William “Kyle” Carpenter
We cannot list all of the heroes who have lost their lives fighting for this country. There are not enough pages. A friend, the wife of a wounded warrior, tells me these men fight for each other, not for whatever war has been declared. This could not be better illustrated than in the case of William “Kyle” Carpenter, who will receive The Medal of Honor, the Nation’s highest military award, on June 19.
Lance Corporal Kyle Carpenter fell on a grenade to shield a fellow Marine from the blast in a 2010 Afghanistan firefight. His body was shattered, one lung collapsed. He lost an eye and most of his jaw.
In a Defense Department video, Carpenter said he had to be revived while being evacuated by helicopter from the battle and was labeled dead on arrival at a field hospital. He later nearly died again at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he said.
“The enemy killed me. I came back, ran a marathon, completed a mud run and jumped from a plane. I won’t ever quit. I am just getting started,” he said in the video.
On Monday, the White House announced he would become the eighth living veteran of U.S. combat in Iraq and Afghanistan to receive the Medal of Honor.
Carpenter was wounded in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on November 21, 2010, while serving as a machine gunner, according to the White House.
Carpenter and another Marine were manning a rooftop position during a firefight with Taliban insurgents when a hand grenade landed nearby, the Marine Corps said.
According to the Marine Corps, Carpenter rushed toward the grenade and his body took most of the blast. The other Marine, Lance Cpl. Nicholas Eufrazio, also was injured.
Today, I’m at a loss for words to write how I feel about war and the continued slaughter of our young men. I know there are arguments for the necessity of some wars. Those in defense of our country, to defend our rights. The list goes on. Not to rant, but what are we doing in Afghanistan except adding to that list of those men wounded and killed?
Okay, I’m done. Honor them all, but do not honor war.
Velda Brotherton 
Yes! Honor the warrior, not war. So much of what we do with medals and flag flying glorifies war while neglecting our warriors.
I could not have said it any better myself, but I agree wholeheartedly with both of you!
Well said Velda!
Being from a military family I too agree most hardily with your comment regarding honoring our warriors, but not the act of war. What are we doing there 10 years later. It would seem we did not learn enough from Vietnam. I don’t want to see my grandsons going back and fighting the same war over again. Thanks for your blog.
From the responses, I fully believe, as a friend of mine brought up recently, if women ruled the world war would be outlawed within ten years because we would refuse to send our sons and daughters off to be slaughtered. There are more honorable ways to serve one’s country.