Patterico's Pontifications

5/9/2009

One, Two, Three, Currihee

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 6:43 pm



Trust me, this short article is worth your time.

UPDATE: Allahpundit has video.

22 Responses to “One, Two, Three, Currihee”

  1. Patterico, thank you for posting that. I have such admiration for the troops, and for General Petraeus.

    “Stand alone,” indeed. Not in the Service.

    Now, if only the TdJ types can just leave this post alone….

    Eric Blair (34f123) — 5/9/2009 @ 7:10 pm

  2. Oh gosh. So very well worth our time to read…

    Dana (4a6e8c) — 5/9/2009 @ 7:23 pm

  3. A very heartening story. Thanks for linking.

    Tim McGarry (9fe080) — 5/9/2009 @ 7:24 pm

  4. Wow.

    carlitos (aa025a) — 5/9/2009 @ 7:58 pm

  5. Good article – very moving.

    voiceforeason2 (9d4284) — 5/9/2009 @ 8:10 pm

  6. Just amazing. Congratulations to Lt. Brennan and his family. And thanks to Gen. Petraeus, whose ability to inspire reach even unto the hospital.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407) — 5/9/2009 @ 8:55 pm

  7. This is General Betray-US, correct?

    Great link, Patterico.

    JD (ed689d) — 5/9/2009 @ 9:24 pm

  8. The comments on the cbs site really say a lot about who is still watching that network for news.

    A huge portion of them simply spew venom at the family of the wounded vet for using the word ‘miracle’ (since people were killed and wounded and this proves God doesn’t exist, of course), and many of the rest just bashing war in general, even though it improved the lives of tens of millions.

    Juan (4cdfb7) — 5/9/2009 @ 9:45 pm

  9. “Wow” is right.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493) — 5/9/2009 @ 11:34 pm

  10. very touching. Imagine the progress in the war on terrorism if a sizable portion of the citizenry were not patriotic and not supporting the enemy. Looks like Obama will enable Islam hudna against Israel. Can you imagine all the soldiers like Lt. Brennan sacrificing so much and then having the left snatch defeat again from the arms of victory?

    This hero should be a shining example to all of us.

    aoibhneas (0c6cfc) — 5/10/2009 @ 3:46 am

  11. wow

    FLBuckeye (2b6265) — 5/10/2009 @ 9:01 am

  12. A very touching story.

    Those multiple layers of professional editing the MSM is so famous for seem to be missing. The video shows the word as Currahee and yet the article incorrectly spells it Currihee…five times.

    PC14 (82e46c) — 5/10/2009 @ 10:12 am

  13. A great story that we need more of, like this one:
    http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/06/05/320639.aspx

    AD - RtR/OS! (b39970) — 5/10/2009 @ 4:04 pm

  14. Wow. I must be one extraordinarily mean, coldhearted son-of-a-bitch, because glurge like this entirely fails to move me.

    Voice of Reason (f912ba) — 5/10/2009 @ 7:47 pm

  15. I don’t think you are cold hearted. “Cold-hearted” is when you pull a Keyser Soze if your family acts weak or lacks reason. Besides, you are probably accusing yourself of something you admire – like saying “wow, I am so disappointed I have an amazingly large penis.” Ironically such a statement only convinces the listener that the opposite is true and such a declarant is insecure as well. But I am sure you are the exception. Stands to reason, eh?

    Californio (6657ce) — 5/11/2009 @ 1:06 am

  16. PS – opposite of large, not opposite of “disappointed”

    Californio (6657ce) — 5/11/2009 @ 1:08 am

  17. If I’m ever unconscious, I expect my friends to put my fire pager next to my head and trigger our tones, I bet i’ll be halfway to the firehouse before I realize what happened. Amazing what the subconscious mind can do. Of course, now i have to go watch Band of Brothers for the 42nd time.

