Today in honor of our soldiers we watched, We Were Soldiers. My Knight and I have seen this movie a couple of times. My Knight has even read the book. I haven't read it, but I dusted it off and will start to read it. Our Fair Maidens have seen it before too. This was the first time we allowed our Squires to watch it.
As we were watching it, we made sure they understood what was going on. How we, the Americans came to be there. We talked about how some Americans did not want our soldiers there. How there were protests all around. How some soldiers came home and weren't welcomed back. We talked about how hard it was for them to do the job they had to do and come home to be hated for it.
My Warrior sat next to me. He sat there silently, with tears rolling down his cheeks. I too was crying. We were all silently thinking the same thing. How can man be so cruel? Why does man want to govern and rule over others? What gives man the right to elevate themselves and crush those beneath them?
My dad is Cuban. He came to the United States right when Castro was taking over Cuba. He came here legally, in search of a better way of life, in search of freedom. Freedom he didn't have in Cuba. I was born and raised here, in the United States. So I've lived in the land of the free all my life. I never had to endure what my dad had to endure. But I've heard him tell the stories. Not only have I heard him tell the stories. I've heard stories from my Abuelo Manolo (my grandfather), my Abuela Eugenia (my grandmother), my in law, my uncle, other family members and family friends.
We Americans take so much for granted. We have forgotten how we became the land of the free. It's because of the brave ones. The ones that stood their ground. The courageous ones that have fought and died so that we could be free. The valiant ones that lay their live on the line today, so that we can sleep soundly in our beds at homes. Because of their sacrifice, we are free to do and say. Every time I think about this, I'm filled with gratefulness and sadness. Grateful because, I feel unworthy. Sadness because others think nothing of it. My heart is heavy.
If you haven't seen the movie, We We Soldiers, take the time to see it. It has language and it's graphic. It will tug at your heart. Then take the time to see the documentary. You will get to hear from the actual Lt. Colonel Hal Moore, his wife- Julie Moore, Joe Galloway- the photographer (and author of the book this movie was based on) and Major Bruce "Snake" Crandall- one of the helicopter pilots. You'll hear first account of what went on. How the wives dealt with what happened. You will see actual footage from 1965, what happened in The Valley of Death- the landing zone X-Ray.
Lord, I want to thank you for your unconditional love, for your mercy and grace. I pray that you watch over our soldiers and over their loving families. Bless them ten folds. Help them to do what needs to be done. To help those that aren't able help themselves. Bring them back safely to their beloved.
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