You don't often see a tough Marine cry. It happened Monday in Miami, and the Marine was the biggest one of them all, Gen. Peter Pace, who's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In charge of all U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines, Coast Guard, too. What made this man choke up in a public setting?
You can read the Miami Herald's version of it here:
http://www.miami.com/....
My take below the fold.
I was sitting a few rows back and 40 feet left of where the four-star general was testifying before a "road show" hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Pace was talking about the immigrant experience in the military, the topic of the hearing. The choice was a little odd, I thought. Pace is not an immigrant. His parents, though, did come from Italy. There are many immigrants in the military,including a recent chief of staff, Gen. Shalikashvili.
Anyway, Pace got into his statement and when he started talking about his parents, it was clear that his emotions were bubbling up. He stopped speaking, He gulped. A long pause, then a few more words. A pause again. Finally he got through without any big sobs.
The senators were tender and helpful to him. Ted Kennedy, John Warner, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Mel Martinez were on the dais and most of them commented. Graham, never one to step back from the obvious, seemed to be trying to get Pace going again with something he said, but Pace had it under control and said it was his Italian heritage that made him well up.
Well, I wonder. I'm a Vietnam combat vet myself, like Pace, though my experience wasn't as traumatic as his. My emotions well up, too, when I talk about my late parents, or about the flag, or politics or political corruption and untruthful leaders. I put some of this down to a mild case of post-traumatic stress disorder, a problem that afflicts old soldiers. In my case, I wasn't bothered by it for a long time but in recent years it seems to be more of a problem.
What I wonder is whether the chairman of the Joint Chiefs should have this problem. Is this good for our troops? For national security? Is he getting treatment? All he was doing was talking about his parents and siblings. Does he do this all the time? Or only in Miami? Can we trust this man with bringing our troops home? With fashioning a new policy for Guantanamo?
A footnote: The Miami Herald said his name means Peace in Italian, and would be pronounced Pah'-cheh.