Prince Harry, age 22, has demanded that if his unit goes into battle in Iraq, he would be leading them. Having trained to become troop commander of an armored recon unit, the courageous prince had threatened to quit the army, if not allowed to serve on the frontline.What a difference moral courage between him, and the man who is currently serving as President of the United States: When I served in Vietnam, George W. Bush found it convenient to fly National Guard planes around the United States. As a man who has never dared to place himself into harm's way, though he won't hesitate to expose others to danger, his words ring hollow, when he congratulates our wounded for their courage, and, with crocodile tears, thanks the traumatized dependents of our dead for their sacrifice - one which HE was NEVER willing to make.
My father, Gerhard May, was drafted into the German Army in World War II, though he detested the Nazi regime with all of his heart and soul. During my last visit with him, after I had completed the Jungle Operations Course in Panama, and just before I shipped out for Vietnam, he insisted that we have a serious talk: "When I served in the German Army, first in Yugoslavia, and then in Italy, all of my officers had one thing in common: They led by example, and always shared the risks with those of us under their command. If you can't do that, don't come back. Of course, I was shocked that my father would even think that I would not measure up to that standard, and, as S-5 of the 1/10 Cavalry Squadron, as Advisor to the 748 Regional Forces Montagnard Company, as well as during my posting as Advisor to the 25th ARVN Battalion at Trung Lap, at the edge of the "Iron Triangle", I kept faith with the promise to my father. More important, I kept that promise to myself, and to the men with whom I had the honor of serving.
Beside the obvious matter of rank and privilege, there is one more important difference between the prince and myself: He is obviously a lot better looking than I ever was, and, born into a privileged environment, he has a great deal more to lose. His willingness to expose himself to severe danger, together with the less fortunate of his countrymen, is the sign of a truly noble nature, which far transcends the accidents of birth into a privileged class. In our United States of America, we should earnestly pray, that we might, one day, be led by a man as great as Prince Harry of England, a man who is TRULY noble!
