We need more men like this kid

Posted By The Wolf

Thanks to many of you out there who wrote to the author of the RMN piece this past weekend.  Now, she brings us a fantastic story of a kid, Ethan Moyer, 9, that wanted his Make-A-Wish to be what he wants to be more than anything in the world-

A Soldier.

Yep, more than going to Disney.  More than going to Hawaii.  Wanted them to build a base in his back yard so he could be a soldier all the time.

But since the Army couldnt' come to Ethan, they brought Ethan to the Army, for a day.  Read about it at this link.  Another big 'awwwww' factor here.

-Wolf

And yes, I've already 'splained that ''Army soldier'' is redundant.

GRIEGO: Army lends power to boy's dream

By Tina Griego

Monday, March 17, 2008

I cannot speak directly to the dreams of 9-year-old boys since I have never been one and my own son is only 6. But my daughter is 9 and shares a class with boys, and this combination of age and proximity makes her a reliable informant as to the proclivities, dreams and general goofiness of this age.

I'll skip the burping and go straight to the dreams.

It is my understanding that a 9-year-old focused on a particular wish or dream turns his attention to that wish with full force. It enters the heart and the imagination and occupies all corners of being, so that an exasperated parent might say, "Could we change the subject now," only to find there is no other subject, just as there is no adequate explanation for why this dream has overtaken the child now.

So Debbie Coleman cannot say why, exactly, her son, Ethan, decided he wanted to be a soldier.

Correction: an Army soldier.

She knows only that it began as one might suspect: with video games and toy soldiers. I picture here the little plastic men my brother and I played with, the poor fellows who flew helmeted head over firmly planted feet through the air, only to die by firecracker.

But what for Ethan began at 7 years old with toy soldiers led to camouflage- style clothing and sheets, to voracious reading of all things Army and computer printouts of vehicles, which he learned to identify.

And this dream, unlike his pro football player fantasy, did not pass.

Ethan woke up one morning with a swollen face. Allergies, his mom thought. It went down by midmorning and all was normal until the next morning and then the next and finally, one morning he woke up with lips so swollen it was as if he had been in a fight.

It took a while to figure out what was wrong. Between the blood tests and Debbie's Internet searches - she has since become a licensed practical nurse - they discover he has a kidney disease. Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. It means it he'll be on blood pressure and cholesterol meds for the rest of his life. It means a strict diet. It means one day he might need a kidney transplant. It means, to his dismay, six teaspoons of fish liver oil a day.

Ethan is a sick kid, though you wouldn't know it to look at him. His diagnosis brings, one December day, a lady from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which grants the wishes it can to those children with life-threatening illnesses.

They cannot take away his kidney disease, which is Ethan's first desire. But what about a vacation trip, a chance to meet someone famous, a big-screen TV?

We are, however, talking of one 9-year-old and his very particular wish:

He would like an Army base to relocate into his backyard.

Not gonna happen, mom says.

Maybe you could meet the Kansas City Chiefs, she counters.

"But Army, Army, Army," Debbie tells me. "It all kept coming back to the Army, and you know as much about why as I do. We have no military in our family."

There's Disney World, the Make-A- Wish lady says. Half the Make-a-Wish kids choose Disney World. Or Hawaii.

Look, his mom says, I will even fly on a plane if you want to go to Disney World. And mom is terrified of flying.

Not even Mickey Mouse sways him.

The Army pulled out all the stops on this one. Maj. Cort Hunt, commander of the local Military Entrance Processing Station, put the offer out to Make-A- Wish late last year, not sure anyone would take it. Hunt has arranged for Ethan to go through the same drill as any other recruit today. They plan to test him and his buddy, Jake Smith, fingerprint them, hand them uniforms and swear them in.

And so this is how Ethan Moyer, a fourth-grader from Emporia, Kan., finds himself in Denver Sunday night, in a fancy conference room with an Army recruiter and glass pitchers of ice water and a bunch of people hanging on to his every word because no Make- A-Wish kid picks being a soldier.

We forget what it is like to be 9 years old and building cities out of cardboard boxes and positioning soldiers as lookouts in a battle in which there are no countries and no politicians, where nothing is permanent and the only truth is that there will always be good guys and bad.

