Soccer Dad

Farewell soldier?

Over the past months I've followed Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum. It is the blog of a soldier, now 1st Lt. Rusten D Currie. He is a fine writer and while he generally supports the war, he harbors doubts. Now he has given us perhaps his final post, "Journey's End." He begins:

December 15th 2005, was one of the greatest days of my life, I was witness to the birth of democracy in Iraq. It is a rarity to be a part of such an historic event. Despite any and all arguments about the why we are here; by some accounts 75% of Iraqis registered to vote did so (Imagine who or groups of who, would not be in office if 75% of American voters turned out!). Despite threats (very real threats) of violence Iraqi men and women lined up and waited; some for hours, to vote. They waited patiently in lines that would have driven me mad! They have never before had such an opportunity to vote and have a say in their own nation. While none of these candidates (nearly 8000 of them), will share the overwhelming 99.9% landslide victory Saddam Hussein (Former dictator, tyrant, and poet) once enjoyed. The day passed without incident, save for the aforementioned self-determination of the nation by its citizens. All was quiet on virtually all fronts of the war in Iraq. In fact, I can honestly say I was bored. Being bored in war is a good thing, and as of late, I have been blissfully bored to no end. Which is why I have not posted for some time, I simply had nothing to say.

And Lt. Currie concludes his post:

Finally, to my wife. My angel, my best friend and my compass. It has been so long since I watched you drive away from the Airport on April 21st 2005. It has been so long since my cheeks were stained with tears as I watched you pull away and felt as if I’d just died. At times, I thought it was the last time I’d ever see you, and at that thought my heart grew cold. We have been apart for 9 months now, and soon we will be together again, the one and only wish I have had since I saw you last was that I could see you again. To see you smile at me is the best present I could ever hope for, it is in fact the only thing I have let myself hope for, for months now. When this is over and I hang this faded uniform I hope to spend the rest of my life with you and when we grow old together, and reflect on this war and our time apart as with soldiers in all wars I’ll be able to smile and say; “I was there…”

It pays to read the whole thing with all of Lt. Currie's conflicting emotions. And the only thing I can add is to repeat. He was there.

Iraqi voters line up outside a polling site in Barwana, Iraq, on Dec. 15, 2005. Iraqi citizens are voting to elect Iraq's first free, permanent parliamentary government. DoD photo by Sgt. James P. Aguilar, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)