When does the price of war become
too high to endure?
Marine Sgt. Byron Norwood's parents and their son, who were
recognized in the State of the Union address, paid freedom's price
("Bush recognition stuns Miss. family," Feb. 4).
Americans,
however, do not connect with gold star families who know their loved
ones will never come home.
Emmy winner Bill Couturie produced
the HBO documentary Last Letters Home. The last words soldiers wrote
are read with choked emotion.
In the documentary, we hear young warriors confronting their
fears, contemplating death, thinking of home and
family.
Lance Cpl. Louis Qualls wrote his father about the
Fallujah offensive, "I fear it's a fight for my life." Three Marines
knocked on Gary Qualls' door. He said, "Don't tell me it's about
Louis." They nodded. "My knees totally collapsed."
Sgt. Russell Slay wrote his 9-year-old daughter she will always
be his little girl. To his 5-year-old son, he wrote, "Stay in school
and stay away from the military."
Pfc. Jesse Givens wrote a
letter to be opened only if the worst happened. It read, in part:
"Please find it in your heart to forgive me for leaving you
alone."
Jess Couturie says, "We do not see the real human
costs that families go through. They feel like America is
anesthetized to their pain; that Americans are not feeling the depth
of the grief that the war is causing."
Do Americans expect service families to continue sacrificing
their loved ones to a war machine that constantly needs
feeding?
A military chaplain in Iraq is convinced this is
where God wants him to be, but says it comes with a price. The
question is: When does the price become too high?
Charles Roithmayr
Moss Point
