Blowing up
the Berlin Wall
I do not
want this to be misunderstood. It is important to understand that we are a
great nation and have stood up to and fought against some very bad enemies.
Many great Americans have perished defending our country from real evil - crazy people. This is no joke so don't view it the wrong
way. When you're in the army, you're in the army. You do what you're told - what's
expected of you - and everybody else in the army is your brother in arms
(sisters in arms as well.)
Sure, you
have to think for yourself. Of course you do. We are a free country, still, and
aim toward freedom for the individual and self-determinism. I kid you not - the
guys in the service in this country are self-determined to as large a degree as
possible if you're actually on active duty. That's the way we are - simple as
that.
We learn
that growing up - "He'll kill you if you say that", and he will, and
he does!
Dodge city
all over the place. You get used to it.
We don't
even need wars - we kill each other every day! We're Americans. I love this
country of course and I am very patriotic! I make no secret of that.
I had spent
about six years abroad and I had forgotten how great it was here. After I got
back, I spent about ten hours a day eating ice cream and drinking coffee,
chewing gum and smiling. I had been in Israel four years and then in England
and Scotland for two years. It was great to be back home, but I was
disappointed to find out how badly we were doing in Vietnam. I decided that
Vietnam was a no-win situation. No way to win there at all. I wanted us to have
a win out there, so I decided to enlist in the army, get a couple of the guys
together, go over to Germany and blow up the Berlin Wall. I'm not kidding. I
was gung ho! You have to be there.
Well, the
army likes that kind of stuff you know. Don't get me wrong and I asked you not
to get me wrong - the army is all about winning wars and battles and going
through it - you know - rite of passage - beat the heck out of the enemy and
have a beer and tell stories to your grandchildren. That's what it is guys -
it's simple. Today, they lock you up for thinking bad thoughts about others.
The real problem here is that it's wrong to beat the heck out of good people -
very wrong in fact - and that's what just about tore our country apart over
Vietnam. You have to understand that what you're trying to do is give the young
people a chance to prove their loyalty to our country despite real risks by
defending our values, and includes helping others in trouble. We seem to be losing at that today. You have to be able
to take sides, resolve any doubts about who your friends are. Yet young people
are punished today for asserting most forms of patriotism. Older people are
punished for displaying their patriotism as well. See - we are failing here at
exactly what we were all trying to succeed at - join the ranks of American
Heroes. That's not easy my friends, but I had a plan.
Here I was
on my way to the field artillery, young, inspired - a fire in my eyes and my
sights on Berlin and its infamous wall. This is true. You laugh, but you would
have come along - I'm sure. Certainly, it you've read this far down!
I would get
a chance to preview this situation at company headquarters in Basic Training. There
were a few desks in the office and, of course, "Top" himself.
"Top" is what the top sergeant is called in the army. He's a well
known character - burly, knuckles dragging on the floor, all arms and chest.
Top is in charge. He's in charge of the army. He does everything. He's been in
the service forever. Everywhere. His bed is a foxhole. He survives on C - rations.
He likes C - rations. Don't make any
mistakes - Top would give his life for you or any other soldier if needed - he
would not hesitate either. He knew that, you knew that - and so you followed
his orders.
On the
inside of a door hung a poster that read: "This Is Your Enemy".
Underneath was a picture of a Russian soldier with an AK - 47 automatic rifle.
I looked at this picture and I saw this Russian farmer that was probably
drafted into the army. This was my enemy waiting for me in Berlin. I looked at
Top and I looked back at the poster. Now who was really my friend. Top looked at me. I'm sure he would have charged right into hell, right along side of me if it came to that. "You get to know things about people
as you get closer to killing them." Ideas started coming at me. The army
knows about killing - it knows about people and survival. I started having
doubts about my goal...Top looked at me. "Let's go". We had to go over my paperwork for AIT (advanced training)...
