Today, eleven years after the September 11 attacks, there is controversy over the revelation that U.S. Navy SEAL Team Six was responsible for killing Osama bin Laden. It may be too much to ask that politicians or the media keep the role of special operations forces under wraps, but SEALs themselves should not become part of the problem, as "Mark Owen" has with No Easy Day.
The first character I created was a Navy SEAL, and for research I read many SEAL memoirs and novels. I mostly scrapped the character, but above all I came to respect the SEALs' commitment to secrecy. It should not be too much to ask someone to be satisfied knowing he did what he did.
Earlier this year, the movie Act of Valor was the first to feature active-duty SEALs as actors, possibly endangering the men's lives and exposing SEAL tactics, yet U.S. SOCOM commander Adm. William McRaven, himself a SEAL, signed off on the movie.
We all have parts of our lives we struggle through, parts it would not help anyone to discuss. Quiet endurance can be more heroic than any story told. Today I salute the SEALs and soldiers, police, fire, and rescue workers whose names we've never heard. I salute anyone bearing burden silently.
No comments:
Post a Comment