A family asks: How many more war dead?

by Celeste and Dante Zapala, The Philadelphia Inquirer

On a warm Sunday afternoon in March 2004, our family tearfully held Sherwood in our arms for the last time and said goodbye to him as he left for Iraq. We could not have predicted what would happen to him. We had only our worst fears tempered by our faith in God.

Sherwood deployed with his Pennsylvania National Guard unit and went to Baghdad, where he provided security for the Iraq Survey Group as it looked for the nonexistent weapons of mass destruction. He was killed in an explosion six weeks after his arrival.

Before and after that tragic day, we have protested and spoken out against this unjust war. We have raised our voices with crowds of half a million people marching past the White House. We have stood alone in the rain on the concrete partition of North Broad Street. Holding our signs and holding our truth that invading and occupying Iraq was a betrayal of a sacred trust, we have said: "End this war."

We could not have predicted any of what has happened - not to Sherwood, not to our country. The Bush administration plunged our military into the middle of the hell it created, without proper equipment and training. It stubbornly pursued strategies contrary to both military wisdom and moral integrity. All the while, our brave troops suffered the consequences and then returned home to an inadequate Veterans Administration health system. Year after year, these weary souls have been redeployed without proper rest and with disregard for their mental and physical conditions.

Nearly five years to the day that we last saw Sherwood alive, the new president announced a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq. Only now have we elected a leadership that recognizes a need for this hideous war to end. But we are not vindicated in our efforts to end the war. The beginning of the end comes too late for 4,254 Americans and their families and untold numbers of Iraqis.

The temptation for many folks is to believe that the war is over and let it fade even further from their consciousness. The nation's interest in this tragedy has not been steadfast. Shamefully, the cries of mothers, spouses, and children have been waning in our ears.

However, Americans will remain in Iraq until at least the end of 2011. In that time, lives, limbs, and treasure will be forever lost. The president's language leaves the door open for an even longer occupation if the Iraqis allow it. We cannot rule out that possibility. For too many, the war is good business. Corruption and graft have enriched profiteers in both Iraq and the United States. Fringe terrorists who would otherwise not exist in Iraq use our presence as a recruiting tool and may make desperate and ugly efforts to keep us engaged.

On April 26, we will visit Sherwood at his grave in the quiet cemetery near Wilkes-Barre where he is at rest. With tears for a future denied, and memories of this much-loved young man, we will mark the fifth anniversary of his death. In his name we will continue to oppose the continued presence of Americans in Iraq. As Sherwood would certainly say, it will remain we, the citizens, who must ensure that our government acts justly. Our withdrawal must be expedient and complete.

We must ask President Obama, now more than ever: How many more quiet graveyards will echo with the wails of families who have lost their beloveds to this war that never should have been, before it is finally over?