By Vickie Jenkins Santa Monica
Each week when the newspapers publish the (Department of Defense’s) list of names of the American military personnel who have died in Iraq, I take the time to read them.
I don’t know a single soldier. I’ve never met his or her family. But they were somebody’s someone special, and somehow I feel I owe it to them to take a moment and consider their lives, and their deaths.
Most of those on the weekly list are killed in Iraq by roadside bombs or snipers.
Most are not even 25 years old. But last week, those demographics changed. An Army colonel and Army Reserve major were killed by a rocket attack while working out in the U.S. Embassy’s military fitness center in what the (Department of Defense ) refers to as Baghdad’s “fortified” Green Zone, which is where they live and work. One report said their unit was attacked by indirect fire. In reality, they were on the treadmill in the workout room when the mortars hit.
The Army colonel had served for 35 years, and his latest assignment was to help train and equip the Iraqi army. His sister said she could hear in his voice the last few weeks that even though he said he was safe, she didn’t think he believed it. And since there had been more mortar attacks on barracks, some soldiers had taken to sleeping in their offices. The major from the Army Reserve leaves behind his wife and three daughters all under age six, who he often referred to as the “beautifuls.” It was his third tour of duty in Iraq.
These two men and the 16 others on last week’s list join more than 4,000 other U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq. They are fathers, brothers, wives, sons, and daughters. They are 19, 36, 54 years old. They are from farms, cities and suburbs in Illinois, Florida, California, Alabama, Puerto Rico. Their hometowns now host another flag, another memory.
And as I write this, and as you read it, more names are being added, I fear.
But I am tired of finger-pointing and hatred. I want no enemies, at home or abroad. Therefore I will stay informed, vote, and do my best to encourage peace through my thoughts and actions.
In his speech in Seattle over the weekend, the Dalai Lama urged people to support not only nuclear disarmament, but an “inner disarmament.” It is the only one I have control over.
In the meantime I will continue to read the weekly list, and remember each person with sadness, and hope that somehow, someday, there will be no more lists to read.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 16, 2008. Read the original PDF.