By Patrick Nagel

[Adapted from May 2006 Chimes,
Newsletter of Ukiah UMC]

Ukiah -- May 5, 2006

At the end of most broadcasts of PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer, they display images of soliders who've died in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As I read the ages...21...19...my thoughts turn to my own children: not much older or younger than these. So much living yet to do. So much potential lost; weddings and grandchildren and perhaps even a cure for some disease...lost. Can I imagine what it would feel like to lose one my children this way? I cannot, it's too unimaginable. Another age is displayed...34. Was this man married? Did he have children? How do they complete their family circle now? Did he start out wanting to earn a few extra bucks in the reserves, and then...this?

In my youth during the Vietnam War, there was a bumper sticker which read: "America, Love it or Leave it!" I don't believe I'll leave. I'll love my country enough to question what I need to question. The images of those fallen soldiers looking back at me with their brave faces and smiles frozen in time deserve nothing less.