Today I don't know whether I want to laugh or cry.
Lori Piestewa was the first woman to be killed in the Iraq war in March 2003, and also the first Native American woman ever killed fighting a in a U.S-let war. If you recall, she was killed near Nasiriyah when her convoy (the same one Jessica Lynch was with) got lost. All managed to make it safely through a dangerous area, but then realized to get back to their unit they had to go back exactly the way they came.
And that's when Lori, a young Hopi woman and single mother of two young children, was killed.
Today I found this memorial for her, and experienced a range of emotions, as I read first the memorial and then the following uplifting story...
more below...
more below....
http://indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096410787
That was the sad part. Here's the great part:
http://indiancountry.com/content.cfm?feature=yes&id=1096410785
I almost feel like I know Lori personally now. Good things can and still DO happen. On the other hand, it reveals who really IS fighting over there and why.
Unlike our armchair chickenhawks, Lori wasn't a red-state flag-waving right-wing Republican eager to find WMD and kill terrorists. She was a mother who wanted to do better for her children facing limited options. She was someone grew up in what we call poverty, but also immersed in a rich spiritual culture and tradition.
May you rest in peace Lori.
Your friend