This month marks two years since I left the Marine Corps. Although I love being a Marine I can honestly say that I don't miss it active duty all that much. In fifteen years of service I sat on the sidelines during three separate wars and like most Marines, being away from the action drove me insane. Sometimes being on the supporting end back in the U.S. is even more frustrating than being in a combat zone. This post, which I originally wrote three years ago, is for all the soldiers and Marines who wish they were spending Easter with their buddies in Iraq.
When a Marine is killed or seriously wounded, the duty of notifying the next of kin falls upon the Casualty Assistance Calls Officer (CACO). Normally the tasks of the CACO team (comprised of a senior NCO, a commissioned officer, and a chaplain) are carried out by the same people. But the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have increased the need for more CACO teams and so I’ve been added to the roster of those assigned the morbid duty. Since my unit is one of the few active duty commands in the state, we’ve been assigned a large swath of Texas and are responsible for notifications over an area that spans hundreds of miles. Normally a command can expect to make one or two “casualty calls" a year; we made that many this week.
Marines are, of course, no strangers to death. While we would rather see the enemy be the one to “die for his country" we realize what sacrifices we may be called to make and stoically accept of our fate. But though we may be able to face our own mortality, nothing prepares us for the chore of carrying such news to the family of a fallen comrade.
No training can adequately prepare us for all the factors that can go wrong as we carry out the mission. For example, my unit was recently forced to call upon a mother who, upon seeing a trio of Marines in dress uniform standing on her porch, began to break down sobbing. When the officer asked the woman’s name he found it didn’t match the next of kin for the deceased. There had been a mix-up in the addresses and after a few frantic phone calls it was confirmed that this mother's son was still alive, the correct address was a home across town. After profuse apologies the Marines left, leaving the woman to be alone with the guilty relief that somebody other than her would be grieving the loss of their child.
Such tales are shared by CACO members like war stories passed on to new troops in a combat zone. We listen somberly and secretly hope that we'll be spared the unenviable responsiblity. After a month of dread, my turn on the two-day watch finally began today. The assignment requires nothing more than to wait for bad news that may never come.
I look for signs. I watch CNN to monitor the situation, wondering if an uprising in Sadr City or Fallujah will lead to the death of another one of my brothers. I sit by the phone hoping that when it rings its just another telemarketer rather than from headquarters. I pray that I’ll be able to make it through the day without seeing the tears of a mother or the pained expression of a father trying to appear strong.
Then I remember it’s Good Friday and I begin to wonder who told Jesus’ family and friends that he had been killed. Since many of his disciples had fled the night before, they were likely still in hiding until it was too late. Who told them they had lost their teacher? Or what about James, who was probably just returning home from work when he heard the news. Did he see the tortured expression on Mary’s face and realize he had lost his brother? And how long until the report reached Jericho, where a reformed tax collecter named Zacchae'us would grieve over the loss of the man who had changed his life?
Over 2000 years ago, the greatest “casualty call" in history spread throughout a small Roman province in the Middle East. The news that the truest friend, the most beloved son, the gentlest teacher anyone had ever known had been crucified must have spread like wildfire through the land, sparking the most profound grief our universe has ever known. From this side of the calendar we can’t begin to comprehend the magnitude of loss that must have weighed on the hearts of Christ’s followers, family, and friends. We look backward on Good Friday, seeing it from the perspective of the glory that came on Sunday morning. But they saw only the darkness and pain, the loss of hope and bewilderment; they saw nothing but heartbreak.
My phone may ring later this evening. I may have to don my uniform and put on a stoic front. I may have to drive for hours only to take the longer journey up someone’s front steps. I may have to knock on the door and see the melting expression of a parent’s dawning realization of why I’m standing on their porch. I may have to face the grief and pain and sorrow of a family that has lost someone they loved.
But I can offer them hope and take comfort in knowing that the heartbreak won’t last. After all, I know how the story ends. It may only be Friday. But I know that Sunday’s coming soon.
http://www.evangelicaloutpost.com/mt/mt-trackback.cgi/3523
1
Since most Marine casualties these days are caused by the Religionists of Peace, what do you think of the prayer this week condemning Jews and Christians delivered in the Texas Senate by a Muslim?
