[lbo-talk] Memorial Day

[Carl Remick]

I am no fan of the US military and have always focused more on the tragedy 
of Iraqi casualties from Bush's criminal war than that of US armed forces 
personnel.  My POV is that these soldiers are professionals and chose to put 
themselves at risk; that they are typically reactionaries who take pride in 
sheer military might; and that a great many of them have casually brutalized 
Iraqis.

Whatever the truth of all that, I just saw a Memorial Day photo at the NY 
Times website that broke my heart and reminded me how much all victims of 
war deserve the greatest sympathy.  The caption of this photo reads:  "The 
country began its Memorial Day observances. Mary McHugh visited the grave of 
her fiancé, Sgt. James J. Regan, who was killed in Iraq."  But Ms. McHugh 
isn't shown just visiting the grave -- she's shown lying, extended, 
face-down on the grave in what can only be described as a romantic embrace.  
I have seen many horrifying scenes of intense misery throughout this war, 
but I have seen no sight more sorrowful than that of this young woman 
prostrate with grief on the grave of her dead lover.

The photo is at 
<http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/27/world/28vigil-2-337.jpg>

Carl

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