    Thatguy (eb09ed) — 5/11/2009 @ 6:00 am

  18. Californio, while I’ve seen the movie and am familiar with the interesting portrayal by Kevin Spacey, I must confess that I have no idea what you mean by “pull a Keyser Soze (sic)”. Could you amplify? And while I may or may not admire cold-hearted son-of-a-bitchiness, in this case I merely state it as a matter of fact, judging from the universal opinion on this thread of the linked article to which I am the sole exception. I came away feeling that, despite having trusted Patterico, the article was not worth my time, and ventured into the comment thread expecting to find others expressing the same opinion about this saccharine glurge. I’ve always known I’m different, yet I’m still sometimes surprised by how much. Am I proud of that? As Sarah Palin might say, “You betcha!”

    Seriously, guys, what is this? The shaman incants the magic word, and lo, the wounded warrior is healed? Except he’s not exactly healed, per se, because he does still have both legs blown off at the hips and a brain injury, plus his three teammates are dead, but currihee! it looks like approximately one-eighth of the four men who went on that expedition made it back alive, so what an uplifting and heartwarming story this is! All of you acting like Lt. Brennan is blessed recipient of a divine miracle, and not a one of you would but recoil in horror if offered the opportunity to trade places with him.

    Voice of Reason (f912ba) — 5/11/2009 @ 11:22 pm

  19. VOR,

    I know we will never agree about this story but I cannot leave your statement unchallenged.

    What’s inspiring about this story isn’t Petraeus saying a magic word. It’s the resilience of the human spirit in the face of great tragedy, and the fact that a bond between brothers could be so strong that saying Currahee, a word that has special meaning to him and his men, could bring Lt. Brennan back to consciousness.

    I doubt anyone would want to experience what Lt. Brennan has faced nor would I wish it on anyone else, but I hope I face my challenges with the courage and resolve he’s shown.

    Finally, Yes, Lt. Brennan is the blessed recipient of a divine miracle. In fact, he is doubly blessed because he has been given a second chance at life.

    DRJ (b0f193) — 5/11/2009 @ 11:39 pm

  20. VOR – Seriously, guys, what is this?

    He was exceptionally injured and made an exceptional recovery. What could have been a complete tragedy has a bright spot of hope. I don’t think that it is strange for people to gravitate to that story. I celebrate his recovery, and what this is, to me, is just one more piece of information that reminds me that my own troubles are infinitesimal in comparison.

    Apogee (e2dc9b) — 5/12/2009 @ 12:16 am

  21. VOR, the Petraus Brennan story is about making the best of an awful situation for a person who has selflessly risked his life and received injury because his country asked him to serve in harms way.

    This is extremely basic stuff.

    Of course a person in a coma, who is not expected to recover, is grateful for recovery. And a person who has grown into a person who transcends the bonds of human greed by being part of something bigger than any person, the US Military, is a miracle in and of itself.

    but I guess if you don’t get it I can’t explain it.

    Juan (4cdfb7) — 5/12/2009 @ 2:41 am

  22. “Keyser Soze” refers to the scene recounting how “cold-hearted” and ruthless he(albeit a character in a movie) was. The set-up…. a rival criminal gang had raped his wife in front of his young son, when Keyser came home the thugs thought they would exploit the shock of this to break him and eliminate his will to resist. The two gang member perps expected Keyser Soze to “fold” – however he “raised” them by killing his wife and young son then and there without reflection and one of the thugs – he then allowed the remaining thug to live in order to give a message of impending reckoning against the gang. (which,in the story, he then hunted down and killed them all)

    If the brain-injury story just failed to resonate with you at any level, that would not prompt me to label you “cold-hearted”. Kill a beloved family member who is being held hostage to eliminate that source of leverage over you – that , Sir, is cold-hearted.

    I heard a military medal holder state that to him, being a “hero” only meant being in the wrong place, at the wrong time with the right people. I would not want to get shot at or have people trying to blow me up – but I would count myself blessed to have been shoulder to shoulder with persons I grew to respect and could count on – that is so rare in life. I am glad the injured soldier is getting better – I would wish that upon anyone so injured – whether by car accident or military service.

    Californio (6657ce) — 5/12/2009 @ 10:16 pm


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