| EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE
Friday, December 18, 2009
By Paul Aronsohn
The Ridgewood News
It was a special moment.
A young man was recognized as he prepared for his second deployment to Iraq. A mother was recognized as her son - recently injured during combat duty - prepared for his return to the war zone. And a host of veterans and families were recognized for their sacrifice and selfless service to country.
The annual "Blue Star" dinner in Ridgewood, organized by American Legion Post 53, was an event unlike any other - low key, no frills, but high in spirit and large in meaning and significance.
Ridgewood is home to 38 Blue Star families - those with loved ones serving in the military - and being able to attend their annual dinner is one of my greatest honors as a councilman.
Looking out across the room, you could see and feel the presence of greatness - men and women who embody an unparalleled sense of patriotism and courage. They are our friends. They are our neighbors. And when we need them most, they are our protectors.
In all, more than 17,000 New Jerseyans have served in Iraq and/or Afghanistan - places that are, for many of us, all-too-familiar, yet remain all-too-distant. We read about them. We talk about them. But at the end of the day, we don't always think too much about them.
For the Blue Star families, however, Iraq and Afghanistan are all-too-real and all-too-close to home. They watch the news stories. They listen to the debates. But they don't have the luxury or ability to stop thinking about them. After all, they don't know when, or even if, they will ever again see or hear or laugh with their sons, daughters or spouses. This is the frightening truth that haunts them, each and every day. And this is the burden they carry with them, each and every day.
Granted, these are challenging times for many families throughout our community, including those not directly affected by the two wars - lost jobs, lost homes, lost dreams. People throughout northern New Jersey, not to mention the rest of the country, have been struggling financially, emotionally and spiritually.
But for the Blue Star families, the recession is merely a backdrop against which they live their lives and the debates over health care and climate change are merely background noise. War is their issue - brutal, seemingly endless war.
Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Bruce Springsteen wrote a poignant tribute to the firefighters who climbed the stairs of the World Trade Center buildings, underscoring the heroism and higher calling that led hundreds of these brave men to risk their own lives for the sake of others. Called "Into the Fire," the song brilliantly speaks to the sense of duty that drives extraordinary people to do extraordinary things.
The Blue Star families and their active duty sons, daughters and spouses are such extraordinary people - willing to march "into the fire" in Iraq, Afghanistan or some other dangerous hot spot and willing to risk their lives and their futures in order to protect ours.
So, as we turn the corner into a new, hopefully better, year, let us all keep the Blue Star families in our prayers and in our hearts because, despite any upturn in the economy or progress on health care reform, their pain continues. Their worry persists. Their loved ones continue to serve.
And let us learn from their example. To paraphrase the Springsteen song, "May their strength give us strength, may their faith give us faith, may their hope give us hope, may their love give us love."
Ridgewood Councilman Paul Aronsohn is the proud son of Lt. Harry Aronsohn, USAF (Ret.). |
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