Join veterans everywhere in honoring those killed in action on Memorial Day

I've previously recounted in posts here on The Advocate, how, during my campaign for Seattle City Council, I had individuals inform me that they would never vote for me because I was a veteran. I had people tell me that they didn't believe I was strong enough to represent them because I had not refused to deploy to Iraq.

Well, people are entitled to their opinions, and I would never hold anything against someone for speaking their mind openly.

What did hurt was the idea of the friends I lost in Iraq hearing those words.

One can never speak to the motivations of another person no matter how well you know them, but I can write about the soldiers I knew.

There was nothing cold or savage about the way they played spades at night, no cruelty in their voice as they lamented how much they missed being able to kick back and enjoy themselves. Readers, if you were there, you would've seen genuine kindness in a face burned red by the sun and rubbed raw by the sand as he handed a young Iraqi kid a bottle of his own water ration. And, on cold nights when there was no one around for miles but your unit, you'd hear him talk about his family and the pain in his voice would tell you just how much his country meant to him.

Did my friends die senseless deaths participating in a senseless occupation?

Smarter men than me have and will continue to debate that, just like they continue to do for every conflict that has ever been fought. But I do have one humble request to make this Memorial Day, and that is... please, on this one day, regardless of your politics or views on violence, please try to see things through their eyes.

Would they say now — if they could — that the war is senseless? Who knows. I doubt they would say that using their own body to shield another's was senseless. Or that the love for the flag they proudly wore on their arm or for their fellow soldiers was senseless. These men and women knew just how much that they and their families would sacrifice for their country, and it meant something to them. Put yourself in their shoes and let it mean something to you!

I am an American Soldier.
I am a Warrior and a member of a team.
I serve the people of the United States and live the Army Values.

I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.

I am disciplined, physically and mentally tough, trained and proficient in my warrior tasks and drills.
I always maintain my arms, my equipment and myself.
I am an expert and I am a professional.
I stand ready to deploy, engage, and destroy the enemies of the
United States of America in close combat.
I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life.
I am an American Soldier.

- U.S. Army Soldier's Creed