A Conversation With A Solider
On Sunday night I spent the evening with some good friends of mine over some coffee and some great live music at Dominican Joe’s, a new coffee house in downtown Austin right off of Congress Avenue. Afterwards we headed back to a friends house for dinner and some great conversation.
My friend Dan and I have been friends for almost 10 years and through those years I have met many of his family members along the way. His cousin Christy and her husband Brandon were in town visiting family and enjoying Texas again after recently returning from Iraq. Christy and Brandon have both completed their time with the Army and are moving to Australia in a few months for work.
While at Dan’s, I had the opportunity to speak with Brandon extensively about his time in Iraq and what it was like to be an officer in the Army and have the control and decision making responsibilities that could potentially save or cost the lives of many of the men and women under him. Brandon worked as a pilot while serving in the Army and some of the stories that he shared were amazing, all of them interesting and intriguing, and some of them flat out unbelievable. Story after story, Brandon shared about his time in Iraq, he shared about what made him upset, what gave him the will and determination to go on and what scared the living hell out of him to do things differently because he was given the chance.
Brandon made a difference in me the other night. I haven’t stoped thinking about our conversation around that small table outside on the porch. It was the first time that I have sat down with someone that has served in Iraq. It was the first time to hear the stories of the men and women that serve there that haven’t been censored or simply not story worthy for any news affiliates here in the US. Between conversations and countless questions I had for Brandon, I saw a man that didn’t regret being overseas. I saw a man that was changed forever and experienced things I will never in my life begin to know about or understand. But one thing I do know is that I am so much more thankful for the men and women that serve our country than I ever have been in my entire life.
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Great post…I just came across your site from Spitbox media. Thanks for the reminder to always respect and give thanks for our troops! Great site!