{"id":7488,"date":"2014-06-07T21:36:54","date_gmt":"2014-06-07T21:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/06\/07\/12-boy-12-man\/"},"modified":"2014-06-07T21:36:54","modified_gmt":"2014-06-07T21:36:54","slug":"12-boy-12-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2014\/06\/07\/12-boy-12-man\/","title":{"rendered":"1\/2 boy 1\/2 man"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you read this, you WILL forward it on.
\n\tYou just won’t be able to stop yourself. <\/p>\n

\tThe average age of the military man is 19 years.
\n\tHe is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who,
\n\tunder normal circumstances is considered
\n\tby society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry
\n\tbehind the ears, not old enough to buy a beer,
\n\tbut old enough to die for his country.
\n\tHe never really cared much for work,
\n\tand he would rather wax his own car
\n\tthan wash his father’s,
\n\tbut he has never collected unemployment either. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tHe’s a recent High School graduate;
\n\the was probably an average student,
\n\tpursued some form of sport activities,
\n\tdrives a ten year old jalopy, and has a steady
\n\tgirlfriend that either broke up with him when he left,
\n\tor swears to be waiting when he returns
\n\tfrom half a world away.
\n\tHe listens to rock and roll or hip-hop or rap
\n\tor jazz or swing, and a 155 mm howitzer. <\/p>\n

\tHe is 10 or 15 pounds lighter now than when
\n\the was at home because he is working or
\n\tfighting from before dawn to well after dusk.
\n\tHe has trouble spelling, thus letter writing
\n\tis a pain for him, but he can field strip a rifle
\n\tin 30 seconds and reassemble it in less time
\n\tin the dark. He can recite to you the nomenclature
\n\tof a machine gun or grenade launcher
\n\tand use either one effectively if he must. <\/p>\n

\tHe digs foxholes and latrines and can apply
\n\tfirst aid like a professional. <\/p>\n

\tHe can march until he is told to stop, or stop
\n\tuntil he is told to march. <\/p>\n

\tHe obeys orders instantly and without hesitation,
\n\tbut he is not without spirit or individual dignity.
\n\tHe is self-sufficient. <\/p>\n

\tHe has two sets of fatigues: he washes one
\n\tand wears the other.
\n\tHe keeps his canteens full and his feet dry. <\/p>\n

\tHe sometimes forgets to brush his teeth,
\n\tbut never to clean his rifle. He can cook
\n\this own meals, mend his own clothes,
\n\tand fix his own hurts. <\/p>\n

\tIf you’re thirsty, he’ll share his water with you;
\n\tif you are hungry, his food. He’ll even split
\n\this ammunition with you in the midst
\n\tof battle when you run low. <\/p>\n

\tHe has learned to use his hands like weapons
\n\tand weapons like they were his hands. <\/p>\n

\tHe can save your life – or take it,
\n\tbecause that is his job. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tHe will often do twice the work of a civilian,
\n\tdraw half the pay, and still find ironic humor in it all. <\/p>\n

\tHe has seen more suffering and death
\n\tthan he should have in his short lifetime. <\/p>\n

\tHe has wept in public and in private for friends
\n\twho have fallen in combat, and is unashamed. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tHe feels every note of the National Anthem
\n\tvibrate through his body while at rigid attention,
\n\twhile tempering the burning desire to ‘square-away’
\n\tthose around him who haven’t bothered to stand,
\n\tremove their hat, or even stop talking.
\n\tIn an odd twist, day in and day out, far from home,
\n\the defends their right to be disrespectful. <\/p>\n

\tJust as did his Father, Grandfather, and Great-grandfather,
\n\the is paying the price for our freedom.
\n\tBeardless or not, he is not a boy.
\n\tHe is the American Fighting Man that has kept
\n\tthis country free for over 200 years. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has asked nothing in return, except
\n\tOur friendship and understanding. <\/p>\n

\tRemember him, always, for he has earned
\n\tour respect and admiration with his blood. <\/p>\n

\tAnd now we even have women over there in danger,
\n\tdoing their part in this tradition of going to war
\n\twhen our nation calls us to do so. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tAs you go to bed tonight, remember this shot… <\/p>\n

\tA short lull, a little shade and a picture of
\n\tloved ones in their helmets. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tPrayer wheel for our military… Please don’t break it.
\n\tPlease send this on after a short prayer. <\/p>\n

\t‘Lord, hold our troops in your loving hands.
\n\tProtect them as they protect us. <\/p>\n

\tBless them and their families for the selfless acts
\n\tthey perform for us in our time of need. Amen.’ <\/p>\n

\tWhen you receive this, please stop for a moment
\n\tand say a prayer for our ground troops in Afghanistan,
\n\tsailors on ships, and airmen in the air,
\n\tand for those in Iraq, Afghanistan and all foreign countries. <\/p>\n

\tThere is nothing attached. <\/p>\n

\tThis can be very powerful. <\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\n\tOf all the gifts you could give a US Soldier,
\n\tSailor, Coastguardsman, Marine, or Airman,
\n\tprayer is the very best one. <\/p>\n

\tI can’t break this one, sorry.
\n\tPass it on to everyone and pray.<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t— What you are will show in what you do.– Thomas A. Edison<\/p>\n

\n

Replies:<\/h3>\n
\n

Posted by:<\/strong> Mr Finesse on June 8, 2014, 12:36 pm<\/p>\n

Thank you John.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Posted by:<\/strong> Dr Crapology on June 9, 2014, 1:34 am<\/p>\n

John, outstanding.<\/p>\n

\tDoc<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you read this, you WILL forward it on. You just won’t be able to stop yourself. The average age of the military man is 19 years. He is a short haired, tight-muscled kid who, under normal circumstances is considered…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-world-we-live-in"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7488\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}