Soldiers' conduct makes everyday issues seem trivial

Watching and reading about our young men and women who are in harm's way makes some of the everyday issues we all face seem rather trivial.

Where do they get young men like this? Military blogger L.T. Smash recounts a televised vignette that requires no further comment:

Martin Savidge of CNN, embedded with the 1st Marine Battalion, was talking with four young Marines near his foxhole live on CNN. He had been telling the story of how well the Marines had been looking out for and taking care of him since the war started. He went on to tell about the many hardships the Marines had endured since the war began and how they all look after one another.

He turned to the four and said he had cleared it with their commanders and they could use his video phone to call home.

The 19-year-old Marine next to him asked Martin if he would allow his platoon sergeant to use his call to call his pregnant wife back home, whom he had not been able to talk to in three months. A stunned Savidge who was visibly moved by the request shook his head and the young Marine ran off to get the sergeant.

Savidge recovered after a few seconds and turned back to the three young Marines still sitting with him and asked which one of them would like to call home first. The Marine closest to him responded without a moment's hesitation: "Sir, if it all the same to you we would like to call the parents of a buddy of ours, Lance Cpl. Brian Buesing of Cedar Key, Fla., who was killed near Nasiriya, to see how they are doing."

At that, Savidge totally broke down and was unable to speak. All he could get out before signing off was, "Where do they get young men like this?"

Carrying the flag for America: In February 1945, American Marines plunged into the surf at Iwo Jima and into history. Through a hail of machine-gun and mortar fire that left the beaches strewn with fallen comrades, they battled to the island's highest peak. And after climbing through a dangerous and miserable landscape of war, they raised a flag.

Just four days into the month-long battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese, the Marines climbed Mount Suribachi, the island's highest point. Using a 100-pound length of pipe that was part of the Japanese army's rain drainage system, they lifted the American flag into place. The flag was a beacon of hope and pride. It was the first American flag to fly on Japanese territory.

Iwo Jima was a pivotal point in the battle in the Pacific theater. With two airstrips and a location 600 miles from Tokyo, it was heavily guarded by the Japanese as a refueling stop for its forces. The island was riddled with Japanese tunnels and 22,000 uncompromising defenders who would fight to the last man. After a 36-day battle, 26,000 of the 80,000 Marines sent ashore were killed or wounded.

This type of uncommon valor was a common virtue among America's fighting men who fought to defend the United States against imperialist aggressors. Marines were men of common virtue, doing instinctively what they had been trained to do. In their eyes, they were just doing their duty, but their heroic actions echo permanently in our hearts and minds.

We are free today because of these people, who were willing to go out and risk their lives, and in some cases lose their lives, so freedom could survive. -- Heritage Foundation.

Inspirational family stories from the war: Even amid the carnage of war we find stories of bravery and professionalism that truly are inspiring. The Washington Post, for example, published a front-page story about an Iraqi lawyer named Mohammed and his family. Risking their own lives, Mohammed and his wife informed the U.S. Marines about the location of American POW Jessica Lynch under guard in an Iraqi hospital. This information led to Lynch's dramatic rescue. Mohammed carried messages between the hospital and U.S. forces.

"A person is a human being regardless of nationality, " Mohammed told the Post. "Believe me, I love Americans." Mohammed and his family are now under the protection of our military forces. Thank God for this decent and courageous man.

Elsewhere, cable TV news junkies continue to be impressed with the cool professionalism of Army Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks, who has ably shouldered the unenviable duty of briefing the international press daily in Qatar. "He is an example of what happens when you include your children in everything you do as a family," family friend Maj. Gen. James R. Klugh told The Washington Times. "You breed success."

Gen. Brooks graduated at the top of his class at West Point and was raised in a military family. His father is a retired brigadier general and his brother is commandant of cadets at West Point. Gen. Brooks, who commanded a peacekeeping unit in Kosovo, is unflappable under the pressure of sparing with an often hostile press corps. Thank God that America still produces such families as the Brooks family. -- Washington Update

Hot spots: The United States faces numerous overseas challenges beyond war in Iraq.

N. Korea will keep tensions high to win direct talks with President Bush. It now refuses to attend even routine border security talks in Panmunjom. Still, there's a good chance China will eventually broker direct talks.

Unrest in Venezuela and Nigeria continues to reduce oil exports from two important suppliers. Venezuela's Chavez is tightening his grip on power, and a referendum on his presidency will be delayed or scrapped.

A guerrilla war raging in Columbia shows no sign of cooling down. The United States may end up increasing military aid to embattled President Uribe.

Brazil's new government is in economic trouble with heavy debts. A worldwide economic slump from a long Iraq war would be a major blow.

Castro is cracking down on dissidents under cover of war in Iraq. Jailing pro-democracy petitioners will make foreign investors uneasy and hurt U.S. business groups' efforts to relax our Cuban trade embargo.

India-Pakistan tensions are rising, with new violence in Kashmir. But for now, at least, U.S. moves to reduce military threats are working.

And our relations with Russia have been shaken by the war. With evidence of Russian arms aid to Iraq, Bush has lost trust in Putin.

All in all ... no end to tension and crises for the United States to juggle. -- Private newsletter