A Message to Garcia
“A Message to Garcia” was a small story about a man who was called upon for a nearly impossible task. At the time the United States of America was in a bit of turmoil with Spain. President William McKinley it was wise to become allies with Cuban rebels who were led by General Garcia. Cuba at the time was under Spanish control and allying with the Cuban rebels seemed to be a powerful foothold for the U.S.
General Garcia, Cuban rebel leader, was isolated in the mountains and nearly impossible to find. The search for the man or men who could handle the task of not only finding Garcia but delivering a personal message from President McKinley. The president was given the name of one man; not a group of men but one man. The writer of the article simply refers to him simply as Rowan.
Andrew Summers Rowan was a Colonel in the United States Army. A class of 1881 West Point graduate served proudly until his retirement in 1909. When asked to carry a message to General Garcia, he never questioned his orders. He never asked why or gave any grief about the assignment he was given. Rowan simply stored the message safely and securely made his to Cuba via boat from Jamaica and marched on. Garcia was found in the Oriente Mountains after Rowan trekked through harsh terrain to find him. Upon his return, Rowan was placed in command of a unit which was known as “Immunes”. The unit was a group of African-Americans troops who were thought to be immune to tropical diseases.
The real message that should be taken from this is when being called to duty answering the call. Rowan accomplished his mission without question. We as military members should strive to that thought process. In today’s Army, we as soldiers are quick to question our orders and our mission. “I Will Always Place the Mission First”, the first line in the Warrior’s Ethos is something we need to be instilling into our daily lives. When we raised our right hands we as individuals were answering...