The phrase “Russian warship ‘go f–k yourself’” gives new meaning the the phrase “famous last words”. It’s one thing to see a hero in the movies go out in a blaze of glory, but when it’s real life, you see the tragedy as well. One of my favorite famous last words is from the movie Deep Impact when Mary McCormack says, “well, look at it this way, we’ll all have schools named after us”. I don’t know if the 13 Ukrainian border guards that were killed had time to think about how they will be remembered. The news media reports they will all be awarded medals posthumously, but there’s a good chance that there might not be a country to award them the medals.
Having participated in a couple wars, it’s rare that someone gets to make an impact in their final moments. It’s even more rare that someone says something that captures people’s hearts and attention. We really don’t know who said these now famous last words, but without them, these 13 soldiers would just be silent additions to the many grave markers that will eventually be placed.
In the end we are all just memories that other people have of us. Without these choice five words, the world would probably not have heard of Snake Island or the thirteen border patrol staff that died there. I’d like to believe that almost everything we say or do has the potential to make a difference. We never know what those things are and you really can’t plan for it. You just have to assume that you might make a difference in someone’s lives.
In this case, one soldier spoke for a nation, and made a statement that is capturing the world’s attention. In their final moments, these soldiers words of “Russian warship ‘go f–k yourself’” could make a difference in the future of their country. We will have to wait and see.