alittlenews

CWO 4 (retired) Matthew Burley. Photo Illustration by Gary Cosby Jr. 11/10/09

Sorry for the tardiness of this post.  Even though the day has passed, the spirit of the day which honors those who serve is for every day.

November 11, 11am, 1918.  The guns which had felled hundreds of thousands fell silent on the War To End All Wars.  For the first time in history war had involved most of the civilized world and had done so with a violence that even appalled those who started it.  War was new and the rules had changed.  Massed artillery had turned battlefields into dead moonscapes littered with the broken bodies of the world’s finest young men.  Those who survived were never the same.  All who witnessed the horrors of this new form of war thought they had seen the end of it.

Unfortunately we know that was not true then and may never actually be true.  War is just as horrible as it has ever been.  War threatens every person on every continent either directly or indirectly and death and injury from those awful engines of destruction that mankind seems so adept at creating have never stopped spouting their lethal fire.  I doubt we will ever have a shortage of warriors to honor and Veterans Day, once known as Armistice Day, is our day for honoring those who have served in times of war and times of peace.

We have parades to honor those who have fought for our freedom and in the cause of freedom around the world.  It is a small thank you for so great a sacrifice.  Actually, there is probably no real way to say thank you to those who have served, fought and given their blood for the very concept of freedom.  Right now we have troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan for nothing more than a belief, an idea that men everywhere have the right to be free.  I know there are cynics out there who would disagree with my premise but that does not change the fact that our soldiers are on the ground with very little chance of any benefit coming their way beyond danger, destruction and death.  It is that spirit, the spirit of giving even one’s life for someone else, that is so honorable.  Who knows the actual motives that brought us to this place.  Who knows what was in the mind of our leaders when they committed us to this course of action.  Perhaps only God really knows.

But this I do know, no matter your opinion on the present conflict or on the conflicts that await our future generations, our men and women who serve this basic concept of freedom are worthy of honor.  To all those warriors who serve us I say thank you.  It is a pitifully small thing to say to someone who has risked so much, and in many cases, given so much but just know you have my deepest respect.

This week I photographed Chief Warrant Officer (retired) Matthew Burley.  CWO Burley retired because of a brain injury he suffered while serving in Iraq.  His convoy was hit by an IED.  His brain injury was severe and he has been rehabbing diligently with the help of his wife Esther.  This was not Burley’s first brush with death.  He first battled cancer in his twenties and was told he only had months to live.  Burley fought that battle inside himself and won.  He was prepared to fight the external wars too.  Burley earned 21 medals during his 26 years of service including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.  He speaks a little slowly now.  He doesn’t move as fast as he once did.  He and his wife are retraining his mind every day.  I would not bet against him winning this battle.

When I was finished photographing him all I could do was shake his hand.  What do you say to a man who had given so much of himself to our country, to the concept of freedom?  Thank you? It simply isn’t enough.  Perhaps in some small way by photographing CWO Burley and his wife I can help tell his story.  You probably won’t ever meet him but you will meet someone like him.  Make sure you say thank you in whatever way you can, no matter how small.

Photo Illustration copyright Gary Cosby Jr., The Decatur Daily.  The opinions expressed in this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.