Commentary

Every Soldier a Hero

More than 500 U.S. GI’s have died in the Middle East over the last year and a half. Unfortunately, some soldiers do not take the journey home in an airplane seat, but in a casket, honorably draped with the flag of the United States. The current war has brought with it many changes— the most groundbreaking of which has been the 24 hour news coverage, bringing updates and statistics every several minutes. However, the media’s involvement has caused a problem. In the wake of many GI deaths, the media tends to latch on to one particular soldier by giving him or her special recognition over the other soldiers that are serving in the armed forces; the media is ignoring the thousands of other soldiers presently occupying the Middle East. Every soldier is doing his or her duty to the United States, and singling out only one soldier among thousands to celebrate his accomplishments is a practice that is unfair and unjust to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. On April 22, 2004 Pat Tillman, an Army Ranger, was killed in a firefight along the Pakistani border in Afghanistan. Tillman, 27, was a former professional football player for the Arizona Cardinals. For more than a week, Tillman’s face was on the major news networks and their corresponding websites. These networks cited him as a hero, not merely because he served his country, but rather that he gave up a multi-million dollar contract to do it. Every soldier gives up something important to serve in the United States Military. Whether that is a family, job, home or something else, each and every soldier sacrifices a part of his or her life to fight for the United States. Recognizing one such soldier as being more special than others by singling him out of all the rest is unfair to the thousands of other soldiers who are stationed abroad. By honoring Tillman’s death to the extent that they did, the media is saying that a contract with the NFL is more important than a family or friendship. The media explosion over Pat Tillman is not the first time the media has singled out one soldier. In April of 2003, Private First Class Jessica Lynch was rescued from a hospital in Iraq after she was captured during an ambush, in which eleven soldiers were killed. After her videotaped rescue by a unit of Marines, the media turned Lynch into a national hero. They stressed her hardships as a woman in the military and citied her individual bravery in the face of overwhelming danger; she is now a nationally recognized celebrity. One soldier should not receive special recognition which elevates her to the status of celebrity. Although her rescue was an incredible operation, Lynch was not the only one involved. By showcasing Lynch on the television, in books, and in a made-for-television movie about her, the media is singling her out from the other soldiers, even though they all deserve equal appreciation. Although Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch are American heroes for their service in the United States military, they are not the only two. Every man or woman who picks up an assault rifle against an enemy in defense of the United States should be considered a hero. However, the media singles out soldiers who are “special,” whether that means the soldier is a woman in an unfortunate situation or a former professional sports player. By celebrating individual soldiers with unique circumstances, the media is ignoring the thousands of others who are fighting and dying. The media should celebrate the military as a whole for its efforts, not one individual soldier with an interesting background.