Those Left Behind - Patriotism

A small child joins her parents and other siblings to a bus station where they are saying goodbye to her brother who had joined the Army. This little girl looked up to her older brother and loved him so much. She didn't understand anything more than that he was going on a trip that the President said he had to go on. The bus pulled up and it was time for him to leave when he picked up the little girl in his arms and said to her... "Don't cry... give me a hug but save the kiss for when I get back because I'm going to need it." She reached out to her lips as if she was capturing a kiss and then pretended to tuck it in her pocket and said "I'll keep it just for you." Time passed as the brother was gone and the little girl listened intently as her mother read his letters to the family where he always said to tell his little sister hello and not to give that kiss to anybody as he was looking forward to getting it from her when he came home. She always giggled and went on her merry way playing as a young child would.

One day as she was playing with her barbie dolls in the front living room a knock came to the screen door and she looked up to see men in suits and they asked through the screen if her mom or dad was home. She yelled for her mother who was in the Kitchen making dinner and her brother came from the hallway and immediately at the mere site of these men they began to weep. The little girl didn't understand and was quickly whisked away by another sibling to a nearby bedroom. Later she was told that her brother had been killed in Vietnam. She didn't understand why he wouldn't be coming home.

At the funeral home during the wake the little girl is escorted into the room by two other brothers. She holds on tightly to their hands as she had never seen anything like this and then she looks ahead and notices the coffin holding the body of her brother who she so adored. At the time she didn't know why but the upper half of the coffin was open but there was a bubble of plexiglass limiting access to the body. She looked so seriously up to her brothers as she gripped their hand and quietly said... "How am I going to give him his kiss with that glass there?" The brothers burst into tears...

This little girl was me. My brother at the age of 19 joined the Army even though if he'd honestly told the people doing the physical about his asthma attacks he'd been excused from duty. My mother did everything to talk him into this but he said no that he was going to go and was not going to be one of those to get out of his duty to this country. A few short months later when two infantry units came across a mine field the commanders of each had a map which was supposed to guide them to safety on the other side but the maps had several differences so they asked for a volunteer from each unit to use their map to cross. My brother volunteered but didn't make it to safety. His death however allowed for the safe crossing of the remainder of both units.

My brother didn't get to ever get my kiss but far worse he never got to live the life he deserved. He never got to marry and for all I know never even enjoyed sex with someone he cherished. He has missed so much and I have missed him more than I could ever express. So for anyone to call into question my patriotism when I have serious problems with this administration's policies or the war in Iraq should be ashamed of themselves. I have the right to question the government of this land............... My brother died to give me that right!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!