thedrifter
07-03-09, 07:52 AM
Opinion: My son the Marine heads off to war
By Frank Davies
Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 07/02/2009 08:00:00 PM PDT
On a cool morning last November, 700 young men marched smartly across a vast parade deck in Parris Island, S.C., and became U.S. Marines. My son was one of them.
Now Lance Cpl. Kevin Davies, 19, is about to go to war. "This is what I trained to do," he tells us. He says he's ready. His parents? Not so much. But we're working on it.
For Kevin, this all makes sense, becoming a Marine infantryman, rifleman, door-kicker, grunt. Choose your term. This is what he has wanted to do for years. Many of his friends went to college. Kevin is going to Afghanistan, to a war many Americans have forgotten.
For his parents, this is a big adjustment. As students, we spoke out against the Vietnam War, and I'm proud of that. Now I jog through my neighborhood wearing a bright red "My Son is a U.S. Marine" T-shirt, and I'm proud of that, too.
I have no military experience. My wife's father was in the Army and then the CIA, and he was deeply troubled by government lying during the Vietnam War.
We have always been uncomfortable when patriotism crowds out rational analysis. And I saw up close what happened in the run-up to the Iraq war: Fear and anger over 9/11 were used to sell a war based on false pretenses.
I was a Washington correspondent for 11 years, covering the aftermath of 9/11 and the debates over Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw many in the media cheerlead for the Iraq War, and then watched recently as coverage of both wars largely dropped off the radar.
Through it all, I tried to get my son to think hard about his ambition to join the Marines. I made sure he talked with a couple of smart Marines I had met who gave him straight talk about what he faced. As casualties mounted in Iraq, we talked about how U.S. servicemen and women were dying while leaders flailed around for answers.
At 16, Kevin went to a special showing of HBO's documentary "Baghdad ER," an unsparing, graphic look at the heroic battle to save the lives of those grievously wounded. Medics, nurses and some of the wounded attended the event. The mother of a Marine who died in the ER embraced the doctors who tried to save him. I think Kevin enlisted with his eyes open.
He embraced the Marine ethos and tradition, but can still joke about some of the bravado around him. He's less gung-ho than at boot camp, but talks easily about defending his country.
In boot camp he developed a hernia. He had to put infantry training on hold while he waited for surgery.
Now he is back on track, eager to deploy to Afghanistan. He'll be one of 10,000 Marines in dangerous Helmand province, where the Taliban has deep roots.
I'm dealing with this as a rational journalist, learning everything I can about Afghanistan. I covered the confirmation hearing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new commander there, and for me, policy was suddenly personal.
So I wrestle with the trepidation, uncertainty and even dread that can't be ignored. I worry about the corrosive toll of war's random brutality. And feeling better about this mission than I did about the Iraq war doesn't make Kevin any safer.
As emotions ebb and flow, my wife and I latch on to one great constant: pride. Kevin is a good Marine, and he is no unthinking automaton. His parents are now Marine parents, with doubts and fears, but above all with profound pride in what that means.
FRANK DAVIES was the Washington correspondent for the San Jose Mercury News for three years until leaving this week to work for Congress as a senior investigator for the House ethics committee.
Ellie
By Frank Davies
Special to the Mercury News
Posted: 07/02/2009 08:00:00 PM PDT
On a cool morning last November, 700 young men marched smartly across a vast parade deck in Parris Island, S.C., and became U.S. Marines. My son was one of them.
Now Lance Cpl. Kevin Davies, 19, is about to go to war. "This is what I trained to do," he tells us. He says he's ready. His parents? Not so much. But we're working on it.
For Kevin, this all makes sense, becoming a Marine infantryman, rifleman, door-kicker, grunt. Choose your term. This is what he has wanted to do for years. Many of his friends went to college. Kevin is going to Afghanistan, to a war many Americans have forgotten.
For his parents, this is a big adjustment. As students, we spoke out against the Vietnam War, and I'm proud of that. Now I jog through my neighborhood wearing a bright red "My Son is a U.S. Marine" T-shirt, and I'm proud of that, too.
I have no military experience. My wife's father was in the Army and then the CIA, and he was deeply troubled by government lying during the Vietnam War.
We have always been uncomfortable when patriotism crowds out rational analysis. And I saw up close what happened in the run-up to the Iraq war: Fear and anger over 9/11 were used to sell a war based on false pretenses.
I was a Washington correspondent for 11 years, covering the aftermath of 9/11 and the debates over Iraq and Afghanistan. I saw many in the media cheerlead for the Iraq War, and then watched recently as coverage of both wars largely dropped off the radar.
Through it all, I tried to get my son to think hard about his ambition to join the Marines. I made sure he talked with a couple of smart Marines I had met who gave him straight talk about what he faced. As casualties mounted in Iraq, we talked about how U.S. servicemen and women were dying while leaders flailed around for answers.
At 16, Kevin went to a special showing of HBO's documentary "Baghdad ER," an unsparing, graphic look at the heroic battle to save the lives of those grievously wounded. Medics, nurses and some of the wounded attended the event. The mother of a Marine who died in the ER embraced the doctors who tried to save him. I think Kevin enlisted with his eyes open.
He embraced the Marine ethos and tradition, but can still joke about some of the bravado around him. He's less gung-ho than at boot camp, but talks easily about defending his country.
In boot camp he developed a hernia. He had to put infantry training on hold while he waited for surgery.
Now he is back on track, eager to deploy to Afghanistan. He'll be one of 10,000 Marines in dangerous Helmand province, where the Taliban has deep roots.
I'm dealing with this as a rational journalist, learning everything I can about Afghanistan. I covered the confirmation hearing of Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the new commander there, and for me, policy was suddenly personal.
So I wrestle with the trepidation, uncertainty and even dread that can't be ignored. I worry about the corrosive toll of war's random brutality. And feeling better about this mission than I did about the Iraq war doesn't make Kevin any safer.
As emotions ebb and flow, my wife and I latch on to one great constant: pride. Kevin is a good Marine, and he is no unthinking automaton. His parents are now Marine parents, with doubts and fears, but above all with profound pride in what that means.
FRANK DAVIES was the Washington correspondent for the San Jose Mercury News for three years until leaving this week to work for Congress as a senior investigator for the House ethics committee.
Ellie