The War Hits Home

I recently set out to write an article about how the war in Iraq is affecting the families of American servicemen and women. My first step in researching this issue was to contact a dear friend whose nephew would soon ship out to Iraq.

After seeing her nephew during the Christmas holiday season, my friend shared her thoughts with me regarding his impending deployment. Her powerful words speak for themselves. Therefore, with her permission, I am sharing her sentiments below, in her own words. Her name is withheld to protect her nephew's identity.

It is high time that America's chickenhawks wake up and see the tears in the eyes of America's families. If this war is really as necessary and as righteous as our president would have us believe, why do we not see Jenna or Barbara Bush signing up for combat duty? Will George W. never have to feel the pain of sending a loved one off to battle?

Now here is how war affects the millions of Americans who are not as well connected as the folks in Washington:

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Mary, I am writing this to you as it is helping me to deal with this situation.

My feelings on the Iraq war are as clear as water. I'm clear on the fact that the nephew I have loved for 22 years is doing his duty and faces the reality of his mortality by going to Iraq. He is my brother's only son, and he has two sisters - one older and one younger. He is an uncle of two little girls. He is my mother's second grandson. I ask - why must he go to war?

I worry about his safety. I worry about how the war will affect him later. I have a brother who went to Vietnam, and I have witnessed the devastating effects that war can have on the life of a young person.

My nephew came to visit over the holidays, and I pray it wasn't to say his last goodbye. He is young, intelligent, handsome, and funny. He has not experienced much in life yet, and I can only hope that he has a full life ahead of him in spite of going to war.