it, but can never truly understand what it is they are getting themselves into until they get into the battlefield and see someone die. It's simply hollywood, only real. Until that point, someone doesn't really know what they are getting into.
anyway, that is what they SHOUlD have been signing up for. they are signing knowing that they may have to give their lives for their country, and thats exactly what that guy did.
That is not what they should have been signing up for -- nobody truly knows what they are getting into when they join. Hell, the majority of the people that join and even go to these countries never ever have to deal with such things as what happened to these two people. I'm not downplaying anyones roles. If you can go into battle, watch someone get slaughtered (not killed, slaughtered), and not have nightmares for the rest of your life, then good for you. I'm proud of you.
For the rest of us, my best friends brother included, the images of that day would haunt us for the rest of our lives.
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gegro
Re: Soldiers
enough with the petty insults. you guys keep telling me how incoherhent my statements are and how illegible my writing is, and yet you continue to pick it apart and respond. stop with the nonsense and focus on the issues. number 1: speed is a dumb fuck that got ass raped by his moms dick. number 2: hobo bill has no dick and wants his moms.
"I don't like the way our country is run, so yeah, I see the US as a bully, and there are quite a few ppl who would agree"
no shit there are people that would agree. guess what, there are even more that would disagree with you, which is why these decisions are being passed and carried out.
you guys are dumb shits not worth anymore of my precious time. this is dead to me and im not gonna bother with you two retards any longer. ill leave you two to dick with each other.
"I don't like the way our country is run, so yeah, I see the US as a bully, and there are quite a few ppl who would agree"
no shit there are people that would agree. guess what, there are even more that would disagree with you, which is why these decisions are being passed and carried out.
you guys are dumb shits not worth anymore of my precious time. this is dead to me and im not gonna bother with you two retards any longer. ill leave you two to dick with each other.
Re: Soldiers
enough with the petty insults. you guys keep telling me how incoherhent my statements are and how illegible my writing is, and yet you continue to pick it apart and respond. stop with the nonsense and focus on the issues. number 1: speed is a dumb fuck that got ass raped by his moms dick. number 2: hobo bill has no dick and wants his moms.
"I don't like the way our country is run, so yeah, I see the US as a bully, and there are quite a few ppl who would agree"
no shit there are people that would agree. guess what, there are even more that would disagree with you, which is why these decisions are being passed and carried out.
you guys are dumb shits not worth anymore of my precious time. this is dead to me and im not gonna bother with you two retards any longer. ill leave you two to dick with each other.
Uhh yeah
http://members.cox.net/trower/dumb.jpg
"I don't like the way our country is run, so yeah, I see the US as a bully, and there are quite a few ppl who would agree"
no shit there are people that would agree. guess what, there are even more that would disagree with you, which is why these decisions are being passed and carried out.
you guys are dumb shits not worth anymore of my precious time. this is dead to me and im not gonna bother with you two retards any longer. ill leave you two to dick with each other.
Uhh yeah
http://members.cox.net/trower/dumb.jpg