Storytelling 101

I'm hesitant to jump into any sort of argument, but I wanted to give my two cents on this.

In general, I think you may be forgetting the point of the essay. The essay wasn't meant to convey how bad ass this guy is because of this one particular instance. It was meant to convey his particular philosophy of life, which is just as valid and admirable as that of a soldier. The essay was an illustration of what that philosophy entails, just as I'm sure whatever story you write about is an illustration of yours. If you deconstruct the essence of what makes being a solid admirable with that of being an altruist in the face of adversity, you'll find that they aren't too different. The difference is just in the manner in which they manifest themselves.

Which brings me to the real reason I wanted to respond to this. I'd caution my military colleagues to not fall into the trap of thinking that military service is the only manner in which someone can display virtue. It certainly is one way, but it's important to realize in the real world it isn't the only way. It's easy to lose sight of that in the world of different colored berets, hooah, If you can't Cav.., and Rangers lead the way. Nevertheless, the fact remains that there are those everyday who display more virtue in just surviving than any of us could ever reasonably hope (or should want )to display in our lifetimes. That's just how it goes and the sooner you realize that, the better off you'll be. Otherwise, you'll waste a lot of time giving yourself a heartache trying to make a qualitative judgement that you probably have no business making in the first place. You know what you've done and whether or not its worthwhile. That's all that matters -- don't waste your time worrying about whether or not other people have as well.

My $.02