Army Lt. Gen. Piatt: ‘Let’s commit to Be the One’
One Easter Sunday while serving in Afghanistan on a mission with the 25th Infantry Division’s 2nd Battalion 27th Infantry Wolfhounds, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Walter Piatt received a call. “One that you hate to hear as a commander …. Man down.” One soldier had been killed, one was wounded and one was not expected to make it. But then Piatt later received a call that the soldier expected not to live, Brandon Moreaco, was alive. And one he remains in contact with today.
“I asked him why he served … it was not for honor or glory or none of that,” said Piatt, Director of the Army Staff, to delegates on the convention floor of the American Legion’s 103rd national convention in Milwaukee Aug. 30. “He did it for his fellow Wolfhounds, his friends, his buddies who knows what it’s like to be happy laying in the dirt in a foreign land.
“I’ve witnessed extreme acts of bravery and combat,” added Piatt who enlisted in the Army at 17 and has served since. “Young men and women willing to sacrifice all for a friend. Willing to run through fire to save a solider they don’t even know; run through bullets to get medical attention to a wounded soldier, lying there screaming. Yet when we come home we often bring with us invisible wounds that are not seen. Just because you redeploy does not mean you come home. “We all need to ‘Be the One’ and save the lives.”
“Be the One” is The American Legion’s new veteran suicide prevention campaign. The Legion wants you to “Be the One” to ask veterans how they are doing; listen when a veteran needs to talk; and reach out when a veteran is struggling.
“All of us can do this,” Piatt said. “We can all be the one to look out for our fellow veterans as they deal with the invisible wounds of war that often cloud other areas of our lives. They may look normal. They may act normal. But the war comes home with you, all of us. We need to be the one that brings our veteran’s home.”
In discussing military recruitment, Piatt shared that Army enlistment is low, but a new future soldier preparatory course was established at Fort Jackson, S.C., and is changing the course. “For some soldiers who may be challenged academically or physically, we give you an opportunity to rise up and meet the tough standards our military demands. We are seeing great results. And we’re taking all who want to serve something greater than themselves.”
That service above self is what Piatt reflected upon to the Legionnaires before him. “You all represent the positives of military service and demonstrate daily in your communities the benefits of cohesiveness, loyalty, leadership, selfless service that can inspire our youth today to want to serve in the military,” he said. “Being here is a strong reminder why service is necessary and why we should never forget, never forget those who serve and why we all need to be the one to help when others are in need.
“Let us all commit today to ‘Be the One’.”