On this Veterans Day, we remember the Tennesseans who have served and fought to keep our country safe, and this week we especially remember Specialist Frederick Greene.
Specialist Frederick Greene, according to an article in The Washington Post, was a Tennessee native so quiet and laid-back that he earned the nickname ‘Silent Soldier’ while stationed at Fort Hood preparing to go overseas. He hoped to spend the months before going to Afghanistan with his wife of less than two years.
She made arrangements to move to Fort Hood until January when Greene was to ship out. Instead, his wife and family are planning his burial in the northeast corner of our state where he grew up.
This is what Specialist Greene’s family had to say about him, and I think it speaks as eloquently about his life and his service to our country as anything could. In their words, ‘Fred was a loving and loved son, husband and father and often acted as protector of his family. Even before joining the army, he exemplified loyalty, duty, respect, selfless honor and personal courage. Many of his fellow soldiers told us he was the quiet professional of the unit: never complaining, often volunteering. Our family is grateful for the thoughts and prayers of people around the country. We would like to ask for privacy during this emotional time as Fred, too, was a very private person.’
We will honor the request for privacy of the family, but we will also honor Fred Greene for his service to our country.
Speaking just for myself—but I’m sure most Tennesseans, most Americans, feel the same way—for eight years now, tens of thousands of men and women from Tennessee have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan to keep terrorism from spreading here. It’s tragic enough when any one of them is wounded or killed in that fight. It is beyond belief when one of them is wounded or killed here at home in a terrorist act at Fort Hood. That’s hard for us to accept, but in accepting it and in asking the questions that we inevitably must ask about how this could have happened, we certainly can honor each of those who were killed, each of those who were wounded. We can respect their service, and I especially want to show my respect for the family of Frederick Greene and for his service.