So much for tolerance, so much for defining Islam by its Heretics and Apostates rather than its god and founder.
posted on 04.06.2007 1:36 AM2
Amill,
Did you hear the prayer? I don't think so. Anyway this is what our president says.
"On October 11, 2002, when commenting on U.S. humanitarian aid to Afghanistan, Bush stated about Islam: "Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions."
Joe,
posted on 04.06.2007 10:45 AMVery nice post and thanks for serving our country.
3
Not long ago a friend was telling me of attending his uncle's funeral. The man was a decorated WWII soldier and they had a funeral with full military honors. My friend commented that this must be an unpleasant job for the service men. I said: "You may be very wrong on that. These men just helped send off a decorated soldier who had survived to live a long and good life. It probably doesn't get much better than that for them."
posted on 04.06.2007 11:09 AM4
I didn't serve in the military. Having come up just after 'Nam, I didn't want to serve for political reasons; if I did enter, it would be for spiritual and patriotic reasons.
Dad served in Korea, Army. A good friend @ church served as a Marine in WWII and Korea (Inchon, iirc). Both of these I honor for their service.
In youthful ignorance I once asked Dad if he'd killed anybody. (He was in the artillery.) That was the first time I'd seen a person seriously hurt by what I thought was a simple question. After that, and talking with some others, I've learned that only the insane love war. The rest tolerate it or do the job, but still the pain can run pretty deep. Let us be sensitive to our soldiers' hearts.
Collin
posted on 04.06.2007 12:20 PM5
Mike O,
posted on 04.06.2007 7:59 PMYou are quite right about that. While burying someone is never enjoyable, it is an Honor to bury men like that, in a way that just can't be explained. Its heart wrenching to see the suffering of the families, but carrying our dead to their final rest is a duty that will always live with me. I was in the Marine Corps for eleven years and served in three combat zones and had many other unique experiences. Funeral detail remains one of my most cherished memories.
Joe,
Great post, I never gave much thought to that before. Happy Easter and Semper Fi!
6
This is a little bit confusing. I had heard that the number of deaths occurring during our involvement in Iraq was no higher than that which usually occurs during peace time (ostensibly due to the more relaxed and less vigilant attitudes during peace time resulting in more accidental deaths). Do the accidental deaths get different treatment than being handled through the CACO? That would be the only reason I could see for the emphasis being placed on the increase in CACO activity from Iraq and Afghanistan.
posted on 04.07.2007 12:42 PM7
"This is a little bit confusing. I had heard that the number of deaths occurring during our involvement in Iraq was no higher than that which usually occurs during peace time (ostensibly due to the more relaxed and less vigilant attitudes during peace time resulting in more accidental deaths)."
Good grief! Do you actually believe this?
posted on 04.07.2007 7:19 PM8
You didn't answer my question Rob Ryan, regardless of whether I had the figures right or not. Just the same, I had said I heard that was the case, I did not say I believed it to be true for I was uncertain at that point. But now I've gone to look at the numbers. I'd be willing to bet that you hadn't before you posted, instead going on gut feeling rather than fact. And given your comment on the other thread, I'd also be willing to bet you think the casualty rate in Iraq is every bit as high, or higher than during the Viet Nam conflict. Nevertheless, the death rate per 100,000 troops for the past 3 years barely tops what it was in 1980 which was ostensibly a year of peace (albeit 25+ years ago). And 2003 was still lower than 1981 through 1985. Of course, all of that is meaningless in light of your desire to berate anybody who believes that we are doing the right thing in Iraq, isn't it?
posted on 04.09.2007 1:07 AM9
"And given your comment on the other thread, I'd also be willing to bet you think the casualty rate in Iraq is every bit as high, or higher than during the Viet Nam conflict."
Then you would be wrong. Again.
posted on 04.09.2007 3:29 PM10
With all the talk about casualty rates of Korea and Vietnam, I'd like to point out a preacher friend of mine's hometown exceeded the body count of either of those wars over a period of only three days.
It's a hot & humid little crossroads town south of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Place called Gettysburg.
posted on 04.09.2007 4:27 PM