A Dad`s War Story
By Milton W. Kliesch, Pastor
Osyka Baptist Church, MS
Note: Rev. Kliesch`s son is serving in Iraq with an infantry airborne unit that does routine patrols in the Baghdad area.
I think about my nineteen-year-old son in Iraq all the time. I wake up thinking about him; I go to bed thinking about him. I wonder what he is doing, where is he, and what he is thinking and feeling. Is he alive? Is he hurt? Is he safe: I even dream about him. I wait for his next phone call, his next letter, or his next e-mail. When they don`t come, sometimes for a week or so, I really become anxious. But we have learned that no news is usually good news.
There is a quiet anguish at our house. It is underneath the surface, unseen, but you know that it is there. I pray a lot? Most of all I pray my version of the sinner`s prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy upon my son." Of course, I pray for his safety. I pray that he will have the wisdom, skill, and courage necessary to do his job and stay safe. I pray for his protection. But most of all I pray over-and-over my version of the sinner`s prayer. These words seem to be the best words for me.
I try to be honest about this war only to find that most who support it look at me as if I am unpatriotic. I listen to their attempts to defend the cause. In their words I detect a lot of pride, not of the patriotic flavor but of the hubris type. To me this seems to be fueling a lot of the support for this war. At times there seems to be a thrill and a sense of jubilation in their voices that America is fighting another war. That is probably one reason many have trouble being honest about it. They are blinded by their pride.
I have been angry with a lot of things related to this war. But what really raises my anger is the gloating that I hear and see. For some, the fighting and the dying are like the Super bowl and the World Series all wrapped in one. They cheer when we are victorious; they stick out their chest and challenge the enemy when he taunts. It is the gloating that causes me such pain.
Many who cheer this war on, are not in the battles. They are in the stands. They are observers, not participants. No one seems to be eager to bare the sacrifices. I suspect that as long as many do not have to sacrifice in any form or fashion, this war will continue to be a "just war" in their eyes, especially as long as someone else is making the "just" sacrifices.
My son did sign-up! He signed up before this war even started. He signed up before he graduated from high school. It is called "Delayed Entry." He committed eight years of his life to the Army before he could manage his own checking account. Sure, we tried to talk him out of it. In spite of my attempts to tell him that there was going to be a war, he signed up. In spite of my efforts to explain that everything in the Army is about life and death, he signed up. He signed up for the college money. He signed up for the monthly check. He signed up for the girls because his recruiter told him that the girls were pretty in the Army. And of course, he signed up to serve his country. I am proud of him, proud that he is fulfilling his duty.
One day someone made the comment to me, "Well, all who are there, signed up." He happened to be a strong supporter of the war with a 19 year-old son in college. I agreed with him. Then I challenged him to take his 19 year-old son and sign him up for the Army with a request to go to Iraq. He became quiet and said nothing more about the war. He hasn`t mentioned the war to me again. It is real easy to be gung-ho about this war when you don`t personally have to make any sacrifices, whether in family members or in taxes. That makes war real easy.
For me the election doesn`t seem to matter any more. I`ve expended enough energy and emotions on it. And now, it just doesn`t seem to be that important. As I watch all the election news, it seems to me that a monster has been released in our country and no one knows how to cage it again. Many see the world in "black-and-white" with no gray areas. Maybe that is the monster.
I am not a pacifist, never have been, even though I realize that Christ was. Neither do I support the "Just War Theory." There is no such thing as a just war.
I feel anguish in my soul. These are difficult times to be against the war in Iraq. These are difficult times to have a son in the middle of it. If he weren`t there, it would probably be easy to wait this war out, keep my mouth shut, and keep my friends happy.
I have felt patronized by both those who support the cause and those who oppose it. I have also felt supported by them. I don`t know where this war is going. At times I am not very optimistic about it`s outcome. I do hope that all the "rosy" scenarios do come to pass. The politics don`t matter any more. What does is my son. I want this war to be over. I want my son to come home.
