Lt. Mark Daily was killed in Iraq on Monday. Though I did not know him, we have many friends in common, one of whom sent me the post that Lt. Daily had put at his MySpace page. Lt. Daily was a graduate of UCLA and Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California. He was named ROTC's outstanding cadet in his region for 2005, and a Distinguished Military Graduate. He is survived by his wife Janet, his mother and father, Linda and John, and three siblings, Christine, Eric and Nicole. Here is Lt. Daily's post:
I won't repeat the post, but if you click on it you can read it. It talks all about his feelings on the war and why he thought it was important to join. If you then read the posts on his site, starting at the most recent ones, you'll read posts from his friends and family about how much they'll miss him, etc. And as you read back (its only been a few days) you'll also read posts like, "Hey, let me know when you get my package" and things like that.
How bizzare. A personal glimpse into a stranger's life, days, hours before his death, and then after.
Many would read this and use it as an excuse to pull out. But they just don't get it. These guys (and girls) know they might die. But they believe in bigger things. Not in the romantic (if you believe in that) side of a war, but in the reality of the war. And as Mark said and believed, "Don't forget that human beings have a responsibility to one another and that Americans will always have a responsibility to the oppressed."
Once again my heart goes out to these "kids" and all they are doing for us - even though we don't all appreciate it. In these times of self-indulgence and "me" - there are still many young men and women who believe in the bigger good and putting their life on the line for what is "right".
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