Source of Image: www.army.mil
If you were to ask any soldier from practically any nation why is it that they would be willing to fight in an armed conflict, you would get countless reasons; for their country, their God, an ideology, money, freedom, etc. The responses would be as diverse as there are people who willingly fight in a war.
Of all the reasons given, the one that truly describes why one would risk their own life in battle is that of fighting for your buddy that is by your side. Evidence of that desire to help one’s fellow service member can be found with our next featured hero; the late Sergeant First Class Jared C. Monti, the latest Medal of Honor awardee for Operation Enduring Freedom, the Afghanistan conflict. President Obama awarded him this honor at a White House ceremony on September 17, 2009, handing the award to SFC Monti’s mother and father.
Below is a link that describes the actions whereby SFC Monti was awarded the Medal of Honor, it is a touching read. In this entry on The Audacity of War, not only do we wish to honor SFC Monti for his heroism and selfless dedication, but also to zero in on why would anyone do the things he did, knowing full well the extreme risks to his own life. Certainly he knew that, given the circumstances he found himself in, the odds were in favor of his demise.
As the narrative on the link explains, SFC Monti’s team was under attack when one of his team members, Private First Class Bradbury became injured and was pinned down by the enemy. Without any regard to his own safety, SFC Monti twice attempted to rescue his team member. He was mortally wounded upon his third attempt at rescuing PFC Bradbury. Although mortally wounded, SFC Monti told those attending to him that he had made peace with God and to tell his parents that he loved them, before succumbing to his wounds.
Think about it, SFC Monti would most assuredly be alive today had he stayed behind the safety of his cover behind the large rocks in the hillside. Instead, knowing the risks, he proceeded to try and rescue his buddy. Something inside of him would rather risk his own life than to see this young member of his team out in the open, potential being picked off like target practice by his enemies. At that instant in time, it wasn’t his love of country, his oath of service, not even his love for his family back home that made him rush to his teammate’s aid. It was knowing that PFC Bradbury was injured, pinned down and needing of his help.
SFC Monti displayed unconditional love and concern for his injured team member. The risk to his own life was irrelevant compared to the risk his buddy was exposed to at that moment. That is the reason Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guards are willing to risk their own lives in the heat of battle, Sure, we ultimately are fighting and serve at the pleasure of our President and consequently our country, but nothing is as real and certain as our willingness to protect our buddies with whom we are fighting. We salute you SFC Monti for your bravery, heroism and selfless actions in trying to save your fellow man.
It will be a great day when this type of action will no longer be necessary on anyone’s part. If we acted in this way in our everyday lives; caring and loving one another without regard to our own selfish needs, perhaps that will be the day when war will no longer be necessary. Losing someone as special as SFC Monti because of his love and concern for a fellow soldier is yet more evidence of The Audacity of War.
http://downloads.army.mil/medalofhonor/monti/narrative.html
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