Froggy Ruminations has a riveting first hand account of the Hawaii memorial service for the SEAL team that fell under fire in Afghanistan. If you can read it without a tear in your eye, a chill up your spine, or a lump in your throat, you've got icewater in your veins.
These particular heroes symbolize all the fallen warriors in this War on Terror in a vivid, high-profile way. Theirs was a secret mission, it went terribly wrong in a dramatic way, and their casualties were crushingly heavy. They were Special Ops forces, our best of the best. Yet I have confidence that the lost SEAL team would agree that every soldier who dies in the line of duty in the Middle East, in every branch of the armed services, deserves our eternal homage and respect.
Our troops are dying for us. They are dying for you, for me, for every American who walks the earth in freedom. Recognition of that unshakable fact creates within me an umreimbursable soul debt, one that does not bear forgetting. Nor should any of us forget the imponderable price that has been paid by our military men and women to protect our home and loved ones.
It is impossible to express sufficient gratitude for their sacrifice. We can pray, we can donate to the survivor funds, we can adopt fighting troops through Soldiers Angels. But we can never even begin to repay them.
Being vigilant about honor and respect towards our heroes, both fighting and fallen, is one small interest payment on our debt. Granted, it's not much for us to give back, but at least it's something.
