Op-Ed in the Salem Daily News: Remembering Heroes
May 24th, 2015
By: Congressman Seth Moulton (D-MA)
The following piece appeared in the Salem Daily News on May 24th.
Every time I returned to Iraq, it was worse than when I had last left, yet I was proud to serve four tours as a Marine because I never wanted anyone to go in my place. That doesn’t make me a hero; it just makes me a typical American veteran. I served with some of the best Americans I will ever meet: men and women who willingly and selflessly put their lives on the line for a better Iraq and a safer America.
I am also lucky to be one of the ones who came home, able to continue to fight for the values that so many service men and women died to preserve. Today, we remember those brave warriors from wars current and past who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
We have lost 6,840 American troops in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, including 125 from right here in Massachusetts. While these numbers are staggering, to many, combat today feels further from our own lives than ever before. Just 1 percent of Americans are veterans or serve on active duty — it was almost 10 times that in the years following World War II. As a result, fewer and fewer people feel personally affected by war. But every community is impacted by it.
The celebration of Chris Piper’s life 10 years ago this June in my hometown could not have made this more clear. Chris was an Army Special Forces staff sergeant who died at age 43 after a roadside bomb hit his Humvee in Afghanistan. As protestors gathered on the day of his funeral, the Marblehead community vowed to not let their voices impact the beautiful celebration of Chris’ life. The bagpipes rang, the community lined the streets, and a small town remembered someone who gave more than most of us ever will.
Chris, and the many other veterans who died in previous wars, have left holes in the hearts of surviving mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and too many children. But as much as we mourn those we have lost, we must not forget those who, while they made it home, are not finding the support they need to overcome the impact of war.
A great example of this is James Hassell from my second platoon. When another Marine in our platoon was hit by a grenade, James carried him on his back down a narrow alleyway through brutal fire. He unequivocally saved his life.
After the Marines, James returned home to Sacramento, but he wanted to continue serving our country — just like many veterans. So he applied to nursing school, did well, and went to work saving lives back here on the home front.
James had a good job, a loving family, and a supportive community of veteran Marines including myself, but he struggled with post-traumatic stress (entirely understandable given what he experienced). Yet in a refrain heard too often with the VA, James went for help and they sent him home with medications rather than appointments with a counselor. And when he went back to the VA saying it was not helping, they gave him more medication. James died at the age of 30 of a heart attack after taking the drugs prescribed by the VA. We let James down and we must do better.
The word hero is thrown around too freely these days, but Chris and James are real heroes. They did everything right: They fought with valor and were committed to service—not just to an ideal, but to their communities back home that loved them so dearly. Their courage cost them their lives.
Today we remember Christopher, James and all those we have lost. We tell the stories of their experiences and bravery. And tomorrow, we learn the lessons from these warriors and double down on our commitment to today’s veterans whom, still too often, we are leaving behind.
Seth Moulton is the congressman for the 6th District of Massachusetts.
