They Went With Songs to the Battle, They Were Young: Heart Thoughts on Afghanistan

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"They went with songs to the battle, they were young,

Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.

They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;

They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them."

I’ve tried to write this so many times, but I'm speechless. Everyone is speechless. In a world full of noise, there are so few words at a time like this.

Watching the catastrophe in Afghanistan the last few weeks has felt surreal. I've wanted to share my support, but I’ve struggled to find words - my heart is so broken over the situation. It feels so personal.

Over the last two weeks, I've thought about all the great guys I've known over the years who fought and lost friends in Afghanistan and are now left questioning everything. I've thought about the families who will forever have a gold star engraved on their hearts, and a beautiful little girl I met once, 4 - maybe 5 years old, who wore a Marine Blues dress in honor of the daddy who was never coming home. And I've wondered about the fate of those who are now left behind.

With a heart full and few words, I've prayed a lot. Checked in on my friends who served over there. And I’ve prayed a lot more.

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Thursday, when the bombing report came in, we were celebrating my brother's 20th birthday. As the names started to trickle out and then the official list was released, I can't tell you how many tears I shed seeing their faces, names, and ages. I'm still crying.

Kids. Marines the SAME AGE as my brother. 20 years old. Infants at the start of this war.

Too young to drink. But old enough to die.

Now that they've been brought home, I'm afraid of the apathy that will follow. It always does. The news of tomorrow will overshadow the headlines of today. Soon people will forget about the debacle of the last few weeks, and if they don't forget, they will be uncomfortable remembering.

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But it's good to be uncomfortable. It's important. While our lives resume, the families of those 13 will never be the same. Let's not allow ourselves to become apathetic.

Image from Nicole Gee’s instagram

For me, while I look for other ways to help, I will continue to pray for the comfort of the grieving and the safety of those now left abandoned in Afghanistan. I will pray for the Soldiers and Marines coming home, and for the health and well being of those who served previously and are now dealing with feelings of betrayal and loss.

As nightmarish as the last few weeks have been, I do believe there is some hope in the rubble. Amidst the scenes of heartbreak and disaster, we have been inundated with reminders of the individual courage of the American serviceman and their willingness to unselfishly sacrifice ALL at a moment's notice.

"Theirs not to make reply, Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do and die."

6 days before she was killed in the line of duty with her fellow Marines, Nicole Gee posted a photo on her instagram holding an infant and captioned, "I love my job."

At the cost of their lives, we have been reminded that American patriotism still exists.

Thank you for your service to this country.

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Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, 31, of Salt Lake City, Utah

Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, 25, of Lawrence, Massachusetts

Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, 23, of Sacramento, California

Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, 22, of Indio, California

Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, 23, of Omaha, Nebraska

Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, 22, of Logansport, Indiana

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, 20, of Rio Bravo, Texas

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, 20, of St. Charles, Missouri

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, 20, of Jackson, Wyoming

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, 20, of Norco, California

Navy Hospitalman Maxton W. Soviak, 22, of Berlin Heights, Ohio

Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss, 23, of Corryton, Tennessee.

What We Know About The 13 U.S. Service Members Killed In The Kabul Attack

The Bombs Bursting in Air: A short story for the 4th of July

Sharing this story from a couple of years ago... a little something to get you in the mood for Independence day.

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"Do you remember the lines in the National Anthem? About the 'rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air??

Lt. Col. Tom Kalus is one of those very rare Marines who happened to be a participant in two of the greatest moments in Marine Corps history: the Battle of Iwo Jima (WW2) and the Chosin Reservoir (Korea). Both events are known for their intensity of the fighting and the bravery of the Marines against unbelievable odds.

Shortly after I met Col. Kalus, he related a story to me which remains one of my favorite ones I can remember a veteran telling me... 

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One evening of the Marine reunion we both attended a few years ago, Col. Kalus asked me, "Do you remember the lines in the National Anthem? About the 'rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air?"

Of course! Who can forget those inspiring lines written by Francis Scott Key and sung so often at sports events and holidays.

"When I was on Iwo," he went on, "About the 3rd or 4th night, the Japs gave us a real hard shelling. One of the wisecracks in my foxhole said, 'Hey look, it's like in the song, the bombs bursting in air.' I didn't pay much attention to him at the time, until one night at Chosin. The 7th Marines were bravely taking a hill and the Chinese were giving them everything they'd got. The sky was filled with explosions and fireworks. I remembered what the Marine had said on Iwo, 'and the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air.' At that moment I realized that I was seeing what Francis Scott Key had seen when he wrote the Star Spangled Banner."

Oh goodness, if there was ever a story to put the chills on your arms. Mr. Kalus got teary-eyed as he finished by saying that he could never listen to the American Anthem again without thinking of those fearful nights at Iwo Jima and Chosin. I know I never will listen to it again the same.

O say can you see, by the dawn's early light,
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

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