Home Front: Hate the war? Love the warrior from the Ahwatukee Foothills

June 19, 2007 - 2:49PM
HOME FRONT: Hate the war? Love the warrior

Commentary By Missy Martin
Last week I traveled to Fort Polk, La., to see my brother Mike, and the rest of the 7th Chemical Company, off to war. For the next 15 months they’ll log miles all over Iraq, providing convoy security. Mike’s job is to drive a Humvee while a gunner mans the 50-caliber machine gun mounted on top of the truck. Their buddy in the passenger seat will lookout for assorted threats. It’s no secret that Iraq’s roads are the most dangerous in the world; roadside bombs account for the vast majority of troop casualties.

The guys in Mike’s company are actually chemical operations specialists, trained to detect nuclear, chemical and biological agents in the air and on the ground. They could argue that “convoy security” is not in their job description. But soldiers do what’s asked of them. They’re a special kind – people who voluntarily give up their liberties and put their lives on the line for the benefit of others.

Regardless of our feelings about the war, I think we all should cherish our warriors.
Some of the soldiers I met at Fort Polk talked about how they’ve been personally touched by the kindness of strangers. Even though polls show that most Americans oppose the war, it doesn’t stop people they don’t know from approaching them in public places, patting them on the back and offering to buy them something like a burger or soda to show appreciation for their service.

Perhaps no one supports our troops like the folks in Bangor, Maine (www.mainetroopgreeters.com). The Bangor airport is often the last stop on American soil for military planes heading oversees, and the first stop for troops returning from war. Ever since the first Gulf War in 1991, Bangor residents have made it their mission to greet every unit that comes through – often in the middle of the night. They offer food, the use of phones and overwhelming gratitude. Mike’s plane stopped in Bangor on June 5. He called me from the airport and confirmed that indeed the soldiers were thunderously greeted like rock stars.

Some of the soldiers, including Mike, said the celebrity-like attention embarrasses them. They don’t see themselves as special – they’re just doing their job, they say. But I think they deserve the love and more.

Especially when there are people out there, like the real celebrity Rosie O’Donnell, who just as thunderously dole out undeserved hate. Recently, she smeared our troops by implying that they’re terrorists. It’s her right to say whatever she wants – it was earned through the sacrifice of veterans – but she has no insight to judge the intent on every soldier’s heart and mind. She’s the one who should feel embarrassed.

Some people excuse Rosie because she donates oodles of money to children’s charities, a loving act indeed, though not a sacrifice when you’re rich like her. I’m more impressed by the folks who reach into their pocket for a couple of bucks to buy a soldier a cup of coffee. Like soldiers, these kinds of people are pretty special too.

Missy Martin is an 11-year Ahwatukee Foothills resident, mother of three and editor of Bombshells: War Stories and Poems by Women on the Homefront. Her brother, U.S. Army Specialist Michael Dunn, is a graduate of Arizona State University. He can be contacted at Mike Dunn 7th Chem – APO AE09327.