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thedrifter
02-04-07, 04:48 AM
Soldiers must live with fear of 'eternal Footman'
February 04, 2007 - Posted at 12:00 a.m.

I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,

and I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

and in short, I was afraid.

T.S. ELIOT

'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock'

The look of pure delight on the little girl's face said it all.

That broad smile, revealing the space between her front baby teeth, spoke plainly to the whole world: "My daddy's home."

The photo, taken Friday at the Fort Hood "Heroes' Tribute" for soldiers returning from Iraq, ran on page B1 of Saturday's Advocate. All day long I caught myself going back to it again and again, always deriving a warmth inside just from seeing that 7-year-old's smile, and the look of love and pride on the face of the little girl's soldier-father.

What you couldn't see in the photo was the terrible memory of war locked inside daddy's head, the unspeakable things he's seen, the incessant clang and clatter and bloodshed of war.

And yes, always present must have been the specter of that "eternal Footman" that T.S. Eliot spoke of, the dark figure that hovers - never far away - from those who have to fight the wars.

I've written so often of these American heroes that some folks tell me to get off of it and onto another subject. Well, I've done that, but the affection and respect I feel for these men and women always draws me back, to write more of their exploits and their valor.

The war in Iraq is not popular. Americans don't like hearing the casualty figures coming out of there daily. Maybe that's why some don't want me writing about it.

But let's not repeat the mistake we made so many years ago, when a bewildered bunch of American soldiers, Marines, airmen and seamen came home from Southeast Asia and faced the wrath of a nation that hated that war, too. People forgot that the soldiers had only done their duty, as it had been drilled into them. And people forgot for a while the adage, "Old men make wars, and young men have to fight them."

There are scars from the wounds of that homecoming that last until today.

As the unpopularity of the Iraqi war grows, we've got to remember that these soldiers - like the one proudly holding his little girl at Fort Hood - do not make policy and do not create war.

Every American should embrace each of them with the same fervor shown by the child in that photograph. We should all have a "welcome home" on our lips and gratitude in our hearts.

Don't forget that these soldiers were not drafted. They volunteered to serve their country.

They lived where the shadow of that "eternal Footman" was so close for so long, but now they're home, and it should be a celebration.

I only wish the Footman had not claimed so many.
Jim Bishop is a senior editor for the Advocate. Leave him a message at 361-574-1210 or jbishop@vicad.com or comment on this column at www.VictoriaAdvocate.com.

Ellie