this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

with special love and honor for Cindy Sheehan and the residents of Camp Casey

cross-posted at DailyKos, Booman Tribune, European Tribune, and My Left Wing.

images and poem below the fold


This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army Special Operations Command shows Sgt. 1st Class Obediah J. Kolath, 32, of Louisburg, Mo., who died Sunday, Aug. 28, 2005, at a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, from wounds he received Thursday in Husaybah, Iraq, the military said. The explosion killed three other Special Operations soldiers.
(AP Photo/The U.S. Army Special Operations Command)


Steve DeFord of Salem, Oregon, weeps as the name of his son, David Johnson who was killed in action in Iraq, is removed from a cross at a mock graveyard adjacent to U.S. President, George W. Bush’s ranch near Crawford, Texas August 30, 2005. Cindy Sheehan and supporters have been camping out near the Bush ranch asking for a one-on-one meeting with the President.
Reuters/Mannie Garcia


Bill Mitchell, top left, of Atascadero, Ca. hugs Army Spc. David Lewis, of New York State, with Iraq Veterans Against the War during a camp closing ceremony at Camp Casey 2 near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Mitchell’s son Mike Mitchell was killed in Iraq.
(AP Photo/LM Otero)


Stacked crosses for soldiers killed in the war in Iraq are wheeled away as the camp breaks down near President Bush’s ranch in Crawford, Texas, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005.
(AP Photo/LM Otero)

In Flanders Fields
by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

– – –

note: I decided not to truncate this well-known poem from WWI to focus more on the sentiment expressed in the first two verses. There is often debate on the meaning of the final verse – whether or not the `quarrel’ is a call to continued war-making, or an admonition to those of us remaining to instead seek peace.

I hold the hope that our challenge is in the spirit of Cindy Sheehan’s final diary entry from Camp Casey at Crawford:

I heard that the counter-protestors came over and held vigil with us for our killed heroes. I heard it was beautiful and life-affirming. This is what Camp Casey does for us: it transforms bitter anger into righteous, productive anger. It turns hate into love. It brings people together in new love and cements mature relationships. It brings other people together who would normally not ever meet and makes them lifelong soul-friends. It heals broken hearts and mends broken souls. I know Camp Casey has healed my broken soul and heart.

– – –

support the Iraqi people
support the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC)
support CARE
support the victims of torture
support the fallen
support the troops
support the troops and the Iraqi people
read This is what John Kerry did today, the diary by lawnorder that prompted this series
read Riverbend’s Bagdhad Burning
read Dahr Jamail’s Iraq Dispatches
read Today in Iraq
read this soldier’s blog
witness every day