Remember Sergeant Jeffers

Sergeant Eddie Jeffers was killed in Iraq yesterday. Most of my readers probably don't know who Sergeant Eddie Jeffers was. Maybe they don't care- they never met him, and now they never will. But Sergeant Jeffers was a man who counted, a man who fouhgt even while he recognized that many of his countrymen could not or would not participate in the fight with him.

Let me tell you about Sergeant Jeffers. I never met him either, but I wish I had. He was a man who understood what counts, and a man of honor I would gladly stand beside. And though he was only 23 when he was killed, he had a more mature and responsible outlook on life and the war in which we are engaged than many of his countrymen, no matter their age or their supposed intelligence. Bloviating fools like Senator Edward Kennedy, or Representative Nancy Pelosi, or media hacks like Chris Matthews lack Sgt. Jeffers' comprehension. But maybe it is not too late even for such as they.

Back in February, Sergeant Jeffers penned a piece for the New Media Journal entitled Hope Rides Alone, wherein he introduced his readers to his life and how he views those who for political or partisan gain, or though ignorance are helping the enemies of this country. Regarding his ignorant countrymen and women back home, Sgt. Jeffers wrote,

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward’s war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it. But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

But Sgt. Jeffers has room for hope, despite the sickening cowardice or partisanship of so many in this country. He concluded his piece by saying,

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.

Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news and let's stand and fight!

Isn't that what America is about anyway?

Isn't it? When did we cease being a nation that understood the darkness that is Muslim, or any totalitarian aggression? During World War II, we understood the stakes, and although we might have differed on strictly domestic issues, as certainly the Republicans did at that time, we stood together- no one made Roosevelt's handling of the war an issue during the campaigns of that time. When did it become acceptable to call a sitting President a Fascist, or call a commanding general a traitor?

We need more like Sergeant Eddie Jeffers, more men and women who understand the stakes and are willing to stand up against that darkness that threatent to overwhelm the world, as it has tried so many times before. But Sergeant Jeffer is right. Let's take his advice and stop the bickering. Give the troops what they need to win. Imperialist Islam is like a Hydra- cut off one head and many more appear, but it is cowardly at its heart- it will not attack those it perceives as stronger. We can only be defeated by ourselves. That is what the enemy hopes for- they know that they can never defeat us on a battlefield. So let us stand together and deny them that victory. And let us honor men and women like Sergeant Jeffers, for they stand between us and a barbarism like none the world has known for many a long year. May God rest your soul, Segeant Jeffers, and thank you, thank you for everything.