*By Julie Barrett, Founder, Conservative Ladies of Washington
I’ve always had a fascination with war stories and movies and United States History. As a kid, growing up, I loved learning about the men and women who fought the wars that gave us all the freedoms and privileges we enjoy as Americans today.
I remember in my freshman year of high school we got to watch the movie Glory, the story of the first all-black company fighting in the US Civil War. It was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking and at the same time, inspiring, that these men so willingly gave their lives for the good of our country and their fellow man. They knew they weren’t coming out alive.
I’ve always admired the men and women in the US Armed Forces. They sign up knowing that it’s very possible they’ll be deployed and never return home. They feel so strongly about the greatness of the American way that they are willing to do their part to fight for and/or preserve our way of life. Not for themselves, but for their fellow man.
Walk In My Combat Boots is a page-turner for people like me who love reading first-hand accounts from our veterans (and a few currently active duty). It’s a book filled with short stories from soldiers who have served in various capacities over the past 70 years or so. Some stories are funny (like the fighter pilot who threw up in his mask) and some stories are heartbreaking (accounts of watching fellow soldiers killed in the line of duty or returning home with extreme PTSD). But I love it. I love reading their stories.
The other day as I was nearing the end of the book I found myself getting mad. After reading over 300 pages of their stories I thought, “how sad that these people and their families have sacrificed so much for a country of entitled, ungrateful brats.” And I’m sorry, but that’s what we’ve got in America today and it’s disgusting. People who say “America was never great.” Really? I have to wonder how far beyond our borders have these people traveled and have they experienced life in other countries?
The stories in this book detail the living conditions in many other parts of the world. It is horrifying. It’s so easy for us, in our American Bubble, to forget that this is special. Most places in the world do not live the way we do. It’s not perfect and we have our problems and we have our people who are hurting and hungry and homeless. Overall, the conditions in America are far better than they are in other parts of the world.
It seems the vocal minority only see things through a very negative lens. And they’re loud about it. Loud and ungrateful. As I read the book I got really mad that these loud voices have no idea. They have no idea the sacrifices that are made so they can have the privileges they have here in America. These Americans have given a huge part of themselves and their lives to serve and protect our country and our way of life. We need to be louder. We are the majority and we need to make more noise. Our thanks needs to be louder than that bitching and complaints of the leftist activists who hate America. We need to support Veterans and organizations that help provide quality of life to these heroes and their families.
Buy this book. Buy it for yourself, for your dad, for your grandpa, for your kid’s teacher, buy it for your liberal friend. We need to be reminded and remind others of the great sacrifices that have been made and are still being made today (look at our National Guard in 2021) at home and abroad. Celebrate these men and women who are true patriots and drown out the noise of the ungrateful.
