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Why Men Who Have Been To War Yearn To Reunite

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I now understand why men who have been to war yearn to reunite. It isn't to share stories or relive old memories, nor to laugh or weep together. They come together because they long to be among those who once rose to their finest selves, men who endured and sacrificed side by side, stripped to the raw truth of their humanity. I did not choose these men; fate and the military placed us together. Yet I know them in a way I will never know any others.

I have never given anyone such trust. They were willing to guard something more precious than my life. They would have carried my reputation, the memory of me. It was part of the bargain we all made, the reason we were so willing to die for one another. As long as I have memory, I will think of them all, every day. I am sure that when I leave this world, my last thought will be of my family and my comrades.

Such good men!