"All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Of all the men I have served with and think of when I honor their sacrifices on this day, the one I think about is the one that I never met. And would like to think that I would have liked to have met him, because I know men of his character, and what good men they are to know. I think today about Eddie Jeffers... He wrote a piece entitled “Hope Rides Alone” (please check it out After The Jump) Every Memorial Day and Veterans Day I read it aloud to myself and try not to choke up at the thought that this young man, who at the age of 23, was wiser and more worldly than 90 percent of the young men his age. It reminds of the what "sacrifice" means and how everyday, I would only be disrespecting the memories of men like Eddie Jeffers if I did not take the time to enjoy and express the freedoms that they have given their last full measure of devotion to this great country to secure. I think about his father, David Jeffers, when I look at my son, who asks me difficult questions that he cannot possibly fathom the answer to about war, sacrifice and what it means to serve a cause that is bigger than yourself; or even what it is like to place your life in the hands of another man, and trust that he will watch out for you, just like you will watch out for him. There is no way I can possibly imagine the pain of his loss and how everyday it must affect him in some way. I cannot answer my son’s questions, not because I don’t have the answer, but because I don’t know how to answer. Eddie will never get to see the victory that he helped to shape and the young men he inspired through his leadership grow to be old men. I want so badly for him to know how it turned out, and that what he did in a far away place with a funny name meant something. I have never met Eddie, but I miss him so much. The world is an emptier place because he is not here. I know that with a company of men like Eddie Jeffers and Uncle Jimbo as my First Sergeant (and Matty O’ as my B.C. of course) we could rule the world. Get some rest Sergeant Eddie Jeffers, I will watch your sector for awhile… Hello Everyone, I wanted to share an article my son Eddie sent me from Iraq. I was not going to send it out through the usual means; I'm looking to have this published somehow. I just felt after reading it again this morning that I wanted people to begin reading it and begin/continue to pray for our brave men and women in uniform. I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from the genre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've ever read, including all of America's wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) has become this man. He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever. God bless. David Jeffers Sgt. Eddie Jeffers, USA (Iraq) Sgt. Eddie Jeffers was killed on September 19, 2007. He was a US Army Infantryman serving in Ramadi, Iraq. He was 23. Hope Rides Alone By Eddie Jeffers I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others. I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there. There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not and to think, I volunteered for this... And I am ignorant to the rest of the world...or so I thought. But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler. I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys...
Read the complete post at http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Blackfive/~3/_8lYoc5H1LI/the-greatest-man-i-never-met.html
Posted
May 31 2010, 03:27 AM
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BLACKFIVE