A soldier and blogger has been killed in Iraq

His name was (Major) Andy Olmstead, aka G'Kar.

He wrote his own obituary in the event that he should die over there. He leaves behind a wife, his parents, a brother and a sister.

AN EXCERPT:

But for those who knew me and feel this pain, I think it's a good thing to realize that this pain has been felt by thousands and thousands (probably millions, actually) of other people all over the world. That is part of the cost of war, any war, no matter how justified. If everyone who feels this pain keeps that in mind the next time we have to decide whether or not war is a good idea, perhaps it will help us to make a more informed decision. Because it is pretty clear that the average American would not have supported the Iraq War had they known the costs going in. I am far too cynical to believe that any future debate over war will be any less vitriolic or emotional, but perhaps a few more people will realize just what those costs can be the next time.

This may be a contradiction of my above call to keep politics out of my death, but I hope not. Sometimes going to war is the right idea. I think we've drawn that line too far in the direction of war rather than peace, but I'm a soldier and I know that sometimes you have to fight if you're to hold onto what you hold dear. But in making that decision, I believe we understate the costs of war; when we make the decision to fight, we make the decision to kill, and that means lives and families destroyed. Mine now falls into that category; the next time the question of war or peace comes up, if you knew me at least you can understand a bit more just what it is you're deciding to do, and whether or not those costs are worth it.

http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/2008/01/andy-olmsted.html

My heart goes out to his family and loved ones. :cry:

Just recently my husband and I drove through Gettysburg with our (elementary school-age) children. We explained to our 9-year old the significance of the battle there and the speech Lincoln gave "4 score and 7 years" later. I had lived in Europe for much of my life, so my husband asked me about famous battlefields in Europe, and we began to discuss the wars of the world. It is a sad sad truth that it keeps recurring even though it is so horrible. People are dying from war as we type these words.

In my fantasy Utopia there is NO WAR.

years later. He mentioned in the speech (which took place not long after the battle itself) that four score and seven years earlier "our forefathers brought forth upon this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." He was referring to the birth of the nation 87 years earlier, not saying that the Battle of Gettysburg had happened 87 years earlier than the speech.