Boston Globe: 'Hawk'ish Father Of Dead Soldier - "I Trust God & The Voters To Judge Them For It"

[Hissyspit]

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2007/05/05/its_tough_when_you_come_back/

'It's tough when you come back'
Effects of Iraq war test the spirit of a Vermont military academy
By Charles M. Sennott and Brian MacQuarrie, Globe Staff | May 5, 2007

NORTHFIELD, Vt. -- The starched, gray line of cadets marched in silence under full moon and into formation around the training yard of Norwich University. A 21-gun salute cracked the night air, and two buglers stationed at opposite ends of the campus played taps, one echoing the other, in a rare ritual of honor Thursday night for two former Norwich students killed within two days of each other last month in Iraq.

- snip -

For David Kennedy -- the father of Sergeant Adam P. Kennedy, 25, who was killed April 8 when his unit came under attack in Diwaniya, Iraq -- the primary lesson was born of anger.

Offering a eulogy for his son in the chapel service that preceded the taps ceremony, Kennedy, who calls himself a hawk, said: "Winning the war on terror is just a lot of nonsense. It is not a plan, it is a slogan." "This lack of a strategic plan is the biggest failure of this government, and I trust God and the voters to judge them for it," said Kennedy, of Norfolk, Mass.

- snip -

Kennedy's blunt words resonated across the campus, but that is not to say that Norwich today is defined by grief or by skepticism about the war. Many of the 1,150 young men and women who make up its Corps of Cadets, a training unit that dates to 1819, are eager patriots with polished boots and sharp salutes just waiting for a chance to serve. They view the war not through the lens of right and wrong, but as a matter of duty.

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[Hissyspit]

1. .

[uppityperson]

2. k&r

[babylonsister]

3. Sigh. So their duty is to get involved in a civil war in another land

and perhaps be maimed for life, or die? Who's brainwashed these kids?

My sympathies go to the Kennedys; he must be so bitter.

[tmlanders]

4. My son is a freshman cadet at Norwich...

We usually avoid any discussion of this war, as he is one of the gung-ho cadets and I think this was is a criminal waste of Iraqi and American lives. When he called me last Sunday night we did drift into the war when I brought up the subject of these 2 Norwich grads who died. He told me that us civilians are too obsessed with war deaths and not focused on seeing the good stuff our soldiers and marines were doing. And he actually said to me that "we need to fight them there so we do not have to fight them here".

He is apparently not just drinking the Kool-aid, he is mainlining it. I have no idea what to say to him to get him back. He is not the critical thinker that I brought up. I can understand the need for Norwich to get him totally indoctrinated, as it may save his life some day, but it was like a kick in the gut to hear him say this to me. I just hope that by the time he graduates they will encourage him to be more of a free-thinker who looks at all sides of an issue.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[babylonsister]

5. I feel for you, tmlanders, and welcome to DU.

I'm very glad you found us here; you can vent to your heart's content. And I hope your son can get back some critical thinking skills once the indoc is over.

:hug:

[tmlanders]

6. Thanks babylonsister...

I haven't posted much, but I do enjoy reading your posts. Thanks for the hug,too...I miss my son so much

[newyawker99]

8. Hi tmlanders!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[tmlanders]

9. Thanks, great to be here! n/t

[karynnj]

10. Wow, that has to be really tough for you

Your last paragraph really is incredible - with you as a parent, I be he does become more of a free thinker and will look at other sides of an issue.

It is possible that he HAS to believe that now because to do otherwise knowing he may have to fight for something that he doesn't believe in would make things harder.

[tmlanders]

11. Yeah, he does have to believe in this war...

Or else he would not be able to do what he is doing. But I think that he would be a much better Army officer if he looked more realistically at what is really going on in Iraq and not blocking out the stuff that goes against what he is hearing at school. After I wrote this I spoke to a friend, a West Point grad, who told me that he will be thinking for himself again by his senior year. In the meantime, Jeff and I just waltz around the elephant in the room.

[LynnTheDem]

7. For German troops, it was just their duty, as well.

Illegal war.

Invasion.

Deemed to be "the SUPREME CRIME" by the Nuremburg Tribunal.