I couldn't help but think of the contrast of reaction that I had compared to when I heard that John Murtha had died.
Wilson was by all accounts a hard partying guy, who had the personal morals and ethics of a tomcat with the ladies. But he was honest enough to admit it to anyone who asked. He had a ego that just wouldn't quit and was said to be the only person who could "swagger" while sitting in a chair.
He also was a unabashed patriot who put so many thorns in the path of the Russian bear in Afghanistan that he could, by any method of measure could be considered one of the victors of the cold war. Wilson saw what needed to be done and did it, because it was the right thing to do. Countless Afghan lives were saved (and in the bigger scheme of things American lives) by Charlie working with the C.I.A. to funnel money and guns to the freedom fighters. Charlie always said with a big grin on his face, that he did it, " Just to stick it to the Russians" I believe that he had other reasons like a very strong belief in freedom and justice. I just can't see that Murtha would have done the same thing Charlie did (Unless of course he got a kick back or it was politically expedient) Granted, we did drop the ball later in Afghanistan by leaving a vacuum rather than helping stabilize the place. But we DID stop Soviet expansionism which in turn lead to the fall of the Soviet Empire.
When Ol' Charlie gets to the pearly gates, and talks to St. Peter, I bet you he will charm his way in. It worked many times for him before.
3 comments:
I never saw the movie with Tom Hanks about him. Maybe I should.
It wasn't a bad movie. I got more out of the book, but with the movie, I didn't have the overwhelming feeling that I had wasted 2 hours of my life like I do with the majority of movies these days.
Marines aren't too proud to have called Murtha one of their own. Many, like me, won't.
My guess is that the Marines guarding the pearly gates will send his ass packing. . .
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