What Makes a Man?

Now that TB is back with his men I can talk about his trip home for Emergency Leave. It goes without saying that the trip was an emotional one. It may have appeared to the casual observer that TB was thoroughly enjoying himself. He is from the Virgin Islands, St Croix, specifically. When he was in high school, TB’s mother decided to move to North Carolina. He had not been back to St Croix since that time, although his mother and a few siblings moved back several years ago.


It was good for TB to reconnect with childhood friends and family members he hadn’t seen in years, mostly cousins. On the other hand going home forced him to face demons he had buried long ago. For a man who has been through a grueling experience in Iraq and now in Afghanistan, this was a difficult process. To see how he has risen above the difficulties of his childhood to become the man he is now makes me very proud to know him.

I’ve written before about the connection TB has with the children in Afghanistan. I noticed it when he was in Iraq, also. Although he has painful memories that run very deep, he also has good memories that have helped shape him. In September of 1989 category 5 hurricane Hugo destroyed the tiny island of St. Croix. President George H.W. Bush sent troops to St. Croix in Operation Hawkeye to give humanitarian aid, provide security, and rebuild infrastructure. TB was eight years old and that was his first glimpse of American Soldiers. Two decades ago TB and his brothers and sisters were the kids in the pictures we now see of soldiers reaching out to children. They went without running water or electricity for an entire year. He recalls eating MRE's for a year and loving them. The soldiers would stop by and play with them before it got dark and curfew was mandated. That was 20+ years ago but every day when he puts on his uniform, he has a daily reminder of the kindness of those soldiers. TB feels strongly that the children in Iraq and Afghanistan also won’t forget and will "Pay it Forward" someday.