The passing of the 4,000th service member in Iraq is a tragic milestone and a testament to the cost of this war, but for those of us who live and fight in Iraq, we measure that cost in smaller, but much more personal numbers. For me those numbers are 8, the number of friends and classmates killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 3, the number of soldiers from my unit killed in this deployment. I’m 25, yet I’ve received more notifications for funerals than invitations to weddings.

The number 4,000 is too great to grasp even for us that are here in Iraq. When we soldiers read the newspaper, the latest AP casualty figures are glanced over with the same casual interest as a box score for a sport you don’t follow. I am certain that I am not alone when I open up the Stars and Stripes, the military’s daily paper, and immediately search for the section with the names of the fallen to see if they include anyone I know. While in a combat outpost in southwest Baghdad, it was in that distinctive bold Arial print in a two-week-old copy of the Stars and Stripes that I read that my best friend had been killed in Afghanistan. No phone call from a mutual friend or a visit to his family. All that had come and gone by the time I had learned about his death. I sometimes wonder, if I hadn’t picked up that paper, how much longer I would have gone by without knowing — perhaps another day, perhaps a week or longer until I could find the time and the means to check my e-mail to find my messages unanswered and a death notification from a West Point distro list in my inbox. The dead in Afghanistan don’t seem to inspire the keeping of lists the same way that those in Iraq do, but even if they did it wouldn’t matter; he could only be number 7 to me.

I’m not asking for pity, only understanding for the cost of this war. We did, after all, volunteer for the Army and that is the key distinction between this army and the army of the Vietnam War. But even as I ask for that understanding I’m almost certain that you won’t be able to obtain it. Even Shakespeare, with his now overused notion of soldiers as a “band of brothers,” fails to capture the bonds, the sense of responsibility to each other, among soldiers. In many ways, Iraq has become my home (by the time my deployment ends I will have spent more time here than anywhere else in the army) and the soldiers I share that home with have become my family. Between working, eating and sleeping within a few feet of the same soldiers every single day, I doubt I am away from them for more than two hours a day. I’m engaged to the love of my life, but it will take several years of marriage before I’ve spent as much time with her as I have with the men I serve with today.

For the vast majority of Americans who don’t have a loved one overseas, the only number they have to attempt to grasp the Iraq War is 4,000. I would ask that when you see that number, try to remember that it is made up of over 1 million smaller numbers; that every one of the 1 million service members who have fought in Iraq has his or her own personal numbers. Over 1 million 8′s and 3′s. When you are evaluating the price of the war, weighing potential rewards versus cost in blood and treasure, I would ask you to consider what is worth the lives of three of your loved ones? Or eight? Or more? It would be a tragedy for my 8 and 3 to have died without us being able to complete our mission, but it maybe even more tragic for 8 and 3 to become anything higher.

By CHARLEY REESE
Published Thursday, May 3, 2007

I predict that applications for admission to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., are going to increase considerably as a result of the television coverage of the shootings by a deranged student.

Paradoxically, the coverage of the tragedy revealed a university and a community at their very best. Administrators, faculty, students, police and medical personnel responded competently and heroically. The spirit shown by the students is outstanding. The more I watched, the more I thought how great it would be to be part of the “Hokie Nation.” If I were college age, I’d think seriously about attending that school.

Students and faculty facing the murderous gunman, though naturally frightened, acted heroically. One professor held the door against the gunman as his students escaped. Shots fired through the door killed him. In two other classrooms, students themselves barred the door and kept the gunman out. In one of those cases, the students holding the door had already been shot.

Equally as impressive was that not one of the numerous interviews with students revealed any sniveling or self-pity. The students uniformly showed compassion for their fellow students and faculty members. If they wept, it was for others. They not only maintained their dignity in the face of the tragic murders of 32 people, but also in the face of an army of international media that descended on them. And their overwhelming support and obvious affection for Virginia Tech is something I’ve never seen before. These weren’t sports fans; these were students who loved their school and what so many of them described as the Hokie spirit.

Virginia Tech has a beautiful campus, and the small town of Blacksburg is itself both beautiful and friendly. The violence began at 7:15 a.m. on April 16. After a two-hour gap during which the gunman apparently was holed up in his dormitory room, it resumed, but it was over by 10:15 a.m., when he committed suicide as police were closing in on him.

I don’t know of a better recommendation for an administration. These folks were able to handle the mass murder and the influx of the media people and arrange a convocation with the governor and the president in attendance the very next day. The logistics of such an event are staggering. At the same time, the student government arranged a candlelight vigil that was attended by thousands of students, faculty and townspeople. That reflects not only administrative competence but a spirit of community that all of us can envy.

The staffs of local hospitals, overwhelmed with volunteers, did a superb job of handling the wounded and won high praise from parents for their compassion and competence.

As for danger to students, we have to face the fact that insanity happens. Despite a lot of psychobabble about “warning signs,” predicting human behavior is virtually impossible. Laws make it extremely difficult to commit someone involuntarily to a mental institution.

