know that. But there are other things that you love, too?” Her voice was half teasing, half true.
He nuzzled against her neck but didn’t answer.
“You love America. You love our freedom.”
She felt him move against her arms.
“I love you more than anything ,” he told her.
She stared out blankly at the growing darkness, holding herself motionless as he grew tense.
She wanted to believe it. Most of her believed it. But there was another part of her, a part deep inside the feminine emotions of her soul, that couldn’t quite fit the pieces into place. He would do anything for her, she knew that. He’d make any sacrifice, but he wouldn’t leave the military. That he would not do, and it wasn’t so much that he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t. She might as well ask him to sell his soul to the devil as to ask him to quit serving his country right now.
Funny thing was, if America had been at peace, if the battle wasn’t raging now around them, he would have resigned his commission without her even asking him. It wasn’t just the service to his country that attracted him. It was serving during a time of war. At first, that hadn’t made any sense to Caelyn. It was as strange as if he had said he wanted to start eating grass and living outside with the cows. However, over time, after being around him and his friends, she had begun to understand at least a little of why the soldiers felt so compelled to serve. It was something deep inside them, something she couldn’t ever really feel in exactly the same way as they did.
Why would a man throw himself into battle, casting his life into the wind while rushing forward against a hail of metal, fire, smoke and death, feeling the splatter of the dead and the dying all around him? Why would men choose to leave their homes, their wives, their families, clean showers, flushing toilets, microwave ovens, and soft beds, to live on the razor’s edge? Enduring 120 degrees Fahrenheit of summer heat while dressed in full combat gear? Surviving bitter winters in the mountains? Through it all, they would grumble and complain, yet when it came time for another tour of duty, all of them went back. None of them were forced to go back. There certainly was no draft.
“We knew what we were getting into,” sheOffutt Air Force Basegap remembered her husband saying. “We go outside the wire, we see cutoff heads and tortured children, and we do our best to fight it. And when it’s over, we’ll know we did something that really matters. How many people can ever say that about their lives?”
Now Caelyn finally understood. “ Who more than self their country loved/And mercy more than life .” It really was that simple. At the end of all her pondering, it pretty much all came down to that.
And when she really thought about it, she realized that she was just like them.
She, too, loved America. She too felt the sacred obligation of doing something meaningful in this world. Deep in her heart, she knew, just like her husband, that the Spirit of God was the spirit of freedom, and that it was worth the heavy price. Yes, family members sacrificed in different ways from their husbands, but their willingness to lay it out there was the same.
Her mind drifted back to a conversation she and Bono had had a couple of years before. Early in the morning. A spring day. He had called her on his unit’s satellite telephone from Afghanistan.
“Peter Zembeic went AWOL from the field hospital down in Kandahar,” he told her, his voice scratching through the military phone.
Caelyn had to hold her finger in her other ear to understand him. “Say it again,” she said.
“Peter Zembeic went AWOL from the field hospital down in Kandahar.”
“You’re kidding. He went AWOL? I don’t believe it! No way Peter takes off on you guys!”
Bono laughed. “Listen to me, this is funny. He went AWOL from the field hospital, OK? Not from our unit. He got shot in the leg a couple weeks ago. Took out a pretty
He nuzzled against her neck but didn’t answer.
“You love America. You love our freedom.”
She felt him move against her arms.
“I love you more than anything ,” he told her.
She stared out blankly at the growing darkness, holding herself motionless as he grew tense.
She wanted to believe it. Most of her believed it. But there was another part of her, a part deep inside the feminine emotions of her soul, that couldn’t quite fit the pieces into place. He would do anything for her, she knew that. He’d make any sacrifice, but he wouldn’t leave the military. That he would not do, and it wasn’t so much that he wouldn’t, but he couldn’t. She might as well ask him to sell his soul to the devil as to ask him to quit serving his country right now.
Funny thing was, if America had been at peace, if the battle wasn’t raging now around them, he would have resigned his commission without her even asking him. It wasn’t just the service to his country that attracted him. It was serving during a time of war. At first, that hadn’t made any sense to Caelyn. It was as strange as if he had said he wanted to start eating grass and living outside with the cows. However, over time, after being around him and his friends, she had begun to understand at least a little of why the soldiers felt so compelled to serve. It was something deep inside them, something she couldn’t ever really feel in exactly the same way as they did.
Why would a man throw himself into battle, casting his life into the wind while rushing forward against a hail of metal, fire, smoke and death, feeling the splatter of the dead and the dying all around him? Why would men choose to leave their homes, their wives, their families, clean showers, flushing toilets, microwave ovens, and soft beds, to live on the razor’s edge? Enduring 120 degrees Fahrenheit of summer heat while dressed in full combat gear? Surviving bitter winters in the mountains? Through it all, they would grumble and complain, yet when it came time for another tour of duty, all of them went back. None of them were forced to go back. There certainly was no draft.
“We knew what we were getting into,” sheOffutt Air Force Basegap remembered her husband saying. “We go outside the wire, we see cutoff heads and tortured children, and we do our best to fight it. And when it’s over, we’ll know we did something that really matters. How many people can ever say that about their lives?”
Now Caelyn finally understood. “ Who more than self their country loved/And mercy more than life .” It really was that simple. At the end of all her pondering, it pretty much all came down to that.
And when she really thought about it, she realized that she was just like them.
She, too, loved America. She too felt the sacred obligation of doing something meaningful in this world. Deep in her heart, she knew, just like her husband, that the Spirit of God was the spirit of freedom, and that it was worth the heavy price. Yes, family members sacrificed in different ways from their husbands, but their willingness to lay it out there was the same.
Her mind drifted back to a conversation she and Bono had had a couple of years before. Early in the morning. A spring day. He had called her on his unit’s satellite telephone from Afghanistan.
“Peter Zembeic went AWOL from the field hospital down in Kandahar,” he told her, his voice scratching through the military phone.
Caelyn had to hold her finger in her other ear to understand him. “Say it again,” she said.
“Peter Zembeic went AWOL from the field hospital down in Kandahar.”
“You’re kidding. He went AWOL? I don’t believe it! No way Peter takes off on you guys!”
Bono laughed. “Listen to me, this is funny. He went AWOL from the field hospital, OK? Not from our unit. He got shot in the leg a couple weeks ago. Took out a pretty
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