Tomorrow, most of America will be gathering around big-screen televisions to watch the Super Bowl. While we’re enjoy large men in tight-fitting uniforms knocking the snot out of one another before a world-wide audience, it would be helpful to remember that the Super Bowl is, after all, just a game. The story of LT COL Greg Gadson is as real as it gets. Whether you support or (in my case, unalterably) oppose the war in Iraq, it’s difficult not to admire the men and women making the sacrifices they are for a cause most of them believe in. While I believe that most of them have died for no discernible reason, I’m not about to minimize their sacrifice. Four thousand Americans have died, and thousands more have returned to their homeland physically or psychologically scarred…or, in far too many instances, both. LT COL Gadson is someone who actions and attitude demonstrates that true courage has nothing to do with a meaningless football game.
Gadson had been on the ground in Iraq for three months when he returned one night from a memorial service for two soldiers from his sister battalion. His vehicle was hit and with only 15 minutes left in the “golden hour” — the 60 minutes following a critical injury in which a person’s life often can be saved if proper care is administered — he arrived at the hospital.
Gadson’s life was indeed saved, but a week later, when his arteries began to deteriorate because of an infection, doctors amputated his left leg. One week after that, they took the right.
In my mind, there is no greater courage than waking up to realize that both of your legs are gone…and yet you’re still determined to make the most of the life in front of you. I’m angry that Gadson has been maimed for life. This war didn’t have to happen, and it shouldn’t have. To their credit, though, Gadson and thousands more like him did their duty, followed orders, and served to the best of their ability. How can you not admire people willing to put their lives on the line for a cause they may not necessarily even believe in? This is why the American military is still the gold standard.
I’m grateful that I’ve never seen combat. I’ve never taken fire, and my only experience with war is after the damage has been done. I saw enough destruction and misery during my time in Croatia during the war to last me a lifetime. Nonetheless, I cannot begin to imagine what Gadson and thousands of other Americans like him have had to endure.
I’m not going to get all weepy about our military fighting for our freedom in Iraq, because this war has nothing to do with our freedom or security. Having said that, however, my admiration for those who have served is endless. It really does make a football game- even one as seemingly important and genuinely over-hyped as the Super Bowl- seem rather pointless. Football coaches are often wont to view themselves as generals leading large men into combat. You hear terms like “trench warfare”, “courage”, and “sacrifice”…but in reality, those terms pale when you consider the risks our sons and daughters face every day in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Football players may be bruised and battered after a game, but they don’t have to worry about taking a bullet or about becoming IED fodder. They will live to play again, whether next week or next season. An American soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan knows that they might not live to see the next sunrise…so you tell me- who’s displaying real courage and selflessness? And while we root tomorrow for the team we’d like to win the Super Bowl, how about we all try to keep things in perspective? It is, after all, only a game.
