TCH News

Issue date: 3/10/08 Section: News

In a war wrought with controversy and debate often times individuals are forgotten. With so much focus on the morality of a war or the shortcomings of our political leaders, it's very easy to forget that there is a much more personal, a more intimate side of conflict.

Even those who emblazon their cars with "Support our troops" ribbons and "Impeach Bush" bumper stickers don't fully understand the flurry of emotion surrounding a soldier.

"I'm not going to vote in November," said Colin Tunney, a marine. "I'll be in Iraq [at the end of the month]," he said.

Most people place our soldiers on some sort of pedestal, as if they were some sort of immaculate warriors. While most of these people acknowledge the danger and the turmoil soldiers must endure, they fail to recognize the simplicity of the situation.

"This is my job," said Tunney. "I put on my boots and go to work the same as a carpenter or a plumber. I'm nobody special."

Surely, though, all the training and conditioning soldiers go through before they are deployed must harden them, almost detach them for their task at hand?

"He's still my same old Colin," said Vickie Bello, Colin's girlfriend of the last four years. "He's still as loveable and silly as he was two years ago when he left."

The essence of being a solider is not summed up as a desensitized grunt following orders, but more as ordinary people being thrust into extraordinary situations.

During this lunch-time interview with Colin an anonymous patron at the table beside us overheard our conversation. He got up and walked over to our table. He talked to Colin for several minutes and parted ways. He picked up our check without ever giving us the chance to thank him.

This man understood. He knew the way to support out troops was not with bumper stickers or magnets, but through kindness and understanding. A soldier doesn't see an "Impeach Bush" sticker and think "thanks for the support.." It only reminds them that in the minds of many their task is futile and misunderstood.

Showing support for our troops can be as simple as buying them a hot meal, or a round of drinks, or just listening to their stories. These gestures remind them of their humanity and their attachment to a world not filled with carnage.

As the anonymous patron was leaving, he offered no words of reassurance or slanders towards our government. He understood these to be useless. All he could conjure up was, "God bless son."

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