Today when I showed up at my client's office, one of his employees began showing me a photo album. This was him at 21, a Marine, ready to go off to Vietnam. This was him and his friend derailing tracks. This was his friend who died, in fact, all of the guys on this page died. Here was his friend, whom after being shot in the arm, had to play dead under a fallen comrade to survive, and was the only one out of 120 men to survive. This was their reaction to another man accidentally finding a land mine. He talked for almost a half hour. I think it was one of the best spent half hours I've had in some time. He has wounds yet today, but Marty has a satisfaction and pride with his life that few can boast of. He fought and was wounded for a cause greater than himself. How many today can claim that? The Pat Tillmans of America are few and far between. We need to hear the stories, we need to understand our heritage as a nation and culture. We need good war stories to remind us what it means to be a man, and sometimes what it doesn't mean. War is a terrible thing, one of the great vices of humanity, but as with most things, it can also bring good. War reminds us who we are and who we ought to be. It reminds us of what we believe and why believe it. These arn't reasons to have wars, but blessings we can receive when we must fight them. The stories are dying, the men of old passing away. If you know one, and if he'll tell you, ask for stories. Sit for a few hours and listen. Let the stories be told while the people are here to tell them.

By the way, as with most veterans, he thinks Kerry is an @$$hole. His words, not mine.