So, Ethan does what you'd expect a 9-year-old with everyone looking at him to do:

Freezes.

His "recruiter," Sgt. 1st Class Nancy Alessandri, manages to get out of him that he likes to play Army video games and play basketball and that he wouldn't mind an Army job that would let him be a bomber on a tank.

"I'm told you like Special Forces," she says. "What do you like?"

"That you get to sneak up on people."

Of course.

During a break, I take him out into the hall and we sit on the floor and he tells me how he sets up his cardboard cities and his tanks and we talk about how far soldiers can fly and how many men a tank can take out. Then I tell him they might ask him to do push-ups today and ask him if he's ready.

Push-ups, smush-ups.

"I do push-ups every morning," Ethan says. "I can do 15. And I can do 20 sit-ups."

He drops in a plank and pulls off a stunner of a push-up. Then he sits backs on his knees and grins, a 9-year-old boy on the edge of a dream.

griegot@RockyMountainNews.com

© Rocky Mountain News

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Nine-year-old Ethan Coleman has one dream. He doesn't care about going to Disney World. He doesn't want a big-screen TV. He doesn't want to meet anyone famous. He doesn't want... [Read More]

Comments

[Subsunk]

When you can choose to grow up to be a Man, why not choose to be the Best Man you can?

Where is the ambiguity here? Nowhere to be seen.

A 9 yr old wants to be bigger than life and a hero to boot. The US Military is the first logical choice to me too. He's smarter than 99.8% of the rest of his peers.

Good Luck Ethan. We are with you, son.

Subsunk

[Old Tanker]

My 9 year old has the camo sheets, blankets and whole shebang. Camo netting hanging from the ceiling, flags from each branch of the service (to include coast guard) and a pretty nice collection of model fighter jets but I think he would have picked Disney....

She makes it sound like there will be another installment, I can't wait to read it!

[AFSister]

You're right. Tissues are in order.

Old Tanker- your 9 year old sounds like my 10 year old. When I bought my house a couple of years ago, he told me, without a doubt, that he wanted an Army room. He wanted it painted in camoflauge. He has the sheets, comforter, blanket, two cammo walls and two "army green" walls, netting as his curtains, and pictures all around- plus an "Army Strong" rug.
But given the chance, I can say with much confidence, that becoming a Soldier wouldn't be at the top of his list of "things to do before I die as a child".
I shudder to think what that list would look like, should he ever need it... but it wouldn't look like Ethan's. What a kid!
No.. what a MAN.

[Tracy]

I have an 8 and a half year old boy (that half is very important you know!! LOL) and I can attest to the way they hold on to ONE subject and talk about it and talk about it and talk about it. Video games is my son's "talk about it" topic.

But, like most boys his age, he is also fascinated with all things military and camouflage. I found a "camo" Easter egg die kit and you would have thought I roped the moon when I brought that $1.88 box home!! :o)

Ethan sounds like a wonderful boy!!

[Old Tanker]

Tracey

I stand corrected, my oldest is 9 1/2....and his ONE subject is Naruto. Not Army but at least the character sticks up for his friends and kicks bad guys' butts........ My wife found the camo Easter Baskets, they look like upside down jungle hats with a handle.

AFSister, he didn't want an "Aim High" rug?? (I'm assuming the "AF" stands for Air Force?)

[Deltabravo]

May he grow big and strong.... Army strong.

[mindy1]

I hope he gets healed, and becomes what he wants for real.

[mekan]

The next time you wonder where the fine men and women in the services come from simply think about this story.

May God bless and keep him.

[LongTabSigO]

I'd like to think my son would pick "being a Soldier", but I agree with Ol'Tanker...it's probably the Rodent's Lair.

[Russ]

I am reminded of this story from 2004.

"Drop and give me 20," indeed. Brings a smile to my face every time.

[JoeS]

Dear Ethan,

You hang in there buddy. Our family will pray for you and your family.

You made the right choice. We are honored to know you.

God bless you,

JoeS

[Steve O.]

Ethan;

You are a true American warrior. Hold on tight to your dreams, Buddy. We are praying for you. You are a hero!!!!

- Steve O.