Body Of War: A True Patriot

For people who call those of us who oppose the war in Iraq unpatriotic, consider the words of Frederick Douglas: “A true patriot is one who loves his country but rebukes and does not forgive its sins.”

I enlisted after September 11, as did many of my brothers and sisters in arms, to defend the country against an attacking force, to defend the country and its constitution, which is a love of our country. I will not forgive and I will rebuke what I consider to be the sin of an arbitrary invasion of Iraq that has cost the lives of 4,000 of my brothers and sisters and the severe injury of countless more. The sooner you bring them home, the more of them will come home.

The Day A Bullet Changed My Life

I was the company clerk, a position I had transferred into about six weeks before we deployed to Iraq. I transferred because I had signed a contract and I was going to fulfill that contract, but I was going to try to do it in the safest way possible so I could come home safely. That plan, unfortunately, did not work out: the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, as they say.

It was April 4, 2004. I was guarding some gear when my sergeant said to grab my gear, get on a truck and go. I loaded onto a truck with 23 other soldiers (the truck was meant for 18 soldiers with gear so we were quite packed in). The truck had no armor on the sides, nor did it have a tarp on the front and it was prone to overheating.

We were on a mission to provide security for a rescue operation – that was all we were told.