U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David Rodriguez walks along a ridgeline after clearing compounds with Afghan soldiers during Operation Tageer Shamal in Afghanistan's Helmand province, Jan. 4, 2012. Rodriguez is a fire team leader assigned to Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Reece Lodder
The End of ‘My Generation’s’ War -- Jessica Scott, At War/New York Times
I wasn’t alive when Vietnam ended. I remember being a little girl, and watching news reports in the years after Vietnam, but I never really understood why it was important until much later in life. As a soldier, I had no concept of what it would feel like to hear my generation’s war was over.
I will never forget where I was when the Iraq war started. I stood in the battalion operations office in Korea, watching the bombs falling on Baghdad, wondering why this war? Why now? But I was merely a staff sergeant. My job was to accomplish the mission, not question it. As the war continued, year after year, I won’t lie and tell you that my peers and I did not discuss what we were doing and why. But it didn’t change the fact that my husband and I continued to serve. It was not a service without challenges, and yet we did not walk away.
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My Comment: A moving post on one family's commitment and dedication to the military. This person knows what it means to serve, and the sacrifices and commitment that it requires.