From LtGen John Kelly from page 11
religion. All of this stands as further proof of his disdain for decency and human life. This enemy has repeatedly proven himself to be brutal and homicidal, offer- ing no quarter and with a single focus… to kill every one of us here at home, or enslave us with a sick form of extrem- ism that serves no God or purpose that decent men and women, regardless of the God they worship, could ever grasp. In past wars since the birth of our Repub- lic, the burden of stopping such evil fell on the shoulders of an entire generation. Today the task is taken up by only 1% of America. The 1% all of us here tonight represent, whose children fill the ranks of our Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Marine Corps in barely enough num- bers to defend us all. They are men and women of character who believed in this country enough to put life and limb on the line without qualification, and without thought of personal gain.
Aside from everything else you have endured the weeks, months or years since your loss, you should be proud of their decision…of their commitment… of their actions on the battlefield. Proud they stepped forward when so many oth- ers never even considered it. Proud that by this one very personal decision — to serve a cause higher than themselves regardless of the outcome to them per- sonally — they gave meaning to two questions that have, over the centuries, defined the dedication of free and righ- teous men and women in the fight against wickedness: “If not me, Dad, who? If not now, Mom, when?”
If we did not have citizens willing to not only ask, but also to act on these ques- tions, we would have lost in our strug- gle against the oppression of the British Empire. Slavery might never have been eradicated from our shores, and the rights of all Americans under the law might still be just a dream. The Nazis would have triumphed, the death camps never liberated and eliminated, and untold mil- lions never saved from the gas chambers and furnaces. Communism, a cancer that killed over 100 million and sucked the
12 Crossroads Spring 2012
human spirit from billions more during its 70 year life span, would never have been thrown onto the dust bin of history. And today, the high tide of Islamic intoler- ance and extremism — an empire of hate that Osama bin Laden himself proclaimed would last forever — was counted in only days after 9/11 once our country woke up and took the fight to them on their home turf. That is the kind of men and women we remember here this weekend. That is the kind of young person you raised… you shared a room with as a brother or sister…you married. Be at least as proud of their having stepped forward, as you are sad at their loss.
The comforting news to our country-
men who have decided to sit it out and watch in amazement from the sidelines at what ours did every day for them in this war against extremism, is that they were as good as any who came before them in our history. As good as what their fathers and uncles were in Vietnam, and their grandfathers were in Korea and World War II. But, like those who came before them, they were not born killers. They were good and decent young men and women who, every day, performed remarkable and most often unsung acts of bravery and selflessness to a cause they decided was bigger and more impor- tant than themselves. And you know that any one of them could have done some- thing more self-serving with their lives as the vast majority of their age group elected to do after high school and col- lege, but no, they chose to serve knowing full well a brutal war was in their future. They did not avoid the most basic and cherished responsibility of a citizen — the defense of country — they welcomed it. Our kids were the best of the best of their generation, and in their unselfishness put every American ahead of themselves. All are heroes for simply stepping forward, and our people owe a debt they can never fully pay. Their reward for service is the legacy they left behind: selfless valor, the Country we live in, and the freedoms so many take for granted.
I said earlier when I started my com-
ments that I’d never had the pleasure of meeting your loved ones, but I can say without hesitation that I knew every one of them very well. I certainly was not there in the hospital when they were born. I did not share with you the joy of their birth. I also was not at the church when they were Baptized or years later when they received First Holy Commu- nion, Confirmation, or were married. I didn’t share the anxiety the day you took off their training wheels and let them leave the driveway for their first solo ride on their two wheeler. I also wasn’t at the sports field to see them play Little League baseball or mob ball that was supposed to be soccer…or when they went on their first overnight as a Cub Scout or Brownie. I wasn’t there for their first day of school, or their first job, or their first date or prom, or their graduation from high school or college.
I knew them all well, however, because after nearly four decades of service in uniform I’ve been privileged to know thou- sands and thousands exactly like them. Privileged to have known them, and hon- ored to have taken responsibility for them from you and continue your tremendous work. To help them through the home- sickness they felt at boot camp and their first duty stations far from home, to stand in for you and make sure they picked up their rooms, did their laundry, advised them to continue to stay away from drugs, drink in moderation and lead good lives, to go to church, and hang out with the right crowd. I counseled them about relation- ships and marriage, and helped young couples through the rocks-and-shoals of every marriage’s first year. I taught them how to balance their checkbooks, and use a credit card responsibly, and trained them so they’d be less likely to kill themselves on the motorcycle they never should have bought. All of which built on the work you did, along with their sisters and brothers, aunts and uncles, neighbor- hoods, communities, churches, helping them achieve the greatness they already had in their hearts. I loved them all. In some respects I knew them bet-
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