NEW YORK — The Marines like to refer to civilians as “silly
villains.” It’s not exactly a term of endearment, but a playful
note of tolerance seems to be mingled with the disdain.
On Veterans Day in New York, flocks of silly villains were on
hand to greet the troops as they came up Fifth Avenue — reserves,
honor guards, veterans, marching bands, and every other conceivable
affiliate of the mightiest military the world has ever known. On a
stirring fall day with clear blue skies, it was heartening to see
the troops hear warm applause on Manhattan streets.
But sometime during Veterans Day, America lost Lance Corporal
Justin Reppuhn, 20, Marines, of Hemlock, Mi.; Corporal Theodore
Bowling, 25, Marines, of Casselberry, Fl.; Staff Sergeant Sean
Huey, 28, Army, of Fredericktown, Pa.; Corporal Peter Giannopoulos,
22, Marines, of Inverness, Il.; Specialist Thomas Doerflinger, 20,
Army, of Silver Spring, Md.; Staff Sgt. Theodore Holder II, 27,
Marines, of Littleton, Co.; 2nd Lieutenant James Blecksmith, 24,
Marines, of San Marino, Ca.; and Lance Corporal Kyle Burns, 20,
Marines, of Laramie, Wy.; all in action in Iraq.
Though it is not always apparent from the debris of our popular
culture, Americans have not forgotten the troops. This was clear
from the crowds on Fifth Avenue and the national response to a
recent photo of a Marine in Fallujah that seems destined for iconic
status. Most Americans were behind the military during the Vietnam
War, too, contrary to popular mythology; many more people hated the
protesters than hated the troops.
I’ll go out on a limb and guess that today, Michael Moore would
finish light years behind the Marines’ Marlboro Man in any national
poll.
Even now, the treatment America’s warriors received from some in
the '60s and early '70s seems like the mark of Cain for an entire
generation, a curse worthy of eternal visitation. For 36 years
since, American voters have been demonstrating what they learned
from that aberrant age, and there may not be any more enduring
lesson than this one: support the troops and their cause,
because one is meaningless without the other.
If you want them to come home alive, root for them to win. We
can settle the rest of the arguments later.
“I think the war is just and so did he,” Lance Corporal
Repphun’s father said of the fighting in Iraq. “I just want
President Bush to do what he is supposed to do so my son’s life
isn’t wasted — Free Iraq.” The late Marine’s mother feels
differently: “The war means nothing to me anymore. The only people
who know what it really feels like are the mothers and fathers who
have lost their children.”
On Veterans Day in Chicago, near neighboring Inverness, which
was home to Corporal Giannopoulos, veterans spoke of this
generation’s sacrifices in war. “Let no one tell you we aren’t
doing good things there,” one of them said. “We are standing up for
what is right. This is our next greatest generation.”
In Silver Spring, Maryland, Specialist Doerflinger’s father
Richard, deputy director of the Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities
at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement
with his wife: “Our son Thomas … understood the risks of his
chosen path and gave his life doing what he had committed himself
to doing — standing against those who have no respect for human
life. Even as we grieve for our loss we honor the ideals he stood
for and ask others to do the same.”
“I think the thing I’ll miss most is his antics,” said 2nd
Lieutenant Blecksmith’s father, a Marine who served in Vietnam. He
told of how his son dressed up as Saddam Hussein last Christmas
with pieces of a Halloween wig stuck to his face. “He was a tough
kid, to do what he did, but he also had a loving side. He knew when
to be a tough guy and when to be a real gentleman.”
On Sunday, the Fallujah offensive seemed near completion, with
losses so far totaling 38 troops (275 have been wounded). All
things considered, it is an impressive conclusion to a fierce and
bloody week in which the terrorists have opened up smaller fronts
of violence elsewhere. That we have finally taken the gloves off in
Fallujah, and met with at least temporary success, is grounds for
hope, if not necessarily optimism.
Meanwhile, back in the pop culture, the week concluded with
Scott Peterson’s murder conviction, eliciting the usual blizzard of
cable news coverage.
Titillation and scandal have always had their place in the
public appetite, but I have never understood the obsessional
coverage of the Peterson case. In times like these, when so many
good men are dying, it’s difficult to be tolerant of the networks
and the viewers who keep such a tawdry story going.
Silly villains? The phrase seems far too kind.
