For many veterans who return home from battlefields, they often find themselves in another battle - a battle with their own mental health.
Brian MastRead
As a career Army bomb technician, I have seen real heroism in the Ranger warfighters I stalked Afghanistan with each night and in the injured combatants whom I healed alongside in Walter Reed Army Medical Center after losing the two legs God gave me.
Interpretation
The quote reflects on the true heroism exhibited by soldiers and the resilience of those affected by war.
Brian Mast's quote conveys a profound respect for the courage and heroism displayed by his fellow soldiers during conflicts in Afghanistan, as well as the determination of injured combatants who endure the challenges of rehabilitation. It underscores the sacrifices made in war and the strength found in overcoming adversity, highlighting that heroism exists not only on the battlefield but also in the aftermath of trauma and healing.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a speech honoring veterans and their sacrifices.
For many veterans who return home from battlefields, they often find themselves in another battle - a battle with their own mental health.
I became a bomb technician because I wanted to save lives. I nearly gave my own life for that - I lost both my legs and a finger when a roadside bomb detonated beneath me - and have known more heroes than I can count who died defending others.
Black Power simply means: Look at me, I'm here. I have dignity. I have pride. I have roots. I insist, I demand that I participate in those decisions that affect my life and the lives of my children. It means that I am somebody.
When fear makes your choices for you, no security measures on earth will keep the things you dread from finding you. But if you can avoid avoidance - if you can choose to embrace experiences out of passion, enthusiasm, and a readiness to feel whatever arises - then nothing, nothing in all this dangerous world, can keep you from being safe.
The characteristic of genuine heroism is its persistency. All men have wandering impulses, fits and starts of generosity. But when you have resolved to be great, abide by yourself, and do not weakly try to reconcile yourself with the world. The heroic cannot be the common, nor the common the heroic.
A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.
When I was younger, I had these romantic ideas about the Black Panther Party and what it meant to be a part of the civil rights movement. Then we're here, and it's dangerous. And it's dangerous to say, 'Black lives matter.'
I decided to start a medical training program for freelancers, only freelancers. They're the ones who are doing most of the combat reporting. They're taking most of the risks. They're absorbing most of the casualties. And they're the most underserved and under-resourced of everyone in the entire news business.
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