I have been re-reading (for what seems to be the umpteenth time) the Honor series. Like any old friend, I treasure the familiar characters and events and dialog, and - as always - I come away terribly impressed and awestruck by the breath and scope of this series.
I just finished Storm from the Shadows, and Medusa's speech about the exigencies of the Queen's service is playing itself in my brain. Like Kennedy's "Ask not what your country" address, or Henry's Feast of Saint Crispin's Day monologue - the words and the tone echo and reverberate in my mind.
I cannot recall ever having heard of a speech or passage so eloquently describing the sacrifice and dedication and valor of those who serve in our armed forces. Henry's comes close, but he speaks to the rally of a force who is severely outnumbered. And he seeks to bolster the failing morale of his army. Medusa's speech, in contrast, speaks to the deeds of those who knew they went to die and did so for the honor of their nation, their Queen, and their commitment to a people who had asked for their protection.
Tears flow each time I read that passage. My father was a Vietnam war veteran who brought the war home, like so many others. I never knew him as others did. Never saw the man who was full of humor. I saw instead a man wounded by the horror of war and never understood his need for self-medication or how he couldn't see the effect it had on his own family. But when the call for service was raised, he answered and, I have to believe, did the best he could under the circumstances.
I doubt I'll ever fully appreciate the horrors he went through. But I can honor the memory of the man he could have been.
Thank you, David Weber, for that piece of literature. It had helped me to see my father through better eyes now than I did when he was alive.
