William S. Lind :collection (merged thread)

[JMA]

OK... back to your question then.

You are absolutely correct, there is absolutely no reason why your airman who is a spare-parts storeman can ever be 'special'.

But... soldiers who have seen combat and aquitted themselves well will always be special.

First of all, you deal too much in counter-factuals:


sol•dier (ˈsoʊl dʒər)

n.
1. a person engaged in military service.
2. an enlisted man or woman, as distinguished from a commissioned officer.
3. a person of military skill or experience.
4. a person dedicated to a cause.
5. a low-ranking member of a crime organization.
6. a member of a caste of sexually underdeveloped female ants or termites specialized, as with powerful jaws, to defend the colony from invaders.