A Writer-Warrior comes home

Some readers may recall my post of 8/20/2007 , that included an excerpt from an extraordinary op-ed piece, contributed by seven soldiers winding up a 15 month deployment to Iraq.

Well, one of the co-authors has the added distinction of being a fantastic blogger to boot! If you haven't already seen this outstanding blog, you should march right over there on the double. The site has a clever name: Army of Dude.

Here's a bit of one recent post. I hope it gets you all motivated to visit and read more.

I’m not a radical or an extremist, as you might think. My biggest fans are in my platoon. The most common thing I hear from them is, this is what I’ve been thinking the whole time. So my thoughts and ruminations aren’t entirely unique. I just simply have the attention of people to tell it to in the country we left behind fifteen months ago.President Eisenhower warned of the growing military industrial complex in his farewell address. Since Dick Cheney can now afford solid gold oil derricks, it’s safe to say we failed Ike miserably. After losing two friends and over a dozen comrades, I have this to say:Do not wage war unless it is absolutely, positively the last ditch effort for survival.I was a struggling senior in high school when the invasion took place, and I supported it. I was mesmerized by the way we raced across the desert and took Baghdad in less than a month. War was a sleek, glossy commercial on TV, and we always won at the end. It’s easy to be for a war when you have absolutely no connection with it. Patriotism lead me to believe what we were doing was right and noble. What a difference a deployment can make.The public can do something about this. It doesn’t have to be a hopeless cause forever. Write your Congressmen, go to a rally, read as much as you can about Iraq to see it for what it is: a place men go to lose their minds and their lives. And most importantly, love your children. Teach them that war is not honorable, it’s no plaything cast with an indifferent hand. It’s the most terrible thing man ever brought to the world. My generation didn’t learn from Vietnam, but the next one can learn from us. The memories and spirit of Chevy and Jesse compel you, America. Do not forget your fallen sons.

This young man will hopefully serve as an instructive example of the truth of that ancient adage: "The pen is mightier than the sword!" If we heed his call to action, then his iminent homecoming may be a joyous occasion, not only to his loved ones, but for the whole American family.