UK Bishop Joins in Thanking, Paying Tribute to Troops Returning from Battle
"Today we thank you for doing a difficult and dangerous job on behalf of us all, for working for peace and harmony between nations, for defending the weak, for reconciling the enemies for showing the Afghan Army what our values are, and we welcome you back for some well-deserved rest and recuperation."
(United Kingdom)—Christian Today reports that Rt. Rev. Jonathan Gledhill, the Bishop of Lichfield, joined with the people of Shropshire this week to give thanks to the troops from the 1st Battalion Royal Irish Regiment who have returned to the county from deployment in Afghanistan.
Speaking at the service, which was relayed to large crowds outside the Abbey, Bishop Gledhill said: "All those of us who are not soldiers are here to say 'thank you' to the First Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment. We know that in previous wars and campaigns, soldiers found it difficult on leave ever to share what they'd been through. And the people back home couldn't ever understand what their soldiers had seen and experienced.
So their welcomes could be clumsy and their sympathy could make things worse. We civilians recognize that just by speaking we may put our foot in it, but we want to honor you and thank you, however inadequately.
"For our part, we civilians are very proud that in spite of the incredible odds you have made a difference."
The bishop was quoted as paying tribute to the difference the troops had made in Bosnia, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, the Gulf, and Iraq. "You have been to hell and back in Afghanistan and we are proud of you and of what you have achieved. So today we thank you for doing a difficult and dangerous job on behalf of us all, for working for peace and harmony between nations, for defending the weak, for reconciling the enemies for showing the Afghan Army what our values are, and we welcome you back for some well-deserved rest and recuperation."
