Reporter's Note: I write to the Commander in Chief every day.
Dear Mr. President,
Just as you have, I do not want to let the week pass without noting the official end of our war in Iraq. As we lower our flag there and head out, a lot is being written about what we gained or lost; whether it was worth it or not; and on and on.
I’m pretty sure that a lot of those questions will not be answered anytime soon, maybe not for years, and perhaps never. Wars are messy, painful, and full of murkiness.
That said, I hope that people all over our country can take one simple truth to heart: The young Americans who served there went because our elected leaders told them to. They did their jobs. Despite some difficulties and some scandals, as terribly as they may be, the vast number of troops served with honor, decency, and patriotism.
Now they deserve our respect and help as they try to rejoin all of us on the home front. They will need jobs, education, and job training. Some may need financial or medical help. All will need to be included in our communities, schools, churches, workplaces, clubs, and more. Not just for a few weeks, but perhaps for years.
Whatever difficulties we have faced here at home with the troubled economy, odds are that most of them are facing it too, and in a more complicated, difficult way.
And it is not just the soldiers. Military families all over the nation have struggled to support the mission in Iraq for years; running households with a parent gone, getting by on limited military pay while civilian careers went on indefinite hold, and in the worst cases, hearing a knock at the door and the news that a loved one has been lost.
They too, need and deserve our assistance.
It is easy when a war drags on or grows unpopular, for civilians to start scorning the people who are fighting it. It is just as easy when such a war is over, for societies to quickly start resenting the responsibilities owed to soldiers. But we do owe them, and I hope during this holiday season we can pledge to be true to our commitments long after the echoes of that distant war have faded into dust.
Regards,
Tom