This iconic photograph drew a number of responses from readers of the Nashville paper, The Tennessean, including this one:
Dear Tennessean:
The Tennessean’s April 5 photograph of young Christian Golczynski accepting the American flag from Marine Lt. Col. Ric Thompson is one of the most moving and emotion provoking images I have ever seen.
As one would expect, many of your readers were touched by this incredible picture. Staff Sergeant Golczynski had previously served one full tour in Iraq. Shortly before his death on March 27 he wrote to his family that he had volunteered to do this a second time due to our deep desire to finish the job we started. In his letter he said, “We fight and sometimes die so that our families don’t have to.” Tragically, Staff Sergeant Golczynski had only two weeks remaining on his second tour. We look at the photograph of Christian every day. It is displayed prominently in our home. Our hearts ache for Christian and for all those who have lost loved ones in this controversial conflict.
When looking at the face of Christian Golczynski I am reminded that doing what is right is not always easy and doing what is easy is not always right. Christian’s dad knew that too.
James Drescher
Franklin, TN
I have looked into the eyes of a family member as I handed him or her a folded American flag at the end of a military burial service. I have fought to maintain my composure as I said, “On behalf of a grateful nation …” And looking at this picture I am struck by several thoughts:
Lieutenant Colonel Thompson is not some administrative staffer for whom the notion of service and sacrifice is some vague concept to be carted out when it’s politically expedient. He feels the tragedy to his marrow. Yet he can look in the eyes of this fallen warrior’s son and offer compassion, strength, and hope.
Staff Sergeant Golczynski would have taught Christian what it takes to be a good citizen, husband, and man.
There is peace and clarity of purpose in Staff Sergeant Golczynski’s legacy. That is a father’s gift to his son. That should see Christian through.
Regardless of our politics or stances on the Iraq war, we should be mindful of the fact that scenes like this are playing out daily across this country.
(Gouge: JC)
– Ward
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
it gets thrown out all to quickly,like confetti, as a sign-off, or mark of comraderie, but there are times when it says it all. I’m proud to hold it alive inside me, for nigh on 37 years now, but there are those who live it beyond all years…. “Semper Fidelis”
amen
Tragic. And like most tragedies, avoidable, unnecessary, and injurious to the innocent.
You secretly edited Drescher’s letter, removing the penultimate paragraph–not nice:
“Our nation is at a historical crossroads. Do we call an end to the struggle in Iraq or press on? Staff Sergeant Golczynski eloquently told his son how he felt about not giving up. Perhaps there is a lesson for all of us in this man’s life and the choices he made. He was undeniably a man of tremendous courage and conviction. America must now choose whether to complete the job.”
And what “job” needs to be completed? What does “victory” look like? More refugees, more death, more suffering, more detainees, more money? An Islamic regime allied with Iran?
Don:
I apologize for appearances, but I assure you I didn’t secretly remove anything. I posted the letter as it was forwarded to me. (Hence the “Gouge: JC” attribution.)
I don’t disagree with the sentiment. It has nothing to do with my point, however.
“Duty is the sublimest word in our English language. Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less.” — Robert E. Lee
Ward,
Thanks for being honest, and publishing my comment, but come on, the letter was widely published on the web–it took me seconds to find it.
Regarding duty, duty to do what? is the question. Just pay the bill?
“But the soldier pays the biggest part of the bill . . . Beautiful ideals were painted for our boys who were sent out to die. This was the ‘war to end all wars.’ This was the ‘war to make the world safe for democracy.’ No one mentioned to them, as they marched away, that their going and their dying would mean huge war profits. . . “–Maj Gen Smedley Butler, USMC
I think we have an obligation to use our ‘defense tech’ wisely and judiciously, don’t you? Again, what does ‘victory’ look like in Iraq?
Don:
You obviously have an answer for your question. Why ask me?
Ward,
You suggest that we need to do what is right (Drescher letter) and do our duty. What is it that we are to do? It seems obvious, during this pivotal time of the Petraeus report that you are promoting the continuance of the military occupation of Iraq and the Bush policy of ‘victory’ no matter the time and cost. Is that what you think we ought to do? Is that why you published this piece of off-topic propaganda? And, if you are promoting continuance of the occupation toward Bush’s “victory”–what will victory look like?
Myself, the way this government operates, without any diplomatic component to solve this mess, I haven’t a clue, so that’s why I’m asking you. Or are you just taking orders from someone.
Ward
I am very touched by that piece. I don’t see the promotion of an agenda by you anywhere in it.
Don Bacon
While I agree that there are lots of things wrong with or leadership’s conduct of the Operations in Iraq, I don’t feel a a report with a picture of one very gutsy heartbroken kid is the place to air ones political views.
You wanna do something positive for your country? How about you start a scholarship fund for that young man? I’ll be the first to kick in a couple of hundred bucks.
His father died a hero, irrelevant of the right or wrong of the politics behind it. He died for your rights man.
We should eb equally mindful that scenes like this play out in a lot of other countries too, including Iraq. And to the kid who loses their Dad it doesn’t make any difference which side they were on.
Then stick with the New York Post. This isn’t rhetoric. These are real people doing what’s asked of them – a concept increasingly foreign to a nation of self-centered, bloated consumers interested in little more than widescreen TVs and Wii.
If that statement doesn’t feel apolitical to you then we’ll never see it the same way. Oh, and you’re wrong.
Cognitive dissonance at its finest. You are telling yourself a story to go along with the picture in the hopes of it making you feel better, or to justify what you see. Even to fit your own opinion of larger issues.
A soldier died doing his duty and a son has lost his father. Leave it at that. It’s not about doing what’s right or what’s wrong, finishing a job or saving more soldiers from the same fate.
That kid may grow up to idolize his father and respect what he did…or he may grow up hating his father for leaving him and his family for some ill-conceived war. Will you be there giving him semper fi’s when he does good and calling him a coward when he does bad? No you won’t be there at all. Neither will his dad.
No, Darran, you’re off the mark. You see, in your detached smugness you’ve discounted the idea that these things are real to some.
And that you label Staff Sergeant Golczynski a
“soldier” speaks to your absolute lack of military experience. He was a Marine. I don’t expect the difference to matter to you, though. You’re ignorant of the military and tolerated as such. Heck, we even let you post here at DT like you might know what the hell you’re talking about. What a great country, huh?
If you want to stabilize the country, then get the troops out of it. As the Brits found in Basra, the presence of foreign soldiers is the major provocation. Remove that and yoy can make some progress.
Fair enough, Darran.
This may be a leap in logic from the point you were trying to make, but as I wrote in my op-ed at Military.com regarding Cindy Sheehan’s “retirement” from the public eye a few weeks back, I’ll never buy the idea that a servicemember who is killed in the line of duty died in vain. Doing one’s duty lives outside of the political sphere.
There seems to be great difficulty in separating the issues here.
- The man served in the armed forces and for that we should be grateful.
- The armed forces were sent on an illegal, imperialist and poorly managed mission. The man died on that mission.
So saying he died for our freedom is simply untrue. He served to protect our freedom, but he died for something else. He died because of our folly.
We cannot use the honorable aspect – that he served – to cover up the crime of the war itself. Images like this are used to emotionalized and blur the reality that this war was wrong. This boy shouldn’t have lost his father. Whether he will grow up realizing that and have justified rage against what happened, or whether he will find peace in the blurring of messages remains to be seen.