At the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Honolulu, Hawai'i
Copyright © 2024
By Ralph F. Couey
Written content and images
The United States has engaged in many wars over the centuries. In every case, young men, and now young women willingly left their homes, mines, shops, factories, fields, and schools to take up arms to defend the cause of freedom, and their beloved country. They fought in many lands, on and below the oceans, and in the skies above it all. The met dangerous, implacable foes in battle, the violence in which surpassed the ability of countless scribes to adequately express.
They don't speak much of those times. It may be that the don't wish the hell of their very personal nightmares to be transferred to anyone else. Or maybe speaking of them brings the horror back. I once met an old Marine, who had fought with the legendary 1st Marine Division at Guadalcanal and Peleliu. I have long had a deep interest in the history of the Pacific War, so I was asking him about his experiences. He responded by saying, "Son, I can't tell you about war. Unless you've been there, there's no way you could possibly understand. Thank God you don't."
It takes a special kind of person to endure such an experience. It is never the scripted false valor seen in cinema, because it's based in fear; that very primal instinct for self-preservation. In the film "In Harm's Way," John Wayne's character said, "All battles are fought by scared men who'd rather be someplace else." All warriors feel fear. They wouldn't be human if they didn't. But the difference between the courageous and the cowardly is how that fear is handled. Fear can send some into mindless, paralyzing panic. Others push past that moment understanding that there is a thing that needs to be done, and they can do that thing. Perhaps that's what defines courage, the willingness to push fear aside and do what must be done. As President Kennedy said, "The cost of freedom is high. But Americans have always paid it."
Aboard my first ship, the Knox Class Frigate USS Ouellet, in the engine room, it was just another slog through a seemingly endless midwatch. At one point, a flange connecting two lengths of fuel line failed. Instantly a high-velocity stream of fuel oil sprayed directly in to the face one of the main electrical switchboards. Balls of green lightning began shooting throughout the engine room, while the fuel flooded the space. It seemed certain that a disastrous fire was about to erupt. One of the sailors on watch, a third class petty officer, all of 19 years old, waded through the flooding oil, past the balls of lightning to the panel. Working quickly, he not only shut down the panel, but managed to reroute electrical power to another switchboard, ensuring that the rest of the ship could have power. No hesitation, no apparent concern for his own safety. Of course, he received a nice medal for his efforts, and I can't remember the last time he had to buy a beer for himself at our ship's reunions.
Now, we weren't at war, nor were we in battle. But lives were at stake, as was the survival of the ship. In the long history of ships at sea, more have died from fire than from almost any other cause. But think about that for a moment. 19 years old. People his age were flipping burgers and going to school. All he did was save a ship and 177 lives.
Where in the world do you find someone like that?
You can find them in uniform. Those who have served, and those who still serve, who have put love of country before all other considerations. We have never had as many combat veterans among us since the violent days of Vietnam, Korea, and World War II. They will never speak of valor or heroism. They may just mumble something like, "Just doin' my job." They will never claim that mantle because for them, the title of hero will always belong to those who once filled the now-empty spaces in the ranks.
We live in perilous times. We live in a dangerous world. The drumbeats of war, once distant and indistinct are beating loudly once again. We hear them in the west from China and North Korea. they are sounding in the east from Russia and Iran. They are sounding in seemingly every direction from terror groups throughout the world. War has not yet been declared, but our soldiers, sailors, marines, guardsman, and airmen are being sent places where they are being shot at. A disturbing number of their national leaders, safely ensconced in Washington remain blissfully ignorant of what these servicemembers are enduring so far from home. Those safely insulated politicians know that it's always easier to send someone else to die.
To this renewed danger, there are fewer to send. All of our uniformed services are seriously short-handed, an annoyance in peacetime, but a critical weakness in battle. For really the first time, young people are not stepping up to serve. They have failed to learn that the freedom they enjoy comes at a cost, one usually paid in someone else's blood, and in the deeper unseen wounds inflicted on a warrior's soul.
They are serving every day. The proof of their accomplishments lies in the quiet uninterrupted sleep the rest of us receive, that we can awaken safe and unafraid and live our lives in peace.
The freedoms we possess, the dreams we desire have been and will always be completely dependent on the willingness of those who choose to serve, protect, and defend the United States of America. They will always willingly and without hesitation stand that watch.
Today, we honor them all.
