A Soldiers Last Words

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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 word 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.

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, its 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!
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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. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than
ever. God bless.

Though Eddie is no longer with us, you can help to let his voice be heard.
WE ARE AT WAR
GOD BLESS AMERICA