And from their valiant death comes this gift that most of the world has never known. All of us are the beneficiaries of their courage. These come to me at a terrible price rendered by those who deemed such loss a worthy thing for what was gained.
What can I say in the face of such staggering generosity? I have not personally suffered the privations of war to gain the many liberties that we commonly enjoyed. I stand as one who has received a gift for which I have paid little from those who have paid the ultimate price to provide it for me. I cannot escape my sense that I live and breathe the air of freedom purchased at tremendous cost, and that price is even now being exacted in the lives of brave young men and women scattered across danger zones around this world. It hit this young medic that the freedoms he enjoyed were bought by the blood and tears and deaths of the man, who like countless others throughout our nation's history, whisper, "Remember me." Whispered words connected him to this dying hero, a man he had never met before. In that battlefield exchange, the sacrifice of a young soldier became personal to Brian Rooney. (Los Angeles Daily News, May 23, 2003, p. He has personally cataloged and visited the memorials for over 8,600 soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines from 50 states. His work led to a bipartisan bill providing federal support for a national registry of veterans' memorials. He now spends much of his time cataloguing memorials for the war dead, making sure they are cared for, and that they are remembered. "Remember me," the kid whispered into Rooney's ear as he died.
Two simple words were whispered to the young Army medic Brian Rooney as he leaned over the mortally wounded soldier, trying to read the name on his dog tags. "My mission," said Rooney, "is to bring humanity to every one of them." That mission actually began in the jungles of Vietnam 38 years ago with a promise he made to a dying soldier. And since 1970, he's spent over $200,000 of his retirement money and savings contacting every city and town in this country by mail or by fax, seeking to learn information on any men and women who have given their lives for this country. His real name is Brian Rooney he's the science teacher at the school.
0 kommentar(er)
