Folks, may I gently suggest that you email Bob Herbert's article, excerpted and linked, below, to everyone you know. Those who supported the Iraq War must confront - at least in some small way -- the pain the war has caused. Those who opposed the Iraq War and the adminstration that started it should never forget why.
continued below
November 12, 2004
OP-ED COLUMNIST
Death Comes Knocking
By BOB HERBERT
The e-mail to John Witmer from his daughter Michelle came on Father's Day in 2003.
"Dear Daddy," it said, "Happy Father's Day. I love you so much and you can't imagine how often I think of you. I hope you have lots of fun today and that the weather is lovely.
"We had a briefing telling us to prepare ourselves as best as possible for what lies ahead. Things like children running out in front of vehicles to try and get them to stop. We have to prepare ourselves to hit people because stopping is not an option. I guess every convoy that's gone up north so far has taken fire or been ambushed. The question of whether we will or not is not even really a question, more like a guess as to when.
"These things, as you can imagine, are a lot to take in. I'm doing my best. I've been a little depressed lately but I'm trying to keep my chin up. I really miss home. Tomorrow will be exactly three months since I got deployed. Wow, time does not fly. Jeez, this letter wasn't supposed to be down. Sorry. Back to the point. Happy Father's Day. I love and miss you so much.
"Love, Shelly."
Specialist Michelle Witmer of New Berlin, Wis., survived for nearly 10 more slowly moving months in Iraq, until she was cut down by enemy fire in Baghdad last April 9. She was 20 when she died.
The e-mail was read on camera by her dad in an extremely moving documentary, "Last Letters Home," which was jointly produced by The New York Times and HBO. It premiered on HBO last night.
In the hourlong program, grieving relatives read aloud from letters, cards and e-mail sent by troops who died in Iraq, and comment on the ways they've been affected by the loss of their loved ones. The program is not about pro-war or anti-war sentiments, or grand geopolitical visions. It just gives us a glimpse of the searing personal toll that is inevitable in war. I imagine it would be difficult for anyone to see it and not take the war more seriously. Anything that imposes such unmitigated agony should give us pause.
.......
As much as possible, the reality of war is kept at a distance from the American people, which is a shame. My own belief is that the pain of war should be much more widely shared. That would help guard us against wars that are unnecessary, and ensure a more collective effort in those that are inevitable.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/opinion/12herbert.html?incamp=article_popular_5