The Sharp Knife

Image courtesy: Department of Defense

With the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor fast approaching, a U.S. soldier named Sgt. Ryan Sharp died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, which was twice the epicenter of world wars. Before Thanksgiving, the American warrior was seriously wounded in Afghanistan when terrorists attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

In If I Die Young and American Buffalo, this blog referenced a hit song by The Band Perry that has a striking place in our society, which is protected by young men and women who fight overseas for their brothers and sisters on the home front.

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life
Well I've had just enough time

While Sgt. Sharp, 28, patrolled southern Afghanistan, his two beautiful daughters, Sarah, 8, and Mia, 6, waited in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for their daddy to come home.

Image courtesy: KIFI-TV

After the IED exploded on Nov. 21, Sharp battled for an incredible 13 days in Afghanistan and Germany. According to Sven Berg of the Idaho Statesman, the soldier dad's will to live gave his parents, David and Lynnette Sharp, the chance to fly to Germany and say goodbye.

"He was a very loving, kind, tender-hearted man," Sharp's aunt, Lisa Pardonnet, told the newspaper.

The thought of Sarah and Mia growing up without their dad is crushing. But even though I didn't have the honor of meeting Sgt. Ryan Sharp, I believe that there was likely nothing more important to him than his daughters growing up in a land of peace and freedom.

After the terrorist atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, which rocked America like no other day since the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today, a long line of men and women have volunteered to serve their country in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world. They are absolutely a new Greatest Generation, and after more books about these remarkable men and women are written, I believe they will be held in the same regard as the valiant heroes who won World War II.

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I've been singing
Funny when you're dead how people start listening

Are we listening to the moving, patriotic songs of sacrifice that our fallen heroes are singing for all of us?

The national media certainly isn't, and many Americans remain disengaged with the ongoing war in Afghanistan and the conflict in Iraq, which is nearing its conclusion. If Americans had become complacent at any point during World War II, failing to see the impact that day-to-day events in Europe and the Pacific would have on our daily lives for years to come, it would have been even more difficult for the Allies to defeat the dark forces of evil.

During this time of war, while our enemies actively plot and plan against us, the lessons this nation learned on Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001, could not be more relevant. Had brave generations of Americans not been willing to confront our enemies, our Republic would have fallen.

The reason I greatly admire Sgt. Ryan Sharp is because regardless of how often he thought about Pearl Harbor or 9/11, he understood those lessons and personified the noble cause of defending freedom. While no child's heart should have to feel the sharp knife of a parent's short life, this soldier's daughters can grow up with enormous pride. Like a generation of valiant warriors before him, this father made sure his children would always be free.

Image courtesy: U.S. Army