One of them was in my classroom.
He and his comrades are called “America’s Horse Soldiers.”
Right after 9-11 American elite special forces soldiers secretly entered Afghanistan to battle and defeat the Taliban.
The exploits of these American heroes is well documented in Doug Stanton’s book Horse Soldiers. 
Alex Quade was an embedded journalist with similar units winning the Edward R. Morrow award for her “Horse Soldiers of 9/11.”
Now studying theology, this special forces veteran–one of those “horse soldiers”– ate lunch with me during one of our classes. I peppered him with questions. I sat in awe of what he could tell me. Three combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq gave him a unique perspective.
Riveting stories aside, what struck me most was his dedication to country, his humility in service, and his love of freedom . . . for all people.
Freedom. All desire it. A few of our bravest fight and sometimes die for it.
I was honored to sit in the presence of a man who had fought for my freedom. I was privileged to hear his stories that day.
And on this day, Veterans Day, I thank my student, every veteran from my classes, and all the men and women of the United States military who have given of themselves for all the rest of us.
Dr. Eckel,
Thank you for your vigilant patriotism and relentless reverberating reminder to look and learn from history so as to not repeat it (George Santayana).
I would love to know more about the sculpture you show at the top of the post, can you share the artist & name/location of the piece?
I remember you sharing after your lunch with the veteran/student, and thank you for sharing Doug Stanton’s book. I am pondering trying to read this book to my dad via skype, who is a Vietnam vet, cowboy and who has been debilitated by Parkinson’s Disease.
Shalom