This is from a friend's tribute to his fallen comrade, Navy Seal Petty Officer Michael Monsoor, who died after throwing himself atop a hand grenade thrown by an insurgent in Ramadi. He did this in order to save the others who were nearby him when the grenade came in and bounced off his chest. In his memory of Monsoor, the man who is reenlisting now says that Monsoor was like the Rambo he admired (the first one - not the sequels).
He was "the tough guy who wants to suffer in silence. He doesn't want a big hug just 'cause he's hurting. He doesn't want to be felt sorry for. He just wants to serve his country. He doesn't know why things don't turn out exactly the way the military teaches us they will. He definitely shared some of the existential dilemmas Rambo is dealing with."
Two things.
1. Warriors still exist, and they understand things the rest of us don't.
2. We now live in a world where the warrior we know, the warrior of mythology, and the words "existential dilemma" are all part of our consciousness at once. This, I think, is a beautiful thing.
May the soul of Michael Monsoor, who died on the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint of Warriors, rest in peace.
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