 "Photo: Illustration by Erin Logan")
It bothers me when I hear people speak badly about U.S. soldiers, particularly ones who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or even have suicidal thoughts as a result of their service. The usual argument I hear is something like: "They knew what they were getting into when they signed up. They didn't have to join the military. They weren't drafted."
True, there is no draft. People have a choice.
Or do they? I'm sure that, for a great many soldiers, their reasons for signing up were patriotic. But for many more soldiers, I believe what ran through their minds was not the choices they had, but the ones they lacked.
I read an article the other day about a man named Bill Caudle who joined the Army at the age of 39, the age at which most soldiers prepare to retire from their military careers.
Caudle's primary reasons for enlisting were desperate ones. He had lost his job some number of months ago and his wife was recently diagnosed with cancer. As the medical bills began to pile up, Caudle's quest to find a job became more and more dire. No one was hiring, though. Instead, there were more layoffs.
Eventually, he came to the conclusion that the only way to make sure his wife got the care she needed without bankrupting the family was to give himself to dear old Uncle Sam for a few years. His wife will be taken care of, but Bill Caudle will see very little of his family for the next four years.
This is not an unusual case. I attended a branch of Barton County Community College in Fort Riley for a while in 2002. One of my classmates was in his early-to-mid 30s and recently had joined the Army because his young daughter had been diagnosed with some sort of terrible, chronic disease that would cost a significant amount of money for the rest of her life. Unfortunately, I can't be more specific, but this was seven years ago and memories are prone to fade.
The economy was fine back then, but this guy's job options were still limited. He didn't have a college degree, didn't make enough money to pay the medical bills and didn't have good enough insurance to help.
What's a good father to do? He joined the Army. BAM! His daughter was covered and he was taking advantage of free college classes so that, when he left the Army, he could get a better job. The only problem was that this was shortly after the unfortunate Sept. 11 attacks business, so my classmate signed up knowing he would be sent to Iraq.
I never saw that man again. I wonder what happened to him and to his daughter. I cannot remember his name, but I can still clearly see his face. He had the tired look of a man who realizes he is out of options. I've seen that look many times before.
Many soldiers come from the poorest regions in the U.S. They come from places where college is unfathomable and the only ticket out of there is painted olive, drab green.
These are people like my father, who proudly served his country for 20 years, but signed up for the job to escape the fate that awaited him at home. Choices are a luxury few can afford in the Appalachian Mountains of Kentucky, where one in five people lives below the poverty line.
So, when I hear people scoff at the soldiers, saying they should know better or it was their choice to go to war, I get a little sick to my stomach. If you've never felt the crushing weight of poverty, you just don't understand.
Sometimes, there is no other choice.
- Karen Ingram is a sophomore in English. Please send comments to opinion@spub.ksu.edu.
You have no idea till you've walked a mile in my boots and most of life is what ypu make of it. Think about that when you start trying to tear down this amazing country or think of people whose goal in life is to blow up innocent people.
I may be out but if the call ever came i'd gladly take a rifle again to defend this country.
Semper Fidelis