A Soldier's Last Words:
SGT. Jeffers was a strong soldier and talented writer. He died in Iraq on
September 19, 2007. He was a loving husband, brother and son. His service
was more than this country could ever grasp - but the least you can do for the
man who sacrificed his life for you is listen to what he had to say. Listen
up and pay attention to all of the Cindy Sheehans and Al Frankens of the
world. To MSNBC, CNN, and CBS. To all who call themselves Americans.
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Hope Rides Alone.
By Eddie Jeffers
I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the
ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and
I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their
neighborhoods.
My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given
to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.
I sweat, and I am tired.
My back aches from the loads I carry.
Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday
allow them to see their families again.
And yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that
of the ones I lead.
I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid... because death is
everywhere.
It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows,
and........it is always there.
There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions
that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival.
I've made compromises with my humanity.
And I am not alone in this.
Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets..
who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.
And to think, I volunteered for this...
And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought.
But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and
complaints of the ungrateful reach me.
In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that
doesn't fit your average man.
And then, I will be alone.
And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon
stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.
I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al
Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their
mouths about a subject they know nothing about.
It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds
of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home.
I use the words boys and girls, because that's what they are.
In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old.
The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.
People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant.
Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or, at
least I hope they are.
They don't realize its effects on this war.
In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires.
Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's
against the rules.
I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the
hands of the enemy.
The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us.
It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of
this war.
And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate
remarks on our nation's news outlets.
And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something
new.
The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans.
The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives.
And they do not realize it.
But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we
live and fight, they are isolating the military from society... and they are becoming our enemy.
The Senate Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire"
around and compare this war to Vietnam.
In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam.
Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is
not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or
not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for
their fourth and so on.
Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with
our war.
Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet... and
there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of
battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even
jailed...for doing their job.
It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this.
Why are we so obsessed with the bad news?
Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much
evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face?
When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools
and hospitals in Iraq ?
Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed?
It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush.
They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush
was right.
America has lost its will to fight.
It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world.
The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been
asked to sacrifice a single thing.
It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars
to be made into metal for tanks.
The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you
are in the military or the family member of a service member, it's life as
usual...the war doesn't affect you.
But it affects us.
And when it is over, and the troops come home, and they try to piece
together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then?
Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help
them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been
spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends?
They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of
the world can't touch them.
Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in
their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have
willingly taken upon their shoulders.
We are the hope of the Iraqi people.
They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to
call home.
They want a country that is safe to raise their children in.
Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if
they do not comply with the terrorists demands.
They want to live on, rebuild and prosper.
And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the
cause, and see it to its end.
But the country must unite in this endeavor... we cannot place the burden on
our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or
not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your
cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.
Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers.
Right now, hope rides alone.
But it can change, it must change.
Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a
people, if it doesn't.
Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's
stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eddie's father, David Jeffers, writes:
I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from the genre of
"News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've ever read, including
all of America's wars.
As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My
emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy
(22 years old) has become this man.
He is my hero.
God bless.
