Comments on: Leading in Remembrance

by: Donna Koppy

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 19:36:55 +0000

Hi Mary,
As a parent of a Marine, who just left on his fourth deployment, I can tell you that the troops want peace. They hope their efforts to establish a peace in an area where religous violence and conflict have existed since 527 will be successful. The men and women in the military have a conflict with people when the message is the military is unnecessary and the folks in uniform are bad people who promote war. Let’s hope people have finally figured out that we can do two things at once:
1.Honor, respect and support the people who sacrifice and serve their country.
2.Work for lasting peace in the world.

by: mary cordes

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 01:44:44 +0000

I have been thinking about some of your observations about Memorial Day, and would like to share a conflict which I experienced regarding war and its consequences. The first thing I think of when I read of another young person’s death in Iraq is what the family must be going through and what a great personal loss it is. A whole generation is being wiped out, for what? That is not to demean the importance of anyone’s loss. Anyone’s death diminishes me, and I can only imagine what the pain must be like.
But what is the greater message that the losses in Iraq send to me? That any war is deadly, and unnecessary, and a symptom that our country has gone way off the track. As a member of PEACEXPEACE, a global women’s group, I walked in the Memorial Day parade in Ferndale, behind the banner of peace, symbolized by a large dove. The reception by the crowd was overwhelmingly positive, with standing applause, cheers, thumbs up and peace signs. Rather than interpreting our walk as opposing our troops, which some would like us to believe, the community saw it for what we meant it to be - the statement that the only way to stop war is to support and live peace.

by: Donna Koppy

Tue, 29 May 2007 22:12:33 +0000

I write this comment as the mother of a 26 year old Marine, Sgt. Timothy Koppy. Tim came home today on his pre-deployment leave. He will be returning to Iraq for his fourth deployment sometime in August.
My son joined the Marine Corp as part of the early entry program for High School juniors and seniors. He wanted to serve his coutry and be one of the few and the proud about two years prior to 9-11. When his friends went to college he was away at boot camp. Our only communication during those three months was one letter from him. He was fortunate enough to have a year and a half of training experience before he was sent to Iraq as a Grunt on the ground in January before the war.
When Tim called me to say he was being deployed (and didn’t have much time to talk) I asked him if he was scared. I don’t know what I expected him to say but I’ll never forget his reply. “I am worried about the three new boots who joined my unit today Mom. I need to watch out for them, they don’t have any experience”. (New boots are the fresh grads sent straight to their unit from basic training)
Despite all the hardships since then, the lack of basic things such as food, water and shelter, tne commitment ro serve among the troops remains strong. The boots on the ground live with their Iraq war experience every day, no matter where they are at any given time. Inspite of all the things that are wrong my son says most Iraqi people are happy the Americans are there. The troops have nade improvements in the infrastructure and the lives of people in Iraq. Schools have been rebult and both boys and girls attend now. It is the minority that cause the problems and violence there. This is not the kind of thing we hear from any of the people in government but it is what so many who serve have seen over time.
Thank you for all your efforts to honor those who serve and remember the lives of all who have gone before us. Our military men and women would never seek attention for themselves but are deserving of our grattitude and respect for their sacrifices. Their service is given freely with the most honorable intentions. Our miltary forces are composed of volunteers. They desreve more than a passing mention on the news that “eight soldiers died today in fighting in Iraq”. Or that May has been the bloodiest month in the war this year.

Donna Koppy

by: Sam Naves

Tue, 29 May 2007 13:41:06 +0000

I grieve for our state and the condition it is in. The lack of jobs, the lack of funds for public program just makes this time in our life one of sadness and sorry. We continue to put the burden on the back of people who breaking down under the stress of caring the load. Our public schools are suffering great loss due to budget cuts. We look around and see crime is up because jobs are down. Yes I understand there are many who loss someone in the USA on a daily bases due to Bush stupidity, But we are loss a state (one in which I love) with every job loss, every student who is not receiving the tools they need to be successful. We can spend billions of dollars fighting a meaning list war over Oil, and there is not an outcry for the lost of a state or a child being left behind. It is time to end the war and build the state back to the promenade statues we belong. One child at a time.

by: Steven Sheldon

Tue, 29 May 2007 13:36:16 +0000

Words that needed to be said. Well done.