CW LaSart

I write material that is not suitable for all readers. Some might consider it gasp offensive. I am fortunate to live in a country where I can write what I please. Unless of course, it is a threat against the Presidency, then I would have to expect the imminent visit of the Secret Service. The point is, we have certain liberties that we often take for granted. These freedoms are not merely given, they are fought for and earned by the brave men and women in our country’s military. They are died for.

Today is a day for remembrance of those who have gone before us. I choose to spend this day paying tribute, not only to the people who have lost their lives in service to our great nation, but also those who continue the fight to ensure that people like me can write what they want. Our young men and women die every day so that we can go to a job and bitch about the pay. They spend long months away from their families, so we can moan about the price of gas and fight about politics. They die on foreign soil, so extremist douche-bags can protest their funerals and make a mockery of their grieving family’s pain. They sacrifice for all this and more.

Above is a picture of a young man I know. He is Lance Corporal William Collins IV of the United States Marine Corps. He is my nephew. He is my hero. Next week when the festivities of the holiday have already begun to fade from your mind, he will be departing for Afghanistan for not the first, but the second time. He will not be alone, but will be joined by many other young men and women. In the months to come, as we lay our heads upon pillows in our warm beds, they will sleep on the sandy soil of an enemy land. As we hold our loved ones close, they will cradle only their rifle for comfort. As we bitch about long lines in supermarkets and at the bank, they will wait for weeks just to hear word from home. These men and women do this willingly. They do it faithfully. They do it knowing that some of them will not come home.

I don’t care what your politics are. Couldn’t care less whether you support the wars we are currently fighting. I ask you for only one thing, it is the least we can do as Americans. I ask that you pray for these young men and women as they fight wars we can’t comprehend in conditions we can’t even begin to imagine. If you aren’t the praying sort, then support them. Thank them! Acknowledge their sacrifice that allows you to go on living in this fine nation. If you can’t do that, then you are no better than the douche-bag protesters and I don’t care if I offend you-it is my right!

Thank you Will and all of your fellow marines. Thank you to the entire US military! You are all in my thoughts and prayers until the last one of you returns home. Stay Brave, Stay Safe, Fight Well! You are, each and every one of you, my personal heroes! God Bless and Happy Memorial Day!