Take the time to say thanks

A friend of mine — also a writer — likes to call our profession "poofy." He heard it called that in a speech once when the speaker was explaining how it was sometimes embarrassing to explain to someone that you write stories for a living when they farm the land or blacksmith or, worst of all, when they are a soldier.

Over the last six months I have had the distinct pleasure of writing quite a few stories about soldiers — mostly in connection with Iraq or Afghanistan — and hear about their experiences.

They have ranged from front line reconnaissance scouts who engaged insurgents along the Iran-Iraq border to the story of Howard Dillman in today's Eagle, whose service was no less noble, but also quite different. The common denominator between these soldiers, whether they were freezing at Bastogne in Belgium or baking in the Baghdad heat, is that they remember things with remarkable clarity.

There was an essay in Esquire magazine a few months ago called "I miss my Iraq. I miss my gun. I miss my war." It wasn't politically correct and it doesn't reflect the sentiments of many veterans, but it does make a point about the experience.

"War peels back the skin, and you live with a layer of nerves exposed, overdosing on your surroundings, when everything seems all wrong and just right, in a way that makes perfect sense." the author writes. "Even in its quiet moments, war is brighter, louder, brasher, more fun, more tragic, more wasteful. More. More of everything."

All the soldiers I've interviewed have said this same thing in one form or another. Whether five years ago or 50, they remember tiny details about what they carried or the way they felt. They all certainly remember the men they served with. The soldiers who went to Iraq were not scared or hesitant, they were ready to do a job they had volunteered to do. Howard Dillman was observant of the foreign lands around him, suspecting that, destroyed though they were, he might never see them again.

Most of us have never been soldiers. I hope that I never have to be. But many among us have been and whether they remember happiness or heartache, they remember. We're reminded once a year, on Veteran's Day, to listen to their stories and to thank them for all they've done. Thank you.

-Alex Strickland