Treatment for psychiatric disorders is itself problematic. Much was made of the graphic violence in this boy’s writings, but they were no more graphic and bizarre than the violence put on the screen by Quentin Tarantino and his ilk.

What happened at Virginia Tech could happen on any university campus or at any other place. It is rare, but it happens. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Virginia Tech to any of my loved ones. After all, if tragedy must occur, better that it occurs at a place where there is such a tremendous spirit of camaraderie and compassion to overcome its effects.

Unexpectedly, while watching mass murder occur, the Hokies made me proud to be an American.

They showed themselves to be the kind of people you’d want around you in a bad situation.

http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2007/may/20070503comm002.asp

A fund has just set up for Sean McQuade and his family. It was set up by fellow Clearview 2003 alum, Michael Camp, and English teacher at Clearview, Tracy Matozzo (formerly Malloy). This account is intended to be turned over fully to Sean and his family to use at their discretion.

The account has been opened at St. Edmond’s Federal Savings Bank in Sewell, across from Five Points Diner. Tracy Matozzo and Mike Camp are the liaisons for the fund and her mother, Beverly, is in charge of handling the account. The bank is very small and all employees are aware and willing to help so they will be able to handle anything and focus specifically on our cause. You can donate money through cash, check, or money order. Make all checks or money orders payable to “Sean McQuade Alumni Fund”. All donations will be recorded, kept on file and given to the McQuade family. If you choose to donate anonymously, you may. You cannot donate money online. You can mail donations directly to the bank at the address listed below. If you are in the area, you can also go to the bank at any time, walk up to any teller and make a donation. There is no minimum or maximum amount you can donate; every little bit helps. Send your donations to:

Sean McQuade Alumni Fund
c/o St. Edmond’s Federal Savings Bank
1893 Hurffville Road
Sewell, NJ 08080
Attention: Beverly Matozzo
856-227-9440

Just as a plug for CNN Pipeline, you can download their “premium player” to watch right from your desktop. It also has a “mini mode” that shrinks the video a bit and keeps it on top of your screen so you can work and watch simultaneously. $25/year is not bad at all. I don’t know why I never got it before since I am definitely an online news junkie. I don’t get a newspaper or watch tv or listen to the radio so this is the only way I get information, and I usually check CNN’s website about 10 times a day any way.

Project Vote Smart

I’m going to Corning this weekend. I’m planning on knitting / crocheting a ton while I’m there, and of course I won’t get done what I want to get done. Just like on every break. I think I’ll be taking my uncle to see Little Miss Sunshine. I’ve heard good things. I saw Talladega Nights last weekend and it was pretty funny.

I dropped my car off at the Firestone near campus to get an oil change today. They called because they couldn’t open the hood, I told them how because it’s weird enough that you need two people. They called back and said they still couldn’t get it. I had to go back down there, and I opened it on the first try. Thanks for wasting my time.

I saw a band called Hoots and Hellmouth the other night at the Cabaret. My dad had seen them at the Folk Fest this year and told me to check them out since they’re on Drexel’s label (and also they’re good). So any way it was free and I went. They were really cool, very energetic. Got off the stage and danced around for my favorite song. I didn’t have any extra money to pick up a CD but they’re recording their first actual album now so I can get that later since they play in Philly all the time.

I was at Swarthmore for a work event and wow, is that campus gorgeous. Very green. The buildings themselves were beautiful too, very old but well kept, and clean! It felt like a school. Their student center had awesome fliers for everything from tango lessons for credit to Irish Gaelic language classes. I hate Drexel.

Smoking Ban Update: Puff, Puff…Pass Already!!

After six years of deliberation and compromise, we are disappointed to inform you that the smoking ban legislation that finally passed City Council in spring is now in jeopardy. Mayor Street has said he’s not sure he’s going to pass the smoking ban and we only have until 10 a.m. this Thursday, September 14th, to persuade him that it’s the right thing to do.

What would you say to Mayor Street to persuade him to pass the bill?

- You could thank him for prioritizing health and fitness in his two terms in office and ask him to demonstrate his continued commitment to that priority by signing the bill…

- You might tell him how much Philadelphia’s image has improved during his administration and that signing the ban will further demonstrate that our city is as progressive as its neighbors?

- Or maybe you just love that Philadelphia’s restaurant and bar scene has flourished in recent years and you feel a smoking ban will encourage even more young people (especially young people with kids) to leave home for a night on the town.

So send the Mayor an email by clicking on http://www.pennenvironment.org/PE.asp?id=1771&id4=ES – ask him to sign the ban, for the health of restaurant employees and customers across our city.

And then pass the link on to your friends.

* A Round of Trailblazers *

Some establishments have already made the right choice— their bar is smoke-free all of the time. Without a smoking ban they’re taking a risk, but if a smoke-free workplace means healthier, happier staff and customers, that’s a risk they’re willing to take. Tell them you love them with your wallet ? go to http://younginvolvedphila.org/smoking_advocacy.htm for our list of smoke-free restaurants and bars.