At the request of south suburban Steger's Mayor Lou Sherman, IR friend and long-distance blogger Army LTC Joe "Maun in Iraq" sends his regards to friends and family back home to be shared at a Memorial Day ceremony this weekend..
To all my friends and neighbors in Steger,
I send you warm greetings from the International Zone in Baghdad, Iraq and hope that the weather has cooperated with your Memorial Day celebration.
On Memorial Day 2007 here in Baghdad, I will be raising the American Flag over the U.S. Embassy complex. It is the only place where the U.S. Flag can officially be raised in Iraq. On my return to Steger I will give the flag with a certificate to the Village of Steger.
Not far from my compound is one of the many structures built by Saddam Hussein in celebration of victory in the Iran Iraq war. Giant crossed swords made from helmets and weapons of defeated Iranian soldiers mark the entrances to a parade area where he was often seen shooting rifles into the air for the crowds.
This is such a contrast to what we have in the USA. We do not celebrate the defeat of our enemies. Our war memorials to be sure mark great battles and historic locations, but the focal point is always the soldier or citizen who made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom and our country. From Pearl Harbor to the Alamo to Gettysburg to Fort McHenry America measured its conflicts by the heroic actions of people that served.
History has demonstrated that the conduct of American war has never been popular. Loyalists to the Crown considered Washington to be a traitor during and even after we won. Sam Houston was called a coward in the press because he refused to fight Santa Anna’s army for months and Abraham Lincoln was often viciously attacked in the press.
This is a quote from a national newspaper: “Parents (of soldiers) have been so confused as to the facts or logic of the situation and so influenced by what they read of a critical nature that something must be done to bring them to an understanding of the national emergency and of the necessity for a highly trained Army.”… “There is no more delicate problem than troop morale, and with such a slender margin of public approval to back us, it is no easy matter to build up the highly trained and seasoned fighting force that we must have available as quickly as possible.”
These are not the words of General Casey to President Bush they are the words of General George Marshall to President Roosevelt during World War II.
From my position I can see the importance of what we are doing, but I also understand the passions that people have on both sides of the debate. Responsible free speech is part of the rights that a free society must have to grow. It is one of the gifts we have brought to the Iraqi people.
Progress is being made not with tanks and guns, but with bulldozers and backhoes. Army Engineer’s brainpower with the incredible work ethic of the Iraqi people that want to be free are making the biggest difference. Most of you will not see the sacrifices that Iraqis have made and are making. I am in a position to see our incredible progress and it is substantial.
As much as the American men and women on the front lines, these Iraqi workers are targets and are often attacked in their homes and in the market places simply because they went to work at a job with Americans. And every day new workers take their place.
This Memorial Day take a moment to remember all those that have fought and to give us the life we have. Soldiers will wake this morning and put themselves in harms way willingly for you and me. If called on they will do what is necessary for their unit and there comrades. There will be a Memorial someday to those that have fallen here. Please do not ask if the soldier’s sacrifice was worth it. Ask instead am I an American worthy of such a gift.
I look forward to my homecoming and the opportunity to see my family and friends. I am here because I believe in what America is doing and why America is doing it.
God Bless you all and God Bless the USA.
Respectfully I am,
Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Maun
Steger, Illinois.
