Nick was a close friend of mine since we were 7. The only thing he ever talked about was joining the military or being in law enforcement. Nick did not need a job, he was happy with his life and knew what he was getting into. Just because the GR Press miss used his parents words and turned everything around doesnt mean you should show a lack of respect to our leaders or our soldiers. Please, learn the facts and find out the real story before you start spewing.

I'm sorry about the loss of your friend. It sucks.

Please understand that I meant no disrespect to Nick or any other soldier. My uncle was career Air Force and flew combat missions in Vietnam, and several of my friends and people I admire have served, some in combat. But many soldiers simply are too young to fully understand what they're getting into. Sorry if that chafes (I know I hated hearing it when I was 21), but sometimes "you're not old enough yet" is true. The fact that this was something Nick had wanted to do since he was a kid just underscores that it wasn't exactly a carefully considered, adult decision. It was a young man thinking (like we all do at that age) "it'll never happen to me". And he was mistaken.

I know from personal experience that The Press is capable of screwing up a direct quote pretty badly, but if Mr. Blodgett said that Nick joined up in part because he couldn't find a better job, I'm inclined to believe him. I think he has some idea of what was going through his son's head; my dad always has.

As for respect for our leaders, I give them the respect they earn. To demand anything else of me would be unAmerican.

So what you're saying is that you'd prefer Saddam to still be in power and that's what would earn your respect ?? Nice.

You're someone to talk about "respect" ... using a deceased soldier for your own propaganda and putting your words in the mouth of the man who now can't speak for himself ... show some backbone and "speak" for some soldiers who are still alive so they can tell you whether what you're saying they think and represent is correct?

How about posting a list of the Americans who have not been killed as a result of the war being fought on the terrorists' countries instead of on our own soil ? Or the women who haven't been raped by Saddam's henchmen since he's been removed from power? Or how many fewer American soldiers have died since the war began compared to how many Americans were killed by the terrorists in a single day on 9-11?

Oh maybe you could just tell us what you would have done differently that would have worked that you find "respectful" ?? And don't say build international concensus ... that was done while Saddam, the UN, the french and The Soviets abused the Oil for Food program ... if that was continued ... all that would happen would be for Saddam and the french folk to keep getting more dollars to be used against the US.

I would have preferred if Reagan and the president's father hadn't helped to arm Saddam in the first place. I've been on record opposing that relationship since the 1980's. I would have preferred that the president himself hadn't been so supportive of the Taliban's fundamentalist regime in Afghanistan in mid-2001, when it was already harboring known terrorist Osama bin Laden. Maybe then we wouldn't have this mess to deal with.

But given the fact that they did, I would have respected international law and used the UN or NATO or any of the other bodies we helped to establish for just this purpose, to continue the programs that were working to un-do that mistake. He was kicking and screaming, but Saddam was disarming. The president can say "it wasn't working" until he's blue in the face, but that won't make it true. He can also say that Saddam posed an immediate threat to the American people as much as he wants, or that al-Qaeda and Saddam were working together despite their obvious mutual hatred for each other, and it won't make that true, either. Here's Clue #1 for you: not all Arabs are the same, and the enemy of my enemy isn't necessarily my friend. Sometimes he's just another enemy.

For the record: I put no words in Private Blodgett's mouth, Jane. I only quoted his parents. If you have a problem with what they said, take it up with them. The rest of what I wrote was obviously me talking, so don't try to pretend that I was trying to speak for anyone else.

You want me to start quoting servicemembers who haven't been killed by the invasion and occupation? OK. Give me some time to round them up, and I will. (Obviously you aren't interested in combat veterans of other wars, like Sen. Kerry.) Is it OK if I also start quoting Iraqis who haven't been killed? Because it sure sounds like a lot of them are rather unhappy about the invasion. In case you care. And what about citizens deemed ineligible to serve in the armed forces (such as me)? Don't we get to speak... for ourselves?

P.S. The "Soviets" disappeared from the world stage a decade ago. You're parroting out of date rhetoric. And your snotty anti-France rhetoric is obviously cribbed from commentators on Fox News, whose owner admits to having a political agenda for his network. Saying that the French are out to get us seem pretty nuts to me. But what do I know; my visits to France, in which I got to know French people and discussed politics with them couldn't possibly be of any value. Not when you have Rush and O'Reilly to tell you what to think.

P.P.S. Speaking of "backbone", I provide the address of my web site and my actual working e-mail address for comments, corrections, and rebuttal. Giving only a bogus e-mail address hardly gives you the high ground.

As a soldier serving with PFC Blodgett here in Iraq, I know what he was about.... or at least I'd claim I do. I know this story is old, but I stumbled accross it looking for details as to his families well-being. I think about the 3 soldiers and 1 civilian my troop has lost everyday and I realize what we are doing is right. You may have political beliefs and bias' swaying your opinion but I see the country. I see the torments that these people have went through. Nick knew this as well as any of us do. Is anyone prepared for anything they do? He knew it was dangerous... he wasn't douped into joining. He WANTED to be a scout. He wanted to be all "gun-ho" and "hoo-ah". He was a geek. He was the first guy to get laid out here. He was my friend. I know you meant no disrespect, but it troubles me to find that you comment on something as important as my friend. Nick joined because it was something he wanted to do. Tell me there weren't things as a kid you wanted to do and you still do. Dreams. Ideas. Thats what life is about. Calling it a bad adult decision because it was founded on a childhood dream is ridiculous. He knew he could die. No one can fathom what that is like. So saying he (or anyone for that matter) made a rash decision based on not knowing the facts is absurd. This is a touchy subject and I realize that some are more prone to arguement about it than others. I just wish people would lay off the kids that die over here and relish them for what they are.... Heroes. Forget everything else... the politics, the right and wrong. We ARE making the world better. And that takes heroes to do.

I appreciate your comments; they help me to understand a little better what kind of person Nick Blodgett was. A couple comments in reply:

One thing I wish is that people would stop slandering those of us who question the wisdom of starting this war, telling us to "lay off the kids that die over here" and garbage like that. No one's questioning their integrity or potential for heroism, so whoever's telling you that we are, is either lying or having acid flashbacks to the 60s. You know what's going on in Iraq, but I see what's going on here, and I'm sick of pro-war politicians using you this way, insinuating that anyone who questions their poltical agenda doesn't "support our troops".

You're welcome to your opinion that we're making the world better with this this war. In some ways, I'm sure that's true. But in other ways, we're making it worse. We're throwing out entire sections of international law governing torture, the whole framework of "just war