Reflections on the “Greatest Generation” vs. the “Video Game Generation”
Lance on Mar 26 2007 at 2:21 pm | Filed under: Lance's Page, Military Matters
Keith recently posted about the enlistment of older and/or successful men in our military, knowing full well that they would likely be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan and National Medal of Honor day .
I got this e-mail from my brother, who volunteered the day before he would have been ineligible to volunteer and is thus much older than most of the young men he serves with. I think his thoughts on these young men, and the wonderful example he has chosen are worth considering. I am sure he will not mind me putting this up:
I do not know this soldier but I know a few who I believe would fight as bravely in a similar circumstance. I think that it is telling of an entire generation of young men and women who are largely marginalized by the media and preceding generations. The MySpace generation /the video game generation / the computer or digital generation – whatever the term will be for it has some outstanding individuals and I’m confident that there are many more. Bill Gates has not destroyed the American youth or their dreams.
There is a page on the Army AKO site that has a lot of soldiers’ stories and their awards (all age groups, branches and conflicts; some of these brave souls have waited 30-60 years to be recognized and pinned) – this was among them as well as stories of young soldiers and marines diving on grenades and the like to shield their buddies (who would have been unable to escape the blast) when they could have jumped out of the room or vehicle and saved themselves.
It reminds me of a group of soldiers who’s electronics I flew to service monthly in Balad (Anaconda). They lost a lot of men over the year. (18 – I think). Each month I wondered who wouldn’t be there to greet me.
It makes me proud, sad, privileged and honored to serve amongst them.
Peace, Scott
Here is the story of Private Stephen C. Stanford:
Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross to Army Pvt. Stephen C. Sanford of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, for displaying extraordinary courage during the evacuation of casualties from a home in Mosul while under intense enemy fire, according to Army officials.
Although shot in the leg during his squad’s initial assault attempt, he still accompanied his squad during its second assault. Once inside the house, Sanford provided a heavy volume of suppressive fire while the casualties were evacuated. He continued to engage the enemy while escorting wounded soldiers from the house, according to the award citation.
Sanford returned to the house a second time to provide covering fire for the final withdrawal of casualties. When the last soldier leaving the house was shot in the neck, Sanford began performing CPR. Sanford was shot twice more in the back while trying to revive the other soldier. He returned fire and killed an insurgent while receiving two more potentially fatal gunshot wounds, the citation stated. He continued returning fire while helping his wounded comrade until he was incapacitated by his own loss of blood.
“I have had the distinct honor of participating in many award ceremonies,” Pace told the audience of family, friends and fellow soldiers. “This is the first time I have ever had the honor of awarding a Distinguished Service Cross.
The chairman said each of the soldiers would probably say they don’t think they deserve the awards. “If you asked them, they’d say they were doing their jobs,” he said. “But if you asked their fellow soldiers, they’d say they went above and beyond the call of duty.
“The soldiers on the wall behind me know what you have done,” Pace told the award recipients. “Your courage in combat made a difference. You deserve these awards.”
When read in a citation, Pace said, words like “extraordinary heroism” and “gallantry in action” don’t capture what really happened that day. “But you know what happened, and so do your fellow soldiers in the unit,” he said.
“Thank you for doing what soldiers have always done in combat — to serve, to serve well and to serve above and beyond what any of our fellow citizens would ask you to serve,” he concluded.
Shot five times and he still kept trying to help his comrades. Keep safe Scott, you are always in my prayers.
Technorati Tags: Iraq, soldiers, General Pace, Steven C. Stanford, Distinguished Service Cross, heroism, war
Sphere: Related ContentOne Response to “Reflections on the “Greatest Generation” vs. the “Video Game Generation””
Trackback URI | Comments RSS
The View From the Bluff: Lance’s Economic and Finance Blog
While I certainly don’t think that the “video game generation” (including myself) have been helped by the culture that we have chosen (or had imposed on us depending on your sociological point of view), neither do I think that we are totally useless parasites, either. For a very interesting example of the supposed “video game parasites” coming to terms with the real world, see this interesting experiment. I think a lot of gamers (myself included, if my health were to hold up) would benefit from an experience like this.