An Unlikely Soldier

Today is Veteran’s Day in the U.S.A. , when we honor all of those who served.  This is Roseendhar Dasilma, an unlikely war hero, but a woman who put her life on the line many times to insure the freedoms we have, and to assure those civil liberties, those legal and natural inalienable rights, to others.

Rose comes from the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, Haiti.  She lives near Orlando, Florida now and appreciates more than most the freedoms, liberty, and prosperity of this great country.  She cherishes her American citizenship like a jewel, when so many born here take it all for granted, not having a clue how much it means to so many who don’t know the freedom or the prosperity. Roseendhar Dasilma served in the U.S. Army in Iraq.

I could have written about my great forefathers who served in wars over the years of our family’s history in this country. How they served in The Revolutionary War, the two Great World Wars, Korea, and Vietnam.  I could have, and I appreciate them, but I often feel that those who have recently served or who continue to serve today don’t get the recognition they deserve.

Rose worked with me as Nurse.  Sometimes she told us stories of having to stir shit in a bucket that burned over a fire for hours at night, because you couldn’t leave anything behind when you left camp, not even your turds.  She told us of having to move in convoys of tanks that she could see in front of her being picked off by carefully placed roadside bombs, and knowing her tank was the next one in the row to go if her C.O. pressed forward as ordered.

  Knowing that you just might not make it home.

 Knowing that comrades had fallen before you.

Her family and friends in Haiti will never be forgotten by her, and her family and friends here in America treasure her, and know her to truly be one of a kind.  This is her sister proudly wearing her Operation Iraqi Freedom jacket.

A B.S.N. prepared Nurse, Rose is working on her Master’s Degree in nursing now.  She is divorced with a lovely young daughter who is the apple of her eye.  She has worked hard to earn her place in our society and I, for one, am happy to have her. Honored to have known her.  Her name is on the back of my paperback so I will never forget it.

  Roseendhar Dasilma loves her country. We love, admire, and respect her!

I am honored to call you, friend.