thedrifter
06-25-08, 07:22 AM
June 25, 2008
Our view: Fallen Marine has one last wish
Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre didn't give much planning to a lot of things -- except being a Marine.
The decision to join the brotherhood he'd admired since he was 14 years old was a long time in the making. That was out of character for a man more known for his spontaneity.
When he first broached the idea with his parents, they thought he'd soon move on to something else. To their surprise, the dream stuck with him, and Andrew signed up for the Marines before he graduated from high school.
In hindsight, the move made sense. Andrew always fought for the little guy. In junior high and high school, he would be the first to stand up to bullies, even when that meant getting in trouble himself.
And he never wavered in that commitment, even when he learned he was going to Afghanistan. Having already served one tour of duty in Iraq, some might have argued they had done their duty, at the very least they might have been bitter.
Not Andrew. He had a job to do, he told his loved ones, one he considered an honor. He wrote about that honor when he first landed in Afghanistan.
"I have been given the chance to change the lives of people in not only a city but a different country," he wrote. "How lucky am I?"
On Thursday, Andrew gave his life fighting for the underdog.
Andrew would have said it was worth it, say his loved ones. To doubt him would be blasphemy.
Make no mistake -- his parents (father Ernie and stepmom Norma) are proud: proud of Andrew, proud of the Marines and proud of the job the U.S. military is doing in Afghanistan.
Thousands of miles away from the country Andrew described as "amazing," it's easy to lose sight of what his fellow Marines still are fighting for.
Here in East Central Indiana, we don't look out at the scorched ground of Ground Zero each day. We don't fear going to work in the morning or the man sitting next to us on the bus.
But that doesn't make the risk any less real. Andrew knew that. His buddies know that. He wanted you to know that.
"I want to take a second and thank all of you who support us in what we do," Andrew wrote two months before his death. "I know many of you do not believe in the wars we are fighting in. Just remember that all the men and women who are here are here because at one point they took an oath to protect and serve YOU. The support of the citizens of the country we fight and die for is all that we ask."
That's the last wish of a fallen Marine. Doesn't seem too much to ask for.
Godspeed, Andrew.
Ellie
Our view: Fallen Marine has one last wish
Lance Cpl. Andrew Francis Whitacre didn't give much planning to a lot of things -- except being a Marine.
The decision to join the brotherhood he'd admired since he was 14 years old was a long time in the making. That was out of character for a man more known for his spontaneity.
When he first broached the idea with his parents, they thought he'd soon move on to something else. To their surprise, the dream stuck with him, and Andrew signed up for the Marines before he graduated from high school.
In hindsight, the move made sense. Andrew always fought for the little guy. In junior high and high school, he would be the first to stand up to bullies, even when that meant getting in trouble himself.
And he never wavered in that commitment, even when he learned he was going to Afghanistan. Having already served one tour of duty in Iraq, some might have argued they had done their duty, at the very least they might have been bitter.
Not Andrew. He had a job to do, he told his loved ones, one he considered an honor. He wrote about that honor when he first landed in Afghanistan.
"I have been given the chance to change the lives of people in not only a city but a different country," he wrote. "How lucky am I?"
On Thursday, Andrew gave his life fighting for the underdog.
Andrew would have said it was worth it, say his loved ones. To doubt him would be blasphemy.
Make no mistake -- his parents (father Ernie and stepmom Norma) are proud: proud of Andrew, proud of the Marines and proud of the job the U.S. military is doing in Afghanistan.
Thousands of miles away from the country Andrew described as "amazing," it's easy to lose sight of what his fellow Marines still are fighting for.
Here in East Central Indiana, we don't look out at the scorched ground of Ground Zero each day. We don't fear going to work in the morning or the man sitting next to us on the bus.
But that doesn't make the risk any less real. Andrew knew that. His buddies know that. He wanted you to know that.
"I want to take a second and thank all of you who support us in what we do," Andrew wrote two months before his death. "I know many of you do not believe in the wars we are fighting in. Just remember that all the men and women who are here are here because at one point they took an oath to protect and serve YOU. The support of the citizens of the country we fight and die for is all that we ask."
That's the last wish of a fallen Marine. Doesn't seem too much to ask for.
Godspeed, Andrew.
Ellie