More on Pat Tillman.

This is a comment that I'm lifting up as a post, it deserves that exposure. I don't take issue with Bithead's thoughts on the subject in any deep way. No offense taken, Bithead.

His example of Glenn Miller, however is illustrative, for what Bithead doesn't say about the bigger picture. Tillman's dropping of what he was doing and going off to war is notable precisely because it's rare, extremely rare, in this era. Bruce Willis seems to have made an honest offer to join up, but he was too old. Who else?

By contrast, in WWII, Ted Williams dropped his bat and went to war, as did other athletes. He went again to Korea. Two of the Kennedys went to war. One died, the other had a very bad night with a destroyer. Clark Gable, Ronald Reagan, Eddie Albert, Jimmy Stewart, and others, went from the movie industry. Some to dangerous jobs, some not, depending on how the services needed them.

FDR's son was a Marine Raider. The MacIlhenny's of Tabasco Sauce fame had a son who was a combat Marine.

It was a bigger war, to be sure. But the elites were far more involved in it at the sharp end. That's why Pat Tillman stands out and gets the attention. And that doesn't bother me. I wish there were more Tillmans (not dead, just serving) from the people who are the 'standard bearers' in society.

Not just the schmos like me - who Indymedia types think are dumb jocks, too stupid to hold real jobs, and who basically deserve to die. But that's a rant for another time. Below is what Bithead had to say.

Oh, and one other thing about "equal service". One thing I like about the National Cemeteries is that everybody's headstone is essentially the same, and Generals are buried next to Privates.

At the risk of the wrath of our host, please allow me to take a slightly different tack, and present a slight refinement of something I wrote last night.

You see, I find the amount of press Tillman's getting to be a little disturbing. Don't misunderstand; I have a small mountain of respect for Tillman. I have sympathy for his family, his loved ones, his buddies in the field.

However, I outright refuse to be caught in the trap of regarding the death of this one soldier as being of greater impact than the death of any other. I will not hold the service of this one to be unequal to any other that serves us true.

I cannot dispute that Tillman gave up greater financial wealth to put on the uniform of his country, than most soldiers do. Certainly, he wasn't after the glory, as someone else in the news recently would seem to have done. I don't call THAT true service. He could have covered himself in a certain kind of personal glory on the football field if that was what he was about.

Perhaps some historical perspective will help me make my point clearer.

I had occasion to see "The Glenn Miller Story" again just recently, and am now struck by the parallels, as I have been in the past. Miller put on his uniform because he thought he could do some good in his country's efforts against the Nazi threat. He ended up giving his life for his choice. Who knows where Miller's music would have taken him, had he lived out his natural life, instead of ending up at the bottom of the English Channel.

Like Miller, Pat Tillman's choice was about personal sacrifice, and of service... Service of an ideal he thought bigger than himself. That kind of dedication is be cherished, certainly.

However, we must not allow ourselves to be swayed by the life position the soldier had, before he/she was a soldier. We must not allow that metric to guide us in the amount of respect shown them, be they living or dead after their service.

They're all worthy of the very same respect, living or dead. Not because of their having lived or died, not because of the amounts of money or positions they gave up, or what impact they had on us when they weren't wearing the uniform, but because of their respect and understanding of the ideals that uniform represents. Ideals they hold highest... to the point where they chose to put ON that uniform, to accept the risks associated with it... to advance those ideals.

We should hold such people, ALL who serve us true, in our hearts. And Tillman would be, I suppose, among the first to agree with my thought.

PS:
I suppose I should clarify about true service.....Compare the record of Tillman vs that of one other who is in the public eye of late, and see if you can't see any differences between them.