"Reflections from a Marine Mom"

A few years ago I was traveling through the San Antonio airport when I saw some young military double amputees walking on their special prostheses.  I was struck by how young they were - and how mobile they were despite their horrific wounds. As the Mom and mother-in-law of three military men, I could only think of what life would be like if that had happened to one of mine. It was a sobering thought. 

In the wake of the terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon, we hear once again of the sudden death, the loss of limbs, and other wounds caused by Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).  Although we don't yet know who perpetrated this cowardly act, the evils of war have struck home. Even the President characterized this dastardly act as evil, the making of shrapnel filled bombs in order to maximize casualties among innocent bystanders at a sporting event.

No matter how one feels about the past decade of war, our military has been combatting an evil enemy, a cowardly adversary who resorts to remotely detonated IEDs designed to kill and maim them as well as innocent civilians. As a Mom I wish that there could be peace around the globe, but that is not the reality. I remember Rudd describing his mission in Iraq as stopping the bad guys in their home countries so that they can't attack us  in our homes. We can debate the invasion of Iraq, but the reality is that Al Qaeda took advantage of the opportunity to begin fighting our military. The Taliban are an equally evil adversary, as witnessed by their infamous soccer stadium executions of fellow Afghans for various trivial offenses.