And its Haunting Consequences

More than just jet noise

To the residents of Whidbey Island ... well at least to the North Enders, the sound of freedom is the growl of military jets overhead.

These are jets that do surveillance, jam radar, and drop bombs during war.

Jet noise may be the iconic sound of freedom to a small island town in America, but what does America’s military jet noise mean to other countries? What does it mean to our allies, or countries where we are at war?

Does it mean freedom?

We believe that we go to war to spread democracy and freedom. Right?

However, we don’t consider what that sound could possibly mean to those directly affected by war, including our own service men and women fighting America’s enemies.

And we don’t consider what other sounds of freedom there may be: a lone trumpet sounding off, a cry of an Eagle. Those are rather patriotic, but how about the roar of a sports car or Harley, dogs happily barking, wind chimes, a lone loon across the pond, lawn mowers on a Saturday morning, a piano sonata, fiddles playing on the banks of the Skagit River…? The sounds of freedom can be many things to many different people.

What does the sound of jets mean now to a service woman returning home from war to Whidbey Island? To her, the sound of freedom comes with haunting consequences and it's the sounds of freedom that save her.