As the holidays approach, I find myself thinking of my brother Gladimir. I've never met him, but I'd like to tell you a few things about him anyway.
It's an odd name: "Gladimir." It sounds sort of like a cross between "gladiator" and "Vladimir." Funny, huh?
So what can I tell you about him?
His parents were Baby Boomers. They remembered Ed Sullivan, Don Cornelius, Otis Redding, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley so well it practically coursed through their veins. Aretha Franklin was a source of immense pride for them. As their son, he absorbed those names with his mother's milk.
Growing up, he had a vague awareness of who Richard Nixon was. Nothing definitive, nothing specific, but he kind of remembered the resignation speech. He also vaguely--very vaguely--remembered when Neil Armstrong first set foot on the moon. He knew what the Vietnam War was, in a visceral way. Although he couldn't tell you when it started, or exactly why America got involved in it, he knew some older men who served there, and who had very little good to say about it.
The first Presidents he clearly remembered were the aging Jimmy Carter and the exuberant Ronald Reagan. The most formative memory of national tragedy in his life, prior to 9/11, was the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. Even though he may not have liked President Reagan, he vividly remembered Reagan's speech about how those seven astronauts slipped the surly bonds of Earth and touched the face of God.
He also had a pretty clear memory of the same President saying, "Mr. Gorbechev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbechev, tear down this wall!" Even though he didn't know quite what it all meant, even though he and his family may not have liked that President, it still struck a chord in him, made him shiver and nod in assent.
He saw the emergence of rap music as a mainstream art form. He could tell you who KRS-1 and Run-DMC were, and he could tell you why the first was more important than the second. Whether he was a fan or not, he also saw the emergence of punk rock, including such artists as The Clash, U2, and Blondie. He may have snickered, but if you asked him about Frankie Goes to Hollywood or A Flock Of Seagulls, he'd tell you who they were. He could also tell you who Eddie Van Halen was, and the names of the lace-clad strumpets who sang Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Like A Virgin, and Cruel Summer.
He saw a balding TV star named Bruce Willis turn into a major box office smash. He saw a low-budget Sci-Fi movie called The Terminator transform an awkward Austrian bodybuilder into a major movie star. He saw a charismatic young black man named Will Smith go from obscure rap artist to one of Hollywood's most sought-after stars. He saw black men named Ving Rhames and Samuel L. Jackson turn an oddball flick named Pulp Fiction into an all-time classic.
He didn't know quite what to make of it when President Clinton was impeached, but he was vaguely relieved when Clinton wasn't thrown out of office.
He tried to be blase, tried to believe that race issues were irrelevent, but he cried a little when he saw Halle Berry win her Academy Award. He tried not to let anyone see those tears, though.
I didn't know my brother Gladimir. I never met him. When I tell the tale of his life, I admit that I'm mostly guessing. Yet there are a few things about his life that I am absolutely certain of, know for a fact to be true:
Gladimir Phillppe was born in New Jersey in 1966, the same year I was born. He chose a careeer in military service. And on June 25th, 2003, Gladimir Phillipe was killed in action by enemy fire in Iraq.
In supporting this war, I helped to send him to his death.
I think of my brother Gladimir regularly. He was a better man than I.
I was born in March, 1966. He's a better man than me.
I am sorry for your loss, and thankful to your brother's service. I hope you can find the solace and peace to not blame yourself for your support of the war. I wish you and your family the best and pray for your brother.
Bless you. Thank you for this post; I wish it did not have to exist. Maybe one day...
I am glad they are honoring the soldiers by having their pictures and names at the Washington Post. They get good human points in my book.
I want to bless you too Dean for posting this picture of Gladimir Phillippe, for he too was my brother. I do hope The Washington Post will continue to show this respect for our soldiers.
Not wanting to be picky, but he died on the 25th.
"The most formative memory of national tragedy in his life, prior to 9/11, was the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia."
That would have been the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger.
Thank you Dean.
I know the blogging community has a reputation for fact-checking each other, but for crying out loud, people, the man's opening up his heart here. Give it a rest, will ya?
Glitches fixed. Thanks guys.
Bless you and your brother Dean. Thank you for his sacrifice for us.
Now to your grave shall friend and stranger
With ruth and some with envy come:
Undishonoured, clear of danger,
Clean of guilt, pass hence and home.
