Heroes Then and Now

I never knew all that my Grandfather, whom I knew as "Pop," did in WWII. He was always silent about it - especially the incident in which his ship, the USS Gambier Bay, was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a great website about which you can view here. His picture (as a Navy Captain) can be seen here. The great losses he and his men endured, along with the brutality of the war itself, led him to silence about his experiences. I never knew until attending (officiating, actually) my grandmother's funeral the full extent of his heroism. Perhaps I would not have appreciated it as a boy. Now, with an understanding of war and of true heroism in combat, I think I have a full appreciation for what he went through.

A worn-edged, black binder was among the many picture albums brought out at the family home as my father and uncles and cousins and their spouses gathered to lay my grandmother to rest alongside Pop, who passed away two years ago. I was amazed to see pictures of Pop in his flight suit, of him standing next to his TBM1, with his squadron. In the back, I was awed when I found and read the citation for his Distinguished Flying Cross and one of his three Air Medals.

It seems that Pop had been engaged with his squadron in an attack on a Japanese destroyer as part of a harassment/screen maneuver, to give protection to a task force of ships that were preparing for an island invasion. With six total aircraft, the squadron conducted repeated diving fire sorties under heavy return anti-aircraft artillery fire. The courage it takes to make a single run with the shells bursting around you is difficult to fathom, but to make repeated runs... But that was not all. After many runs, the six aircraft were exhausted of ammunition - but the urgency of distracting the destroyer was still high. The squadron stayed on station and continued their gun-runs, sans ammo, flying repeatedly into the teeth of the destroyer's defences. The harassment created enough distraction to lead to mission accomplishment for the entire task force and led to the issuing of the DFC for Pop.

Fast-forward approximately 65 years.

Captain A (I'll call him, because his men call him Captain America) is a sculpted, poster-worthy example of a U.S. Marine. He has led a highly successful Counter-IED team for the better part of one year along the border of Afghanistan and Pakistan, making countless, hazardous road trips to locate and exploit the enemy's number one killer - the Improvised Explosive Device. He has been in numerous TICs (firefights, or "Troops in Contact"). One week from redeploying home, he is on an RCP (Route Clearance Package) to clear a heavily attacked route with an engineering team. He has along Captain B, his replacement.

Not too far down the road from their starting point, they enter a long, complex ambush, which is initiated from the heights of the hills that rise about their route. The fire is intense as the turret gunners, of which Captain A is one on this trip, return suppressive fire so that they can get out of the kill zone. Firing at a steep angle upward, Captain A receives his first RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade) round strike to his turret, just a foot or two in front of him. The armored turret protects him from the shrapnel, but the concussion and blast are heavy. Captain A continues to return fire. The second RPG round strikes roughly the same spot. Captain A continues to return fire on enemy positions above, now noting bleeding from his right arm. Finally, a third blow to the turret sends either bullets or shrapnel into his right arm again, as well as his upper chest, just above his armor. It is later determined that it may well have been a Chinese-made 82mm recoilless rifle round that had impacted and sent shrapnel at Captain A. But it was this third and final hit that finally convinced Captain A that he was no longer able to return fire. He sinks into the vehicle, turning the machine gun over to his replacement, who is now only one month in-country. Captain B takes over and, as the convoy continues to maneuver out of the kill zone, he continues the fight, replacing a now-shredded machine gun with a SAW (Squad-Automatic Weapon) from inside vehicle. Ultimately, their efforts, along with several other gunners and vehicle drivers, get the convoy through the ambush, taking a large toll on the enemy. While more than a dozen would go to the hospital, most would return to duty almost immediately, and all would live to tell their story.

These are the kind of men that are out here, carrying the fight to the enemy. These are the kind of men the media miss, preferring instead to celebrate the bad behavior of morally impoverished Hollywood. These are the men who, despite injury, lack of ammunition, and obstacles untold, continue the mission because others depend upon its success. These are the types of men, both my Pop and Captains A and B, along with countless others from theater to theater, and generation to generation, who embody what we call the Warrior Ethos, also known as the Warrior Spirit. It is these men that I serve humbly as a spiritual advisor, counselor and ethical guide.

I wanted to share this with you because it is these men today who carry on a tradition of excellence and courage that most Americans today miss. It is these men who need your prayers. It is these men who will experience things on the battlefield for which they will seek no credit (other than the next paycheck). They will avoid talking about their heroism because they know that many have gone before them, having acted with equal heroism, who never got the medals, who never got the recognition, and who may never have made it home. As their combat arms forefathers before them, they stand tall in a tradition of fighters who do not seek fame or fortune, who do not rest in the luxuries of their homes and whose actions will never grace the cover headlines of a rock magazine or movie marquis.

My prayers to date have been answered. No deaths within Task Force Paladin. I continue to pray for their physical, emotional and mental safety, as well, but we play with dangerous toys in a hostile environment. Please add your prayers to mine.