I'm still reeling from something I saw in Newsweek two weeks ago.
Newsweek's issue, called 'Voices of the Fallen' published hand-written letters from dead American soldiers from Iraq to their families. The cover has a picture of several soldiers at dust with the handwritten words across the cover, "Anyday I'm here could be the day I die."
I opened it up the magazine to the third page, which listed the names and included the pictures of the authors of those letters in the issue.
I went through the names - with probably 60 or 80 listed, and my eyes stopped on the fifth one down. The hometown of "Charlottesville, VA" caught my eye first. Charlottesville is where I grew up.
Then above that line I read: "Marine Cpl. Bradley T. Arms."
Brad Arms was in my youth group when I was a youth intern at my church in Charlottesville, his family went to our church and he was a classmate of my brother at school. I remember picking up Brad and his brother Doug to go to the driving range or out for ice cream or to go to a summer Bible study. He died a few years ago, but the emotions came swirling up again as I remember the phone call from my mom when she told me that Brad had been killed by friendly fire.
It was even more difficult on pg. 41 of Newsweek to read the words that he wrote to his mother and dad, whom I knew fairly well. You never expect to see the words of someone you know personally published in Newsweek and it blows your mind to read the words of someone you knew who is no longer alive.
Once again I was reminded that freedom is a terrific blessing, but it certainly comes at a cost.
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