WHY I JOINED THE GUARD: CPT MARIA I. DOTI

 

When I was a child my father, who immigrated from Italy as a teenager, spoke about living under the fascist regime of Mussolini. When he enrolled in a local American high school he naturally took the required classes in American History where he learned about the American Revolution and the American Constitution.

Upon being drafted to serve in WWII he had no reservations about denouncing fascism and becoming an American citizen, because, as he put it, "I fell in love with the United States Constitution."

I was struck by his statement about "loving" the Constitution. I thought that he was just being sentimental about his youth. Now, I was taught to respect the Constitution and when I grew up and decided to study law, I learned to argue the provisions of that document. But I still never understood what it meant to "love" the Constitution. That is until 9/11 ...

On that terrible day, I never reached my job in lower Manhattan as a court attorney for a Supreme Court Justice. My train was stopped in Brooklyn because a "small" plane had hit one of the WTC Towers. I boarded a City Bus to go to work. I could see the WTC from the bus. The sky filled with black smoke and the bus drive told me "You'd better go home; it looks bad."

Neither the bus driver nor I realized that the return trip, which should have been no more than 45 minutes in rush hour traffic, would take over three and half hours due to the panic in the streets and the emergency vehicles trying to cross over into Manhattan. During the long drive, the air became filled with yellow acrid smoke. People were collapsing in the street. I later learned from a woman who boarded the bus and escaped from lower Manhattan that both towers had fallen.


I did not learn the full extent of the suffering and destruction until I came home and overheard the father of a fire fighter talking to a neighbor that he feared his son was lost with all those other people.

Eventually I returned to work. I walked out of the train station at Chambers Street, passed City Hall, and headed towards the court house located on Thomas Street. I could see the crumpled, burning heap of the towers and the solemn procession of workers who appeared faithfully each day to assist in the recovery. The days which passed were very frightening. The fires continued to burn and the death toll continued to mount.

As many Americans, I have been very lucky. I never saw a battlefield or witnessed its horrors but I was now experiencing events which made me cherish my life in America.

I now understood why my father loved the Constitution. I also understood why American patriots stood-up at Bunker Hill. Why so many were willing to give up their lives at Gettysburg, and in the trenches of WWI. I understood what gave men the courage to march relentlessly onto the beaches of Normandy and why so many woman left their homes to serve in WWII.

I decided to join the war effort. I was introduced to the NY Guard at a Continuing Education Class held at the Brooklyn Bar Association to educate lawyers about the legal rights of military families. I was asked to help out. I requested permission from the Office of Court Administration to do pro bono work as a civilian in various NY Guard projects. I also agreed to volunteer for a “legal operation” on a military base during an actual deployment of soldiers.

Initially, I felt odd being a civilian female on a military base during time of war. But I was welcomed by soldiers and base commanders alike -- without reservation and without hesitation-- because they knew I was working with the NY Guard, a group dedicated to assisting soldiers and their families.

The professionalism and spirit of service of the NY Guard inspired me. They answered soldiers’ questions patiently, drew up wills and created powers of attorney and other documents which would be needed by the family during the deployment. The NY Guard are true “citizen soldiers.” They take no pay and give generously of their time. They understand that freedom cannot be bought or sold at a commodities exchange. It can only be earned by duty, honor, and sacrifice.

I joined the NY Guard because I too fell in love with freedom.