The powerful lesson of attitude

The best part of my Air Force Reserve career is the amazing people I am privileged to serve with and encounter in the course of my duties. I am an individual Reservist embedded with my old active duty unit, which has about 15,000 troops located around the world, with headquarters in Texas.

-
During the past several years, I've had a few occasions to meet wounded warriors and the experience is not only emotional, but inspirational. The courage these young Americans possess and the personal sacrifice they have made for their country is simply nothing short of awe-inspiring. Two weeks ago I attended an official event down near the Alamo with my boss and his wife. While there, I noticed a young GI sitting in a wheelchair and I asked him if he was going through treatment at Brook Army Medical Center, and he said he was. BAMC is where many of our wounded servicemembers go through treatment, particularly amputees and burn patients. I knew my boss, whose own son is serving in Afghanistan, would want to meet him and shake his hand, so I introduced the general to Specialist G.
-
Specialist G isn't a publicity slick kind of soldier. A little rough around the edges, with a South Side Chicago accent, he seemed to me like the type who wouldn't be so great at a cocktail party, but would probably be just the kind of guy you'd want watching your back in Sadr City, if you know what I mean. Turns out Specialist G was on his third tour to Iraq when his Bradley hit an IED in Diyala Province more than a year ago, and is now confined to a wheelchair. To top it off, his parents are both dead and he doesn't have much family...only his girlfriend, who was by his side.
-
The general thanked him for his service to our country and told him that he thought he had an amazing attitude. Specialist G, in his direct way, looked up at the general from his wheelchair and said, "Sir, I was just doing my job. I wanted to make the Army a career, but now I'm in the chair and that's over. But I don't dwell on that because I can't change the past. Sir, all I have is my attitude."
-
The general's wife told me about a young man she met in the BAMC burn ward after his father stopped her in the hallway and said, "I would like you to meet my son." This young soldier, dubbed Miracle Merlin, sustained burns over more than 95% of his body and underwent many surgeries over a two year period at the hospital. Despite his severe disfigurement and obvious physical pain, he mustered the courage and positive attitude to serve as a strong shoulder for the other burn patients that came into the ward during his time there. He would try to lend them comfort and fellowship as they faced the unthinkable road ahead. He succumbed to his wounds last month, leaving the pain behind, as well as a legacy and depth of character that is hard to fathom.
-
Maybe it takes a direct hit--physical or emotional--for most of us to realize it, but these young men seem to understand something that many older, supposedly wiser people fail to grasp. We can't change the past or guarantee the future. All we have is the present...and our attitude. I hope I can muster a fraction of their courage in my own life.