Reply #139: Tattoo of Statue of Liberty holding smoking six-guns overhead; weapon strapped to her bare thigh

[Divernan]

You're right, that tattoo on his friend, along with fact his brother also enlisted; the childhood picture of him as small child dressed up in military camo for Haloween; post-injury watching and cheering some ultimate fight program and saying "I'm in my element"; firing a rifle with more friends at some knid of shooting party - this guy was programmed for war from childhood and still enjoys guns, fighting and violence. I have seen several infants (under one year of age) being proudly carried around by their young dads, wearing camo/military baby clothes - talk about early programming. Their parents should see these pictures.

I contrast this young Marine's post-injury behaviors with those of an old friend, now dead, who was a pilot in the Korean war. He was shot down twice and escaped twice from his captors. He flew that deadly slot bombing the dam at the Chosung Reservoir (if I remember the name rightly). If they could destroy the dam, a valley would be flooded and block the Chicoms from advancing toward South Korea. The pilots had to approach low, between two mountain ranges and were fired at from both sides. This was the basis for James Michener's story, Bridges at Toko-Ri. The thing is, my friend was an anti-war pacifist the rest of his life.

The kind of injuries this young Marine suffered, especially the severe burning, scarring, loss of ears and one eye from burning - are the same suffered by thousands and thousands of Iraqi civilians, mostly non-combatants, at the hands of US forces, perhaps this very soldier. For example, the use of white phosporous at Fallujah. The Iraqis much more likely died from such severe wounds. Those who survived will not have access to VA hospitals or plastic surgeons,artificial limbs, etc., let alone the support of whole, functioning communities of friends and relatives.