QandO

June 19, 2004

Requiem for a warrior
Posted by McQ

Strange things get to you.

While reading a story of 5 young men who were buried together at Arlington National Cemetary yesterday, vicitims of a roadside bomb in Iraq, I made it through the whole thing with a dry eye, until I got almost to the end. The article had given the circumstance of their death, the reason there was a group burial and a little bit about each of their lives.

Pretty typical American kids, all special in their own right.

I teared up when I got to the 5th story, about Pvt. Brandon L. Davis of Cumberland, Md:

Davis, 20, was the class cutup who was suspended from school after attending his eighth-grade dance in drag. He had joined the military to learn a trade, start a career. In February, he had a chance to return home, but gave up his leave to a friend who was about to get married, relatives said.

At first I laughed at the spirit of this youngster. But it was the last sentence that got to me.

Its hard to describe, for those who haven't experienced it, the bond that men in combat forge. It is a true brotherhood. Together they live through some of the most intense moments of their lives. They don't fight for God and country, much as politicians would like us to believe, but for each other. The man on their right and left. Their "brothers".

The squad is their world. They fight like cats and dogs among themselves but would risk their lives at the drop of a hat for each other should circumstances require it. The famous saying about "uncommon valor being a common virtue" stems mostly from buddies taking care of buddies in dire circumstances.

When I saw that Brandon Davis had given up his leave for a buddy, it didn't surprise me in the least. He was of the brotherhood, and in that brotherhood unselfish acts are routine. You do what it takes to take care of each other. He lived and died among those he held in the highest of esteem. And now he lays eternally with his brothers.

Rest in peace, young warrior.

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