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bruno

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Story in today's Boston Globe of a good man. 1LT Kerr is a real inspiration- he has my salute and should have the gratitude of all of us - he has earned it and then some. I hope to see him on the slopes this winter:thumb:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/08/28/saving_lieutenant_kerr/

Army First Lieutenant Cameron Kerr called in the chopper. His Afghan counterpart, a platoon leader named Maiwand, was on the ground, writhing in pain after stepping on an IED in a village in Kandahar Province too small to have a name.
Kerr was holding his radio in his left hand because there was something wrong with the microphone cord. He was walking as he spoke into the radio and his left foot came down on a small pressure plate.
It didn’t even sound like an explosion, more like a pop.
“At first, there was no pain,’’ Kerr was saying.
His machine-gunner, Soto, ran over.
“Don’t look down, sir,’’ Soto said, and the medic came up and said the same thing.....

...."I really came to realize how lucky I was to be born in a country where there is so much, where freedom is a given, where opportunity is everywhere.’’
"In high school, he watched “Saving Private Ryan’’ and was struck by the scene where a dying Captain Miller tells Private Ryan, “Earn it.’’
“I started questioning myself: What have I done to earn it? What have I done to earn all the advantages I have? What have I done to earn my citizenship?’’

And so he decided to be a soldier. To earn it. To hold accountable the kind of people who murdered the families of his friends, the Lost Boys.

He made a deal with his parents: He’d go to college first, but join ROTC and come out an officer. He learned Arabic and got a degree in Middle Eastern studies and Islamic culture because he knew where he was going.

When he got to Afghanistan, he was under no illusions. In parts of Afghanistan, many people like the Americans and see them as the bulwark against the Taliban. But in the Pashtun south, where he was deployed, the Taliban hold sway.

He asked his parents and friends to send candy and toys, and he’d hand them out to Afghan kids. Then he realized he was putting the kids at risk by being near them, so he left the goodies lying around for them to find. He even had to stop that, because the gifts could attract booby traps.

When he woke up and found part of his leg missing, he didn’t regret joining the Army..."
 
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