Turn safe to rest, no dreams, no waking;
And here, man, here's the wreath I've made:
'Tis not a gift that's worth the taking,
But wear it and it will not fade. -
A.E. Houseman, Shropshire Lad
You didn't help send him to his death. He voluntarily went and gave his life for you, me and freedom. He knew the risks and was willing to take them so you didn't have too.
God bless him.
“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”- Thomas Jefferson
Please accept my condolences for your brother's death. He chose to serve his country, to, "stand on a wall, and say, 'No one's going to hurt you tonight, not on my watch.'" And I, for one, am very grateful.
It is proper that we should mourn his loss, but we should also celebrate the fact that people such as your brother have graced our lives. We owe our freedom to men and women of his courage and character.
I know you consider yourself responsible for your brother's death, but perhaps, these lines may help to ease your heart.
Riyadh delenda est!
He died defending his freedom, and yours, and mine. Bless him. Honor him. And let those of us still standing carry on as best we can, either by fighting or else by supporting those who fight, to victory.
Dean,
Thank you for the reminder that war is so costly. It costs each one of us - personally. Good men and women - people that are loved by and precious to their families and friends - lose their lives or suffer terrible injuries.
We tend to forget that. We make it a numbers game - how many dollars were spent or how many casualties there were on a given day. We forget that war is really about people.
Is it worth it? Only when the costs of not going to war are tremendous. When our nation is in grave danger or people elsewhere are being tremendously abused, without hope of relief.
I am saddened when soldiers, journalists, diplomats, aid workers, and others are killed or injured. I wish that it wasn't necessary, but in this case, I think it is. Iraq had to be rid of Saddam Hussein and his Baathist thugs. The cost of leaving him in place was too high. I'm really glad that he was captured and can face justice. I believe that capturing Saddam brings Iraq one small step closer to being truly free and democratic, and it will bring some relief to the many who suffered because of his evil.
Gladimir Phillipe gave his life in a just cause - protecting our country and bringing freedom to Iraq - but that doesn't lessen the loss.
"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:13
The wall between evil and good are often protected by common men doing uncommon deeds, uncommon valor by those who chose to serve. This has been the nature and history of our nation, a nation founded on the belief of the rights of man. Freedom has a cost; we live free by being willing to die for that freedom.."we hang together of we hang separately"
The U.S. is unique in the world; we are willing to go to battle, to die, to expend fantastic funds, to make another nation free, another people free, and expect no other reward than saying welcome to the world, look at post W2 Germany and Japan, did we demand war payments, (as did France after WW1) No!
We took upon ourselves to develop the 'Marshal (sp) Plan, the rebuilding of Europe. It cost the US a hell of a lot of money, but it made a lot of people free from the USSR. (I remember the 'Care Packeges' of the late '40's and the '50's' where we were urged to send food and clothing to Europe for the aid of those decimatided by the war)
We gave Japan a constitution that lives to this day, a constition that gives equal rights to women and all citizens.
What did we get from all of this, from the hundred of thousands of U.S. deaths over the years, from the millons,l no, the billions of dollars spent in our effort to make the world a place of peace, we get hate.
We are the most powerful nation in the history of the planet!
Yet all we ask is, "live your life free and let us live ours"
Sorry for your loss, Dean.
He's not my loss, guys. He's our loss.
No Dean, you did not contribute to Gladimir's death. He offered his service willingly, and I suspect by his photo, proudly. We civilians seldom think about dying, but the military walk in death's shadow every day...for us, not because of us.
It is a testament to our country that men and women such as Gladimir make that choice and that men such as yourself feel so deeply when they pay the ultimate price.
Our country has become involved in a war on global terrorism. Saddam Hussein was a part of that because his intentions were evil and he would have opened his country up to us completely if he had gotten rid of all of his WMD. The Iraqi people are free and they no longer have to worry about living under a torturous, murderer like Saddam anymore. And your brother helped to free those people. He ended the terrible reign of a madman. You should be proud that your brother fought to help the Iraqi people and to ensure that Saddam Hussein cannot hurt us or any country again. God bless you and I pray that you find peace in your heart and the realization that your brother died fighting a noble cause---freedom for the Iraqis and freedom for US, from Saddam's wrath.