Love In Death... A Memorial Day Memoir

THE EXPLOSION

Sent shock waves through his body.  The sound was absolutely deafening;  The earth-shattering melody ripped his eardrums to pieces; he felt it through his entire being, and for but a brief moment, every ounce of his soul.  And then it was over...  the pain fleeting, swept away with the rush of adrenaline.  Before he knew it, he was back on his feet, reaching for his gun.  There was no time to rest now, no time to slow down.  This was war, and in this moment, time lost meant life lost.  

The thought came to mind of how odd it was he was not bleeding from the shrapnel, as he turned to his weapon, but he put it out of his head- no time to dwell on abnormalities and expectations.  He had but one concern- the enemy was closing in.  His brothers in arms needed him to stand again, to join in again the barrage of smoke and lead.  So stand he did, his eyes desperate, scanning again for... his gun...

Seeing it tossed to the side of his body, he stretched for it, again that fleeting thought- why does everything seem so light, so surreal, so...  quiet...  but forcing such thoughts away, his hand finally reaching the barrel of his trusty firearm, flailing his hands in urgency as he tried to grip it.  Anxiety suddenly made him pause, frustration in his limbs building.  He could SEE his gun, but he could not TOUCH his gun.  it was almost as though his hands didn't exist!  Panic briefly rocketed through his brain, knowing any moment the harbinger of doom would peak over the horizon, muzzle flashing certain death...

Death.

And then, his eyes came to rest again on his body.

Lifeless.

Breath stolen from his lungs.

Blood soaked wounds illustrating the character of the man he was in life.

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends..."  

Those were the words of Jesus.  He remembered learning them so long ago in Sunday School back home.  Home, a place he now realized he would not see again.  Father and Mother, whom he would not embrace again.  The woman he loved, whose eyes he would not gaze into again.  For a moment, his heart shattered inside his ghostly shell, more powerful than the explosion that had taken his life.  If he had eyes his tears would have steamed like rivers at the realization that shook his soul...

But only momentarily, as peace washed over him from above.  Peace that showed him his life had purpose, his death not in vain, as the Divine brought to his mind the faces of his brothers spared from destruction by his own actions.  Foresight flooded him as he saw the faces of his loved ones, sorrowful, yet safe.  Hope overwhelmed him, as he saw the end of the battle, and the preservation of his people and his nation.

He looked down again at his lifeless body, understanding now the permanent condition of his sacrifice; and though his heart was heavy but for a moment, greater still was his reward- the reward of knowing that his love for his friends, for his family, his nation, would prevail and live on.  And so he looked up, arms outstretched in one final gesture, leaving behind the broken shell in one final act that boldly proclaimed he would not have changed one thing in his last heroic seconds of his life, because

Greater love has no man than this...

And he loved well.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to all who sacrificed everything so that we may live; may we learn to love like you.

Why Libya Matters

IT WAS not that long ago we were honoring the memory of September 11.  There were prayer events, political events, and times of reflection at sporting events.  The nation was reminded of that time in our recent history when we suffered violently at the hands of terrorists...  That time when so many of our American citizens died, and we swore that it would happen NEVER again.  We had our time of tears, but those tears turned to anger, and that anger fueled war, in an attempt to send a clear mesage to the world:  NEVER AGAIN.  We thought that they heard us.  The question is- did they?

That was answered 11 years after the first 9/11 attack.  11 years to the day.  September 11, 2012 was a new day for terror.  This time, the attack happened at our Consulate in Libya.  An act of violence using military grade weapons and took the lives of 4 Americans.  While it is true that we did not lose as many as we did on the orriginal 9/11, it does not discount the fact that our people were murdered.  To their families, it is irrelevant if it was 4 or 3,000.  Their lives are changed forever, their loved ones are never returning home to hug them, to kiss them, to hold them.  Their world fractured that day.  What makes it worse, though, is that a time that should be reserved for sorrow and healing has been fractured as well.  Only this time it was not rocket launchers, gunfire, or mortars that has left a crater on their soul- no, this time it is betrayal.

