Whenever anyone would ask my dad why he served in the
military he would answer, “so my kids won’t have to.” The world
has changed much since then and I am sure that thanks to him, and
those like him, my kids won’t have to practice nuclear attack drills
in elementary school as I once did.
Unfortunately, without the constantly looming threat of a planet
controlled by Communism, Americans often forget the fact that there
are, and always will be, those individuals who spend their lives
protecting those very people who carry out their daily lives without
giving their protectors a second thought. That however, is the
privilege that we, the American men and women in uniform, live to
provide.
On September 11th, 2001, just ten days after the Rushmore
returned from a five-month deployment, the nation was shaken by
the most deadly terrorist attack in the history of our country. The
United States moved into action with a firm resolve that nothing like
this would ever happen again, not inside our borders or anywhere
else. A chain of events had been placed into action that would
climax for us, the crew of the Rushmore and our Marines, on
January 6th, 2003.
As the last goodbyes were said, the last kisses blown and
only the first tears began to fall, we began to fully realize that
the time to do our job had come. Even though nothing had been
said “officially,” we knew we were going to war in Iraq. The
reason was something that could, and would, be debated by
people across the country and even within our own
conversations.
There is an old military adage that says, “Ours is not to
reason why…” While illustrating the discipline of the military,
it hints at the underlying need present in all people for
justification of their actions. Simply put, “I’m going to do what
you tell me because that’s my job, but just so I can feel OK
about it, I’d like to know why.”
Upon arriving in the Arabian Gulf, I still didn’t know for
myself exactly why we were there. The reasons I had heard on
the news didn’t satisfy me so I really just tried not to think
about it. It wasn’t until our Marines returned in May that it all
came together for me. While browsing through the many
photos they brought back with them, I came across a photo of a
little girl timidly hiding her face behind a water bottle she had
been given by the Marines. With that image, the reason had
suddenly become clear… My dad had fought to protect his kids
so that they could fight to protect everyone else’s.
JO2 Brandon Raile, United States Navy
