"It may even be worth that damn plane ride."

"So, that is why I am here. If I can be the smallest piece in the machine that eventually churns out the solution that gets my fellow soldiers home for good, that ends oppression and random acts of violence, that deals a vicious blow to terrorists and to terrorism, well I think that would be worth a hell of a lot. It would be worth the lonely nights spent away from my beautiful wife. It would be worth the sadness that comes with knowing your loved ones are so far away and will be far away for an awful long time. It would be worth the absolute agony and tears and the crushing chest pain that can be almost overwhelming when I think of my boy walking for the first time and I don’t see it, waking up crying and I can’t pick him up and rock him back to sleep, falling and I can’t catch him, calling out ‘Daddy’ and I can’t hear him."

- Capt Richard John Nolan

Is the whole piece worth reading? Well, it's written by a Newfoundlander with typical Newf humour, honesty, and insight. So yes, it's damned well worth reading (ht:Army.ca).