JDN, I have become all to much aware of the climate in Florida. The flags of today are more resistant to the weather because of the newer fabrics, but the humidity, rain, and wind, of Florida does do it's damage. I am happy to know that there are still places, and organizations, that dispose of worn out flags in the proper, respectful, manner.
I understand the wish of the Marines, and other outfits, to not leave anyone behind, and agree that every effort should be made to save a wounded comrade in arms, but with the weaponry of today, I don't see the need to lose several more good fighting men to retrieve a dead body. Yes, there is a sentimental feeling of a proper burial, but I no longer foster the burial of any dead body, because the person that inhabited that body is no longer there. As a Christian, I know that the essence (soul) of that person has already left the body at the instant of death, and is before the judgement of God.
Trying to get the body of a trooper home, is admirable, but is it really worth the needed lives that will be lost in the effort? Tradition is the foundation of any military unit, and is something that is not taken lightly, but the live, and active, troops are needed too much to be lost in such an attempt. |
