A Pat Tillman For Wall Street

By Paul Beston Published 11/29/2004 12:08:45 AM American Spectator "Locked, cocked and ready to rock," said Marine Lance Corporal Dimitri Gavriel, 29, before the start of the Fallujah offensive. "That's about how we feel." Most Brown University graduates don't speak this way. In fact, if Lance Corporal Gavriel had still been on the Brown campus, his comments might have been censored as hate speech. But then, there aren't many Brown University graduates in Fallujah, where the very concept of hate speech would give any Marine a chuckle. It was in Fallujah, on November 19th, that Dimitri Gavriel was killed by enemy fire. Gavriel had been building a successful career on Wall Street as a real estate securities analyst, working for firms including Banc of America Securities, Credit Suisse First Boston, and J.P. Morgan. When he was laid off during the market doldrums of 2002, he became determined to join the Marines, inspired in part by the deaths of four friends in the September 11th attacks. The Marines rejected his initial application, concerned about his age and old injuries from his high school and college wrestling career. He was 27 at the time. "He told them, 'I know I'm a little bruised, I'm a little older than the other guys. But I can do anything they can do,'" said Gavriel's sister, Christina. He trained and lost 40 pounds. The Marines gave in, and took him.The day before he left for boot camp, he was offered a new job in finance. His friends and family pleaded with him to take it. Christina Gavriel even told him he could live in her Manhattan apartment rent free if he would stay in civilian life. But the next morning, he headed for Parris Island as planned.There are no battalions in the U.S. military composed of securities analysts, just as there are none made up of NFL players. Gavriel's sacrifice, like that of Pat Tillman earlier this year, stands out as a heroic anomaly within a field more associated with getting ahead than getting even. Both Tillman and Gavriel attained coveted, symbolic positions in American life -- professional athlete, professional capitalist -- and traded them in for a common destiny as patriots. "He wanted to go there," said Christina Gavriel. "Everyone else in the family didn't because they were scared for him. Once he enlisted though, we all supported him."The NFL has taken steps this season to honor Tillman; one can quibble with the adequacy of the league's efforts, but their heart seems to be in the right place. I hope that New York's financial community will do something similar to honor one of its own. Perhaps some of the firms that employed him could start a program in his name to provide financial and investment consulting to military families at nominal charge. As for Brown University, probably nothing could pay tribute more effectively, while also redressing past sins, than a reinstatement of ROTC on campus. I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen, but in light of what Gavriel did, it seems only right to hope. Neither Pat Tillman nor Dimitri Gavriel are deserving of greater honors than their less famous, less prosperous comrades. But their examples serve as reminders to the elite communities they left behind: your very existence relies on the deeds of men like this, and many other men who are often no older than boys. Men you might not acknowledge if they asked you a question in the subway; men you might sneer at if they asked for your autograph. This is a very cynical, and hence very ironic, age. It is sometimes difficult to appreciate that there are still people who will give up everything for a principle. I cannot think of two communities more in need of that reminder than professional sports and business. "I would like the people to remember him as a noble man," said Dimitri Gavriel's mother, Penelope. Her son, she said, "wanted to become a great leader."Mission accomplished.

Nice Quote

For those of the past... and present ...... who fight for freedom ...... even though it scars their souls." "The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time. The hand of force may destroy, but cannot disjoin them." Thomas Jefferson

Happy Thanksgiving

With our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and of course our AIRMEN serving abroad in combat zones there is much to be thankful for this year of 2004. President Bush has been reelected with 61 million proud Americans casting their ballots on his behalf. Notwithstanding Michael Moore, all of Hollywood, Bono/Bon Jovi and the mainstream liberal media, the American public voted for a strong country willing to stand by our responsibilities. I am very proud. Now if I could just figure out how to link other blogs and get my dates for induction to Officer Candidate School I would be a happy guy :)

