Six Mile Poll

Bourne with an Opinion

House of Thought

Thinking about the ones who give us our freedom

By Sandy House
Staff Writer

As selfish as most Americans are, we never stop to think about what else is going on in the world.

Most of us just like to ignore it because it scares us or makes us uncomfortable. And that's not right because the families of our service men and women can't just ignore it.

On Sunday Feb. 2, at 0700 hours (7 a.m.), around 80 Marine Reservists left home heading for Camp Pendleton in California and from there, somewhere overseas. They are not even told where they are going or when they are leaving. They just leave- walking blindly into the unknown.

A lot of reservists stayed here in Rome for three weeks not knowing when their last day would be. It was scheduled for Feb. 4, but on Jan. 31 they were informed that it was to be sooner.

That only gave them two days to get everything squared away. Most of them joined the military to get money for college five years ago with no war in sight, and now they have to drop out of college to go defend our country.

The last thing an 18-year-old would expect is to be required to write a Will.
I went to see them off just in support. I did not really know any of them that well; they were merely acquaintances, but the emotion I saw and experienced was a rude awakening.

This kind of fear is new to me, and I'm not quite sure how to deal with it. I'm still in shock.

I watched two small children screaming because their dad was leaving them for an unknown amount of time.

I watched parents and other family members torn apart because they will not be able to see someone they love for a long time, if ever again.

The sun rises on a new day and most us of don't even think about it, but these men and women sure will. They all became heroes once they stepped onto that bus. This is real. I've never felt scared for someone else before, and it's a lot worse than being scared for yourself.

Parents had to watch their children leave, or vice versa. Wives had to watch their husbands leave, or vice versa. I can't even begin to describe the sadness I felt, and I am not a parent, sibling or spouse.

I'm sitting here in my air conditioning, watching my TV, while there are a million soldiers out there living their worst nightmares.

Most of us are too busy looking at the big picture to think about the individual men and women that make all this happen.

Besides those who recently left there are also the active duty soldiers. It is one thing to be pulled away from home, but the active duty men and women serve this country every day of their lives.

I know they chose the life, but don't forget that they are still protecting this country. These men and women, as well as the ones before them and the ones that will come after them, are the reason America is free.