Appreciating the sacrifices of those in harm's way
Powell Slaughter, Case Goods Editor -- Furniture Today, January 30, 2005
I've always felt blessed to have a job involving interesting travel. As a child, I dreamed of traveling to distant lands, and my work takes me to places I couldn't go on my own dime.
As anyone in this industry who travels for work knows, it ain't always glamorous. Long days, jet lag and lots of work to do when you get back are part of the bargain, but visiting other countries in a non-tourist capacity is inherently interesting and makes for encounters that leave me thinking long after I return.
On the way home from Germany's Cologne market earlier this month, I spent most of my time in the immense Frankfurt airport with another traveler, a U.S. soldier in desert camouflage I saw near a telephone bank. I said, "I hope you're on the way home." He grinned and said yes, for a 15-day leave from Iraq. We walked to the security line and continued talking.
"I couldn't have gotten a luckier timing for leave," he said. The election in Iraq would be over by the time he returned to duty. "It's getting really bad there," he said, leaving me wondering about the relativity of bad.
I asked him where he was stationed in Iraq — a town north of Baghdad — and if there was anywhere he felt secure there.
"I don't feel secure here," he said after a moment.
I understood. I've seen the way travelers treat soldiers going to or from Iraq at airports in the States, with a sense of deference and respect. Not so in Frankfurt. While there was no open hostility, when the people did pay attention to the soldier, the looks were decidedly unfriendly.
"I get a lot of people staring at me, and you can tell they don't like me," he said.
I decided to stay with this soldier, and he didn't wander off either. He'd seen a heck of a lot worse than someone else's disapproval in the last few months, but I just figured if people were staring at him, he could at least have some company from someone who appreciated his sacrifice.
In this war, sacrifices like his involve more than physical danger. He's 38 years old, with a family, and has been in the National Guard for years. For the past two years, he's been a full-time soldier. When you consider the national effort and the sacrifices of creature comforts — even rationing of food and fuel — non-combatants here made during World War II, it seems those of us not in uniform aren't being asked to do anything that would take us out of our daily routine.
To all you readers with loved ones in harm's way, I send my prayers for their and their comrades' safe return; and also to those many Iraqis who want a better place for themselves and their children. That's what my in-transit companion said he wanted.
It's the least anyone can do.
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Appreciating the sacrifices of those in harm’s way
Jan 30, 2005
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