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Thursday, March 28, 2024

I have recently come back from a tour in Iraq. I was very moved by the page listing the names of soldiers killed in Iraq (Nov. 2,2005). But I was also bothered by the fact that it is much like the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial in Washington, D.C., and does not include their rank or age. I feel that if you do such a thing again, and I hope you do, the rank of those individuals should be put on the roster also. It is a title that they have earned in their life. Remember, it’s a volunteer military.

Pfc. John Amos was a best friend of mine who was killed there. He was 19 years old when a suicide bomber drove up and exploded his car while Amos was there protecting a demonstration that the Iraq people held on their own.

Do not forget the soldiers of Afghanistan and elsewhere. It doesn’t matter if you believe in war or not: Honor the soldiers. They go when politicians fail. Think about it after the end of our Veterans Day weekend.

Patrick Martel