The True Face of Heroism

Marine sacrifices his life for others in grenade blast By Gordon TrowbridgeThe Army Times FALLUJAH, Iraq — Sgt. Rafael Peralta built a reputation as a man who always put his Marines' interests ahead of his own. He showed that again, when he made the ultimate sacrifice of his life Tuesday, by shielding his fellow Marines from a grenade blast. "It's stuff you hear about in boot camp, about World War II and Tarawa Marines who won the Medal of Honor," said Lance Cpl. Rob Rogers, 22, of Tallahassee, Fla., one of Peralta's platoon mates in 1st Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment. Peralta, 25, as platoon scout, wasn't even assigned to the assault team that entered the insurgent safe house in northern Fallujah, Marines said. Despite an assignment that would have allowed him to avoid such dangerous duty, he regularly asked squad leaders if he could join their assault teams, they said. One of the first Marines to enter the house, Peralta was wounded in the face by rifle fire from a room near the entry door, said Lance Cpl. Adam Morrison, 20, of Tacoma, who was in the house when Peralta was first wounded. Moments later, an insurgent rolled a fragmentation grenade into the area where a wounded Peralta and the other Marines were seeking cover. As Morrison and another Marine scrambled to escape the blast, pounding against a locked door, Peralta grabbed the grenade and cradled it into his body, Morrison said. While one Marine was badly wounded by shrapnel from the blast, the Marines said they believe more lives would have been lost if not for Peralta's selfless act. "He saved half my fire team," said Cpl. Brannon Dyer, 27, of Blairsville, Ga. The Marines said such a sacrifice would be perfectly in character for Peralta, a Mexico native who lived in San Diego and gained U.S. citizenship after joining the Marines. "He'd stand up for his Marines to an insane point," Rogers said. Rogers and others remembered Peralta as a squared-away Marine, so meticulous about uniform standards that he sent his camouflage uniform to be pressed while training in Kuwait before entering Iraq. But mostly they remembered acts of selflessness: offering career advice, giving a buddy a ride home from the bar, teaching salsa dance steps in the barracks. While Alpha Company was still gathering information, and a formal finding on Peralta's death is likely months away, not a single Marine in Alpha Company doubted the account of Peralta's act of sacrifice. "I believe it," said Alpha's commander, Capt. Lee Johnson. "He was that kind of Marine."

Killing Terrorists is now a war crime

So the big news on this day is the NBC News feed of the Marine Corps gyrene offing a wounded "insurgent" in Falluja. Well boo freaking hoo. It was the terrorists who raised the "Black Flags" last week, calling for no quarter given or offered. They made their bed, now they can sleep in it (now for a long time apparently). What are the whiny leftists crying about anyway? The Zarqawi crowd wants their 72 virgins and shaheed martyrdom, we are just giving it to them sooner rather than later. Basically, this is just another reason the mainstream media is held in contempt by the Red Staters. (See Tom Brokaw being booed at the Oklahoma-Nebraska game last weekend). Condi Rice is in at State replacing General Powell- this is great news. As long as we can ditch that jerk@ff Hagel in 2006, all will be right with the world. And finally, Arafat is STILL dead..

Some of my Favorite Things

In no particular order: The University of Miami Hurricanes Football program (5 Time National Champs 1983/1987/1989/1991/2001) George Washington University Colonials Basketball (my law school alma mater) The History Channel Natalie Portman the United States Military (of course the Air Force is the best of them all) being a Republican Parades like the Fourth of July, Cherry Blossom Festival, Memorial Day. Day Trips Foreign Travel (19 countries and counting so far) hot women

November 15

Lots to discuss these past few days! 1) Arafat is still dead. That in itself is a nice change of pace. 2) Today Colin Powell is out at State, I am hoping for Condi Rice to get the job. Having Richard Armitage in would be even worse than Powell. 3) DC United wins the MLS Cup! Can't say I was a fan this year, but it is good that not only the Republicans can win in Washington. (See Wizards, Redskins and the defunct Capitals for comparison) 4) Falluja Delenda Est. About time we kicked the cr@p out of the Islamofascists over there. Hopefully we killed more than the 1,200 being claimed. Now on to Ramadi, Tel Fajar, and Mosul. 5) On a personal note, the condo is looking sweet after all the improvements I have been doing. My good buddy Dave Eiselsberg is now engaged to a lovely woman, and Amit is back in town from Budapest for awhile. I checked out Cashions, Habana, and the Blue Room with Paulina on Saturday night- good clean American fun...

I like this..

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." -- John Stuart Mill

Becoming the Air Force Pundit

So, I think the first rule of business is to lay out what this blog will become and where I have been so far. As I have a very busy life, this will take a while. However, it should be worth it for posterity's sake. It would be cool to show my future kids what their dad did in his irreverent and misguided youth. I view this as an area to describe my thoughts, what is important in the world, and basically a place to learn some cool things and have fun. I guess I need to come up with a "Mission Statement". My company and the Air Force are big into "Mission Statements." It will take some time though for this objective to become realized. In the meantime, BUSH WINS REELECTION!! So all of the liberals around the world have four years to ponder their ignominy. And that reminds me, hopefully this blog will help me to improve my vocabulary.

Getting Started..

So this is my first post as the Air Force Pundit. Hopefully, the blog will become a center of wisdom and power in the universe. If not that, then hopefully the blog will help me bag some hot babes.