Won't Come Back Til It's Over, Over There

There was this musical way back in the olden days, I think it was called "Yankee Doodle Dandy". They used to air it on the Fourth of July, and I don't really remember the story line, I just remember soldiers marching eager to get to the war and come home as victorious heroes. War is never viewed up close on the American TV screen, we film the parades and the homecomings, but we don't see the see the real-life version of war. We get to see the rubble of buildings that remain after the bombs have fallen, but we never see the lives that were changed forever, the parts of human life that have been scattered from man-made explosives. We have never had to spend the night in an underground shelter because our homes were being destroyed. We have never had leaflets telling us to evacuate our homes dropped on our communities. We don't know what war truly is, we think it has something to do with freedom and equality, when really it's about power and money.

The guys who are over there are staying there. The guys who came home are going back. I know a kid who's serving her second tour but luckily, she was posted to Afghanistan and not Iraq, so her life expectancy is greatly enhanced. Her kid is being raised by relatives, and she bursts into tears every time a bomb hits near. It's not exactly what you would expect from a soldier, but put your own ass in her 22 year old shoes and see how well you match up.

"Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve already have fulfilled their four-year, active duty requirement, but are on call for another four years."

These guys have already been there and done that, yet they are going back, and they might not come home until it's over.

One way or another.

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