Remember soldiers's dedication to country during holidays

By: Alejandra Ortega Posted: 12/07/09 8:36pm Comments: 0

Today I wanted to take time from around the world to touch on something closer to home.

On Nov. 5, Major Nidal Malik Hasan was a psychiatrist who was going to be sent to the combat zone in Afghanistan. Before he could be deployed, he chose to take a gun, kill 13 and wound at least 28 people at the army base in Fort Hood, Texas. Investigators said he would ignore some while firing many times on others. It is unknown at this time as to why he chose to hurt the people he did. All but one person he murdered were soldiers. Investigators said he fired more than 100 rounds.

Friends, family and neighbors said Hasan was giving away his belongings, saying “I’m not going to need them.” They thought perhaps that it had more to do with the fact he was being deployed; they never once suspected that it was because he planned to die.

Fort Hood is no stranger to violence. Soldiers have returned and committed suicide or murdered others — such as Sgt. Gilberto Mota who killed himself and his wife or Staff Sgt. Justin Lee Garza who committed suicide. However, this mass shooting is considered the worst the army base has faced.

When Hasan began shooting, the soldiers locked the doors that led to their family and friends in hopes to protect them from him. Many hid under tables and did their best to remain still. When police began to arrive on the scene, Hasan was seen running out of the building, chasing after a wounded soldier and attempting to kill him. Sgt. Kimberly Munley managed to get close enough to Hasan to gun him down. She was injured in the process but is said to be recovering.

Events like this are tragic and I often have a hard time wrapping my brain around them. It makes one remember how valuable life is and how much of a risk these soldiers are taking in trying to protect us. It is very easy to take their hard work and our freedom for granted. Last month held Veterans Day and although we used the day to remember soldiers everywhere I hope we can keep the memories even after the holiday.

As we enter winter break, do not forget to remember the soldiers who have fought for you to be able to stay home with your family in peace. President Barack Obama plans to be sending over 30,000 more soldiers to the Middle East. We should not ignore what is happening simply because it is occurring on the other side of the world and not in our back yard.

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One World

Copy editor Alejandra Ortega writes about multicultural issues, the culture of other countries and interviews international students in her blog, One World.

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