For the past 2 1/2 years — ever since he was ushered into early retirement through no doing of his own — he has been spreading the word as much as time and circumstances will allow.
Not because he's a show-off. Listening to retired U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Layne Morris talk about his military experiences is a clinic in self-deprecation. To hear him tell it, his sacrifices are barely worth talking about.
But he likes to deliver the message that there are enemies on the horizon — there always have been and probably always will be — and it's important never to lose sight of that.
So when people ask, he talks.
He was at it again Thursday, speaking to a group of federal prosecutors at a Veterans Day luncheon program that also included a speech by World War II veteran Harold Poole, a Bataan Death March participant and prisoner of the Japanese for 3 1/2 years.
Following Sgt. Poole to the rostrum, Sgt. Morris delivered his usual disclaimer.
"Compared to him," he said as he saluted the 85-year-old soldier, "what I went through was nothing."
What Layne Morris went through was slightly less than eight months active duty in Afghanistan that ended in a firefight two summers ago that won him a Purple Heart and sent him home four months early.
A piece of flying shrapnel struck him in the face during the battle and cut the optic nerve in his right eye. Subsequent surgery in Germany put everything back in place — everything except his sight. Layne Morris ended up giving his right eye for freedom.
"It was an honor to be called upon by my country," he said, remembering how his unit, the 19th Special Forces Group, was summoned very shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to report to Afghanistan and man the fuzzy front lines in the war against terrorism.
"America had been attacked like never before," said Morris, "and I was honored to be that tip of the spear. I went over there to kill bad guys, and we got lots of them. It was something that had to be done. I'm not haunted by it. The only faces I see when I lie down to sleep are those men I fought with who didn't make it."
Layne was 40 years old and had been in the military 18 years when 9/11 hit and he went off to war against the Taliban and al-Qaida. For years, his career had been the epitome of that old Army axiom, "hurry up and wait," and then, suddenly, the waiting was over, and 18 years of preparation met a genuine enemy of the state. In a whirl of activity in Afghanistan, SFC Morris was awarded a Bronze Star for meritorious behavior — he pulled a wounded soldier out of the line of fire — before he was wounded himself and sent home with his Purple Heart.
"If you'd asked me if I'd ever get a Purple Heart or medals in combat, I'd have laughed," he said. "I never thought that would happen."
Since returning to Utah two years ago, Layne has received a hero's treatment. The governor presented him with Utah's Medal of Honor, his family's residence at West Valley City has been overwhelmed by well-wishers, and he even rode in the 2003 Rose Parade.
And then there are the rather frequent requests for speeches and public appearances he just can't turn down.
"I feel it's my responsibility to do this," he said yesterday after his Veterans Day speech. "The word needs to be in people's minds that people are still attacking America and America needs to be defended. This isn't over. I don't think it will ever be over."
Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.