Monday, May 2, 2011

The Heart of a Navy Seal

When I was working at UPI in Boston, one of my colleagues was named Frederick (Ted) Marks. We used to work out together and then have a steak and salad. He had been the goalie on the 1960 U. S. Hockey team that played the Russians.
On his wall there was a cartridge belt and a rifle. Ted had a big scar on his chest. He said he killed the guy who had shot him and carried his belt and rifle with him as he lay on the stretcher. He was a man you knew could handle any situation, a man with presence.
Then UPI sent him to cover the war in Southeast Asia. I was told he was killed  as the US went into either Laos or Cambodia.
I have questions about America’s right to police every country, but I know our country needs people like Ted Marks. Navy Seals are the men who finally killed Bin Laden, a heinous criminal who killed many Americans.
Every now and then I punch his name into Google, in case what I learned was wrong. His name never comes up in any search, and we are the lesser for it.