In the Company of Heroes

One of the privileges of serving in the military is opportunity to serve with heroes. I think a lot of the soldiers serving right now in Iraq and Afghanistan are heroic, but few are a special breed.One such soldier is Robert L. Howard, Congressional Medal of Honor awardee. http://rlhtribute.com/. COL Howard was one of my Ranger Instructors (RI)s in Ranger School.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranger_School and https://www.infantry.army.mil/rtb/I was in the mountain phase headquarted in Dahlonaga, Georgia. We trained to perform patrols in the mountainous Tennessee Divide. I still remember when he called my name in the darkness to take the patrol from point A to Home with the admonition, Don't F*** it up. Prior to that he had explained tactics: concepts I still take to heart. I was privileged to meet this great soldier and will always value his leadership example. I don't pretend to be such a hero as Robert L. Howard, but I can strive to be better and when the opportunity presents itself, I have the choice to be courageous. And to those who consider this to be a glorfication of war, read this link about a conscientious objector, Desmond T. Doss Sr. This is a man who refused to learn how to shoot a rifle but nothing could stop his relentless pursuit to aid his comrades. The following link does not state this, but I seem to remember that as they tried to evacuate him with a stretcher, he rolled off and crawled to assist another soldier. Where do we find such heroes as these? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/25/AR2006032501181.html