Todd Jason Bryant

West Point, 2002

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by BG Ramon M. Ong (Ret) on November 4, 2003:

I know what it is like to serve in a foreign country, for I was stationed in Vietnam from 1966 to 1969. I know what it is like to lose a classmate - I lost 21 of them in Vietnam. And above all, I know what it is like to work with soldiers - their fatigue, their fear, their courage, their triumphs and their loneliness. 2LT Todd Bryant will be missed by many and will be remembered by many for a long, long time. But I also know what it is like to have American soldiers working in my country. They have been in the Philippines for many, many years. I have worked by their side, so I know also their fatigue, their fear, their courage, their triumphs and their loneliness. These foreign soldiers are busy training our soldiers - with new weapons, new equipment and new tactics. I am grateful for their support and assistance and I know that millions of Filipinos are too. When we see so many American soldiers of various sizes, shapes and colors building roads, repairing schoolhouses and providing medical and dental treatment to thousands of our village folks in the boondocks, we can only say, "Thank you, G.I. Joe!" I know the people of Iraq are just as thankful for the help extended by the American soldiers there. They are grateful that foreigners like Todd Bryant are pitching in to make that country a better place to live in. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I am saddened that Todd and so many others like him have made the supreme sacrifice. Well done, Todd. Be thou at peace. Brigadier General Ramon M. Ong (Ret) Armed Forces of the Philippines USMA 1963

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