| Submit your comments on this article |
| -Obits- |
| Burial at Sea |
| 2009-12-16 |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #7 49 Pan--Amen! |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2009-12-16 23:44 |
| #6 very moving tribute. i give a heart felt 'thank you' to all who have served this great country. there is no higher call than suffering much to ease the pain of another. God bless them. |
| Posted by: abu do you love 2009-12-16 23:07 |
| #5 Not sure why your saying that Moose, but I totally disagree. We, all services, concider next of kin to be family, our family. When I die I want my brother, a soldier, to tell my family, not a psycopath. My mother will see the hurt in his eyes and understand his job is heart felt even though he probably never met me. Survivor assistance duty is the most miserable duty one can suffer. It is also one that changes an offier and NCO forever. Men that can work through as many as these two worked through deserve a drink from me every day. |
| Posted by: 49 Pan 2009-12-16 19:06 |
| #4 Though on the surface it sounds calloused, the only personnel that should ever be put on this duty are those adjudged to be technical psychopaths by a psychiatrist. That is, a true psychopath cannot empathize with other people and have a very limited emotional range. The vast majority are not anti-social or criminal and live normal lives. There is a standard psychological test for psychopaths, and such people are very valuable in situations of extreme emotional stress, as they remain clear headed, where empathic people would have nervous breakdowns and even become physically ill. In such situations, a psychopath can render aid and protect others who have been incapacitated with grief, fear, sympathetic nausea, and other conditions. They do so without stress or trauma, which is essential if they have to do such work a lot. Because both this LTC and the Sergeant Major were normal, empathetic people, the Marine Corps lost two valuable leaders, and likely many others like them, as psychological casualties. Had they been psychopaths, after this duty, they could have returned to other active duty without a problem. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2009-12-16 13:49 |
| #3 The United States is truly blessed with such men. |
| Posted by: Hellfish 2009-12-16 12:26 |
| #2 I deeply wish that this story could be told on the media, or in schools, where people could have a sense of the sacrifices made so we as a nation could survive. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-12-16 10:40 |
| #1 "Well done, Colonel, well done." |
| Posted by: Mike 2009-12-16 09:17 |