BLACKFIVE: More Apt Than They May Ever Know

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More Apt Than They May Ever Know

Posted By Laughing_Wolf

When I saw this card posted in Combat Outpost Ellis, my mind immediately went two directions.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;

They stood, and earth's foundations stay...

A. E. Housman

Those words are so apt, for while I would not compare the Soldiers and Marines to mercenaries, those two lines represent so much that is true in our armed forces. For all so many round this world, it is those shoulders that hold the sky suspended, be they in Kosovo, Iraq, or even here at home amidst disaster. Where they stand, foundations do stay -- or are built by those sheltered under said sky and standing upon that stable ground.

In the other direction, they are good shoulders that bear the weight of worlds: of deciding in an instant threat or peace where others will have the luxury of hindsight and unlimited time; of interpreting complex rules and regulations in the beat of a heart; of living up to duty's call; and, standing unbowed when the weight of loved one's tears fall heavily upon them.

It is only right and fair that those same shoulders be lifted up by the laughter and love of the children they serve and protect. And it is oh so right that a simple misspelling and a u imagined in a glance, should be so apt.

Blake Powers, the Laughing Wolf and Blackfive.net's Civilian-in-Residence, has been in Iraq reporting for PMI/The Long War Journal and Blackfive...donations to PMI (a non-profit media organization) keep independent reporting possible from the Long War.

ED NOTE: Changed to fix a minor typo...