This is my response to those that think we have troops, like firefighters, stationed all around the world, ready to rescue stubborn Ambassadors or border crossing students.

My father, trained as both an Army Medic and a Quartermaster, and following all of his brothers, sailed in a military convoy from New York City to Liverpool on his way to WWII in 1944.

On the way, one night, almost all the way across the Atlantic, the ships were attacked by German U-boats.

Each American soldier, sailor and merchant marine knew the risks and the odds. They prayed, each according to his own religious beliefs for better odds, but it was what it was.

One night, only a few hours from Ireland in the fading light, all hell broke loose; alarms, shouts, horns and sirens; ships were zig zagging, and occasionally following others in circles, not realizing that the troop carriers were following the sub hunters. Suddenly it was like a flash of daylight, just for a few milliseconds, and the only thing that registers on the retina is one huge ship almost completely out of the water.....a gaping hole in it below the water line. The cruisers raced off, following the track of the torpedoes, dropping depth charges, while the troop carriers resumed their evasive maneuvers and inched closer to Ireland.

The troop carriers had to move on per protocol; several hours later, the cruisers returned to the site of the sinking, and rescued a few dozen sailors who had been knocked off the decks when the torpedos struck. There were no other survivors. Not one GI from below decks survived. Through an administrative SNAFU, my father was on the wrong ship, while his entire unit, always together since boot camp, was on that fatally wounded ship. He was the only survivor of his unit. This was war.

I was the recipient of this story ONLY once; I was told quite forcefully, that he did not survive that trip, that war, that tour of duty and occupation of Germany, to raise me, for (x) years, only to have me die by my own hand, driving crazy or drinking & driving...............I think I broke my house key off in the front door lock trying to sneak in rather late one morning, and he was waiting for me.

When we put on a police or military uniform or sign up as an FSO or a CIA agent, the risks are many and evident on a daily or hourly basis.

The investigation into what happened in Benghazi will be carried out realistically and within the realm of what was possible under the circumstances. Tripoli, Benghazi, Libya, the CIA, the US Navy and any living witnesses or participants will eventually yield an honest story or evaluation of what happened in and around our Libyan Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, 09/11/2012.

It was not a video game. It is not an APP on your "eye-phone". There is NO reset. You have only one life to give for your country. It should not be a political football.........

Finis.

I became a much better driver, and sometimes, I smile when stopped at a stop sign, counting to three, looking both ways, and I think of my father (1928-2003).

Bill

Originally published   10/27/2012 and "lost" when I was accidentally banned and later re-enabled without content. 

But that's another story.