Thank You Sergeant Dreasky

Debbie Schlussel brings sad news. Sgt. Duane Dreasky, a brave U.S. soldier and Army National Guardsman, has passed away. A better man than I could ever hope to be; I'm awestruck by his sense of duty and his patriotism.

The Michigan-based man was the last of several U.S. military victims of a terrorist IED targeted at the HumVee in which they were riding. Despite horrible burns over 75% of his body...

Tomorrow (Saturday) Morning is his funeral. Many readers in the Detroit area have asked me if it is a public service, and, indeed, it is. In fact, unfortunately, protesters are reported planning to demonstrate outside. If you live in the Detroit area, I recommend that you attend.

Listen to Debbie; if you live in Detroit or nearby - go drown out the goddamned protesters. You can find information on the service here; then read the following without crying, I dare you...

"He went out with so much dignity," his wife, Mandeline Dreasky, said Tuesday. "He fought and defied death four times. We had hoped that he would make it." He had been living a life-long dream of serving his country when the Humvee in which he was riding near al-Habbaniyah, Iraq, was hit by an improvised explosive device on Nov. 21, 2005.

He was airlifted out of Iraq and ended up at the San Antonio burn center, where President George W. Bush toured on Jan. 1 and met with soldiers. Sgt. Dreasky, in bandages, tried to salute when Bush entered the room. . . .

Humbling, isn't it? Sadly, there are too many among us today, who think that the ultimate expression of patriotism is to protest, to criticize, and to insult your nation and wish for its defeat. Well I say, grow the fuck up. You can learn something about patriotism from Duane Dreasky. Sometimes it means doing difficult things. Sometimes it means doing dangerous things. Sometimes it means giving up your life for the sake of others and to help preserve a noble ideal.

So the next time you're putting on your unwashed Che Guevara t-shirt and tying on your damned kaffiyeh to go "bravely" protest on the streets of San Francisco, you remember Sgt. Dreasky, and all the other brave men from Lexington & Concord, to Gettysburg, to Flanders Field, to Normandy, to Kabul & Tikrit who have braved things that would make you piss in your $29.50 Old Navy Cargo Pants. Then see if you can muster up a little shame to go with your "righteous indignation" and pat slogans. Then send your next minimum wage paycheck or whatever allowance mommy and daddy give you here:

Duane J. Dreasky Scholarship Foundation
P.O. Box 23116
Lansing, MI 48909-3116

Then see if you can muster up the brain cells to comprehend the sacrifice Duane made for you. You know, the one none of us are even close to being worthy of.

O thus be it ever when free-men shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation;
Blest with victory and peace, may the Heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust!”
And the Star-Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!
~ The Star Spangled Banner, Fourth Stanza