April 11, 2005

A True Warrior

     CPL Watkins, like many of us, left behind a message to be read if he didn't make it home safely.  He left it with his best friend, who honored us all by reading it during the memorial ceremony.  Here is the man in his own words:

Please do not despair nor grieve for me. Be proud and talk highly of me for I have done what I was called to do. As a young boy watching "The Green Berets" with John Wayne, I knew a life in the military was my life and possibly my death. I feared not the unknown and so I set forth on this journey knowing full well what it might mean. I must go for now, stand firm and take up this fight. Oh yes, I intend to fight hard for I have reason to come home. If you are reading this, then you know I have failed at my task. Only life threw me a curve, a man seldom has a choice in the manner of his death. It is only the manner in which he lives that is a mark of a true warrior.”

Apr 11, 2005 12:39:00 AM | Deployment Blues

8 Comments

Gucci rado
It was only weeks later that I found out that not everyone was.

Posted by: Gucci rado | August 13, 2010 at 19:38

Harmony
God bless all our men and women serving us!

Posted by: Harmony | September 02, 2006 at 14:11

YankeePaPa13
Amen.. Semper Fildelis..

Posted by: YankeePaPa13 | May 25, 2005 at 18:39

Kelley
Stay focused, maintain the course and you honor Cpl Watkins and all our other brave souls..... Hang tough and know we all stand with you... you guys rock Capt B......

Posted by: Kelley | April 21, 2005 at 07:56

A Serving Soldier
"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived." -- General George S. Patton

Posted by: A Serving Soldier | April 21, 2005 at 05:07

Subsunk
A Man among Men. God Bless All in his House. Subsunk

Posted by: Subsunk | April 21, 2005 at 04:58

Subsunk
A Man among Men. God Bless All in his House. Subsunk

Posted by: Subsunk | April 21, 2005 at 04:58

Huntress
"No me saques sin rason. No me embaines sin honor"; meaning "Do not draw me without justice, do not sheathe me without honor" As I read this letter written by Cpl Watkins, the above quote came to mind. In the distant past, The Knights Templars swore that they would never draw their swords unless convinced of the justice of the cause in which they were engaged, nor to sheathe it until their enemies were subdued. That seems to embody how Cpl Watkins lived and died.

Posted by: Huntress | April 21, 2005 at 03:53

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Lahaim The afternoon of CPL Watkins memorial service was framed by a gunmetal sky. As soldiers gathered in tight knots of grief the pregnant clouds rolled overhead, pushed along by unsteady gusts of wind. The memorial took place on the FOB basketball court, a utilitarian patch of concrete on the edge of a field surrounded by dust and dried mud. The centerpoint was a simple memorial built on a neat stack of sandbags lying in the center of the court. The memorial included CPL Watkins weapon with bayonet, his Kevlar helmet, his boots, and his dog tags, all flanked by two framed pictures of better and brighter days. To the right of the memorial the American flag and our Battalion colors flapped slowly in the breeze. To the left of the memorial sat CPL Watkins commanders, from squad leader to Battalion Commander, all there to pay their respects. In the minutes leading up to the memorial approached soldiers formed into tight formations and then on command filed into the bleachers and folding seats with oil slick precision. During the memorial CPL Watkins commanders and best friends provided a glimpse into just how great a man we had lost. For those who...
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