The Warrior Class: A Day to Recognize Our Vets

Allow me to share a story: An old friend brought home a souvenir from Iraq in the form of embedded shrapnel from an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). While on patrol with his platoon, he and another were wounded by the same IED, and though barely mobile, he dragged his brother in arms out of the line of fire. He doesn’t think of himself as a hero; he was simply looking out for his friends.?

Thinking of the individual traits exhibited by such deeds, I asked myself: What is a hero? What is courage or character? Are these values aspirational in our society today?

I get inspired with a touch of nostalgia, to consider ideals that may seem out-of-fashion in the cynical world of today: honor, virtue, courage, bravery, valor, sacrifice, and discipline. During my childhood I read voraciously about the exploits of heroes, who in whatever context, had a noble striving and clarity of purpose, to achieve the impossible despite setbacks, despite fear, despite all adversity!

From ancient mythology to comic book characters, these ideals still exist. Yet we don’t immediately associate them with our armed forces. It’s true that we have far greater respect for those who have chosen to serve than a generation or two ago. Think Vietnam.

That respect is unrelated to the politics of any specific conflict the U.S. may engage in, which may generate the opposite response. We respect our soldiers and question our politicians. As we should.

It’s interesting too, that appreciation for our men and women in uniform has grown in parallel with unfamiliarity with the principles to which they commit themselves. Most of us may not know someone in the military or are vaguely familiar only second-hand. Consequently, we may not understand the principles that motivate them. This was inevitable when our armed services became voluntary institutions, not conscription based. We no longer have a draft.

That is OK, but what we have also lost along the way is the weight of the ideals. We’ve watered them down. For example, how many articles have we read where “heroes” are people who are simply doing their jobs, or parents raising their kids; they may be exemplary but isn’t “heroes” a bit of a stretch?

Have we lost sight of the true meaning of words like “honor,” “virtue,” “courage,” “character” and “sacrifice?” Even worse, when we disparage or confuse various aspects of those words, and label them derisively as “toxic masculinity.”

Many feel that our armed services represent mere employment opportunities; that being a soldier is a job like any other. Including perks! Sure, higher risk but a job nonetheless. In fact, some veterans have expressed similar sentiments. But they are also the last to use words like hero, or bravery to describe their service. Perhaps because they have a more profound appreciation for what such words mean.

This Veterans Day let’s not only recognize those who have served our country, but to consider the ideals such service requires.

Veterans Day was initially called Armistice Day, a moment to celebrate the end of the first Great War, the War To End All Wars, after the treaty of Versailles in 1919. President Wilson proclaimed:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

We commemorate not only those that have served, but also the values that service represents. H.R. McMaster articulates these thoughts beautifully in a thought provoking essay worth reading in full:

“In democracies, if citizens do not understand war or are unsympathetic to the warrior ethos, it will become difficult to maintain the requirements of military effectiveness and to recruit the best young people into military service. The warrior ethos is what makes combat units effective. And because it is foundational to norms involving professional ethics, discipline, and discrimination in the use of force, the warrior ethos is essential to making war less inhumane.”

The warrior ethos he is referring to are a distinct value system; for example, the U.S. Army lists its values as loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. In recent years, the warrior ethos was formalized as the heart of a creed that every soldier is meant to internalize in basic training:

• I will always place the mission first.
• I will never accept defeat.
• I will never quit.
• I will never leave a fallen comrade.

That last one is relevant, because without it, all of the others are diminished. All soldiers are fighting for the fellow soldier they’re sharing a foxhole with. Selfless sacrifice.

I want to be mistaken; we are not too cynical, self-absorbed, and materialistic for these values to have resonance. I cling to the na?ve child, enthralled by tales of valor, tales that spun narratives representing the highest aspirations of the human spirit, to strive against all odds, against great adversaries, with honor and for the benefit of others.

Most of us are never called on to have our metal tested, to run into enemy fire, or a burning building, or save a drowning child. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones expressed this well back in 1997 with The Impression That I Get.

Let’s honor those who have knowingly chosen such tests.