BY U.S. Army Major General (Ret.) Mark MacCarley
One of the privileges and the solemn obligation of general officers in the Army, Marines, and Air Force and Admirals in the Navy and Coast Guard is to officiate at all military funerals of Americans in uniform who fought and died in Afghanistan in service to our country. And I have done so many times. As each such emotionally wrenching ceremony drew to a close, the American flag was withdrawn from the casket and carefully folded by the military funeral detachment. The Honor Sergeant then handed that flag to the general officer. I step toward the widow or widower, the grieving parents, and, often, orphaned children, and get down on one knee and say, “On behalf of the President of the United States, (the United States Army…), and a grateful Nation, please accept this flag as a symbol of our appreciation for your loved one’s honorable and faithful service. Your loved one has died for something far more important than self – to protect our nation against Global Terrorism and to give the Afghan people an opportunity to build am Afghanistan that is free from evil and is a better place for themselves and their children. We, the American People, are, today, and shall be eternally grateful your sacrifice.”
I so much wanted to say to the family, that this Afghan war would be our last war, that America would never send another young man or woman into harm’s way, that your spouse/your son or daughter did not die in vain, that the world would henceforth resolve all future conflicts responsibly, without bloodshed, so that no family will have to lose a loved one, every again.” AND I KNEW THEN THAT TO SAY SO WOULD BE A LIE. AND NOW I MUST CONFRONT THE BIGGER LIE. THERE WAS NO REASON AT ALL FOR YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER TO DIE IN AFGHANISTAN. NOBODY NOW GIVES A DAMN. YOUR LOVED ONE’S SACRIFICE WAS FOR NAUGHT.
Mr. MacCarley a retired United States Army Major General; a former Deputy Chief of Staff at the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. He is a Consultant and Attorney (Mac-Carley & Rosen, PLC). He concent-rates on defense, security and military issues; government contracting; and international intellectual property dispute resolution for individual and organizational clients. He is also a TV commentator and a journalist.