Betrayal.  A strong word, but we must understand the events of that day, and in so doing understand that the events at Libya were not just some random thing that happened, they were not some minor event in American history, nor was it something we should just ignore.  Now I know the concern that some may have- we should not politicize the deaths of four Americans.  I agree.  I think it would be a grave disservice to them to turn this into a partisan politics arguement.  HOWEVER- we must not avoid the discussion in fear of being taken as politicizing the event either.

We must first look at some facts that we do know:  First, that there was an attack on sovereign American soil.  International law states that a country's consulates in foreign land is sovereign soil to that nation.  Basicly, if you attack a consulate you are in effect attacking that nation.  So the American consulate in Libya was, by international law, sitting on American soil.  The attack there on that fateful September day then, in the eyes of international law- as well as our own- was no different than if they had attacked us here in the states.

Less than a mile away from the consulate, there were 2 Navy SEALs.   Upon hearing the gunshots they radiod in for support, requesting aid as they went into action to protect American soil, and more importantly, American lives.  They were denied help.  And they were told to stand down.  They were told to do nothing as their fellow Americans fell under attack.

They chose to defy orders.

They left their safety and went into action, engaging the enemy in a firefight, rescuing 30 American citizens that day.  Unfortunately they were not able to save everyone, as 2 other Americans- one of them our ambassador to Libya- were killed.  Finally, near the end of a 7 hour firefight, these two Navy SEALs were killed in action as well.

After the attack we were told repeatedly by our President, by our Vice President, by the Secretary of State, and by all the other mouthpieces in between that this was the result of an anti-muslim video that had been made and put out on youtube.  This video, which reportedly had 17 views before this incident, supposedly set the whole middle east into a blazing riot. 

But that was not the case at all, as we have since learned that there was no protest.  There was no uprising.  In fact, less than an hour after the attack began- WHILE our men were still fighting- an islamic terrorist group was taking credit for it.  Yes, my friends, we have learned that indeed this was a terrorist attack.  On our soil.  And our government, as investigations have proven, knew this the whole time.  Not only did they know about it- but they lied to the American people about what it was.  They covered up for a terrorist group as long as they could.  And as testimonies and evidence have surfaced, they watched the attack on live video feed.  They watched as these 2 SEALs fought to save others.  They watched as they called for help, for backup, for something.  They denied their requests, and then they watched them die.

Why does this matter, you ask?  First of all, because of several unanswered questions.  WHY was there inadequate security at this consulate?  WHY were the SEALs told to stand down and not engage the enemy?  WHY were their repeated calls for help denied?  WHY were other military and CIA branches also told to do nothing and to stand down when they requested to go in for back up?  WHY did our government do nothing but watch as this terrorist attack unfolded?  WHY DID THEY COVER FOR A TERRORIST GROUP AS LONG AS THEY COULD UNTIL THEY COULD NO LONGER LIE ABOUT IT BEING A PROTEST? 

WHY should we think this is anything less than treason?

Why does this matter?  How is this not politicizing this event?  Because republican, democrat, liberal, conservative, it really doesn't matter what the president believes.  This was nothing less than intentionally leaving our men to die.  They may have been killed by mortars and gunfire that day- but it was this administration's lack of involvement that enabled their murder.  By OUR law, that is called being an accomplice to murder.  It matters not what the party affiliation is.  This was just wrong.

In the democrat primaries in 2008, Hillary Clinton campaigned against Barak Obama, asking the question- what will you do when you get a call at 3 a.m. in the morning about an American attack...

Well...  Now we know what the answer to her question is. 

What will he do?  Nothing.  Nothing but watch. 

My friends, is this really what we want from our president?  Is this what we should expect?  This behavior does not warrant four more years as leader of the free world- it warrants 40 to life behind bars.