Casualties of war

I thought that this Memorial Day, I would write about Cpl. Robert Oliver "Butch"Garant, USMC. This man was killed in the Vietnam War in 1966, they call it a casualty, I call it a travesty. This man was smart, with a great future ahead of him, this man was brave, this man was wise beyond his years. This man was 21 years old when he died and the father of an 18 month old daughter--me.

When I say I oppose the war, but support the troops, I come from a very personal place. I'm not thinking of oil, WMD, or "evil doers". I am thinking of children, wives, mothers and fathers. Christmas presents that will never be opened, hugs and kisses never given, daughters never walked down the aisle, sons never able to see their future in the eyes of their parent.

Aside from the reasons we "war" as a country, aside from lies we will never know about, aside from all that, war is devastating. I think we can all agree on that.

I have to admit I have a hard time watching the soldiers come home, the joyous reunions, the tears and the embracing. It is bittersweet to me. I deserved that, the children of the 4300 (4161 since 'Mission Accomplished') who have lost their lives in Iraq, deserve that too. How long will we continue to count the "casualties"?

War is bad in any respect, but war for the wrong reasons is shameful. I respect and appreciate our troops, I pray for our troops....let's bring them home so that in 20, 30 or 40 years this blog will not have to be re-written.