12 November, 2009
Courtesy: http://www.familyfed.org/
Unificationists Serve in Iraq and Afghanistan on
Veterans Day
Second Generation Unificationists in Iraq and Afghanistan number among more
than 40 church members who have answered their country’s call to serve on
this Veterans Day.
According to Marine Sgt. Justin Harding, who keeps an informal list of
Second Generation members in the military, more than 12 brothers and sisters
have served in combat zones, and more are on the way. At least 19 are
currently serving in the U.S. Army, eight in the Marine Corps, six in the
U.S. Navy, two in the Air Force, and seven have retired from the military.
At least 11 are students or graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, New York.
Spc. Ian Scott, 23, from Edgewater, Maryland, told Familyfed.org that he is
finding his work in Iraq, where he serves in an Army intelligence unit, “awesome.”
Spc. Scott prepared himself for public service by earning the rank of Eagle
Scout as a member of Boy Scout Troop 1212 and by serving in the character
development program known as Special Task Force. “A life experience such as
the military is invaluable. It's an extreme I can compare to my STF
experience, where something that takes you way out of your comfort zone
allows you to learn a whole lot and live a wide range of experiences. It can
solidify your work ethic; there's not a lot of room for not giving your best
when other people's lives depend on what you do,” he wrote in an e-mail from
Iraq.
Sgt. Harding, a First Generation mentor to many Second Gen considering
military service, is perhaps the most decorated, outspoken, and best-known
Unificationist warrior in the United States, having served four tours in
Iraq. “Before I am a Marine, I am a Unificationist—a proud Unificationist
brother who is grateful to have been called out of the Wilderness and taught
the Divine Principle by True Parents,” he wrote in this year’s Memorial Day
message for Familyfed.org.
Those he has counseled include Israel Frank, 21, a student at San Diego
State University and a veteran of three years of Special Task Force who is
determined to join the U.S. Marine Corps when he graduates. Mr. Frank is
undergoing platoon leader training and will enter Officer Candidate School
this summer. "As an American, I want to be part of something bigger than
myself. I didn't want to have just an ordinary life, work every day in a
cubicle, and have a happy little family like everyone else," he says. Mr.
Frank says that there was some resistance from his mother and his father,
San Diego pastor Walter Frank, until it was clear that his mind was made up.
“Most parents of Blessed Children I know say they would rather have their
children go to Next Gen Academy or to college or so many other things rather
than join the military. It is just a natural instinct of a parent to want to
keep their children out of harm’s way,” Sgt. Harding told Familyfed.org. “I
feel that each Blessed Child who joins the military does so rooted in their
faith but not necessarily due to the church. The fact is that some people
desire to physically fight evil in the world,” he explains.
Rev. Tom Cutts, a Unification Church District Director in Atlanta, says he
had some reservations when his son, Brian Cutts, told him he wanted to try
to become a U.S. Navy SEAL. “I didn’t want him to become a trained killer.
But I support the U.S. military in the sense that there are bad people and
nations from whom our nation needs to be defended,” Reverend Cutts says.
Those heading to Iraq include Airman Jonathan Swarts, son of Rick and
Lourdes Swarts of Pennsylvania. Airman Swarts, 20, is stationed at Eglin Air
Force Base in Florida and is expecting to transfer to duty in Iraq in March
2010
Airman Swarts says that as a teenager he wasn’t really close to the church
but that the people he met in the Air Force helped him to appreciate his
Unificationist roots. “I met a really good bunch of people in the Air Force.
In a way, I got closer to the Unification faith by being in the Air Force. I
got closer to my parents, too,” he told Familyfed.org.
“There seems to be an increasing number of Second Gen entering the military
these days,” Sgt. Harding says, adding that “there is no better training
ground for excellence than the U.S. military.
“It is definitely a stepping-stone to the higher ranks in society, whether
in the civil service or running for elective office. And who wouldn’t want
to hire some one who has served his country overseas?” Sgt. Harding asks.
The answer is “no one,” especially those to whom the phrase “patriotism in
the nation” strikes a familiar chord.
Sgt. Harding has asked that those who would like to submit names of their
relatives in the military to the Blessed Family Prayer Group Ministry may
contact him at
gunbattay@aol.com
Contributed by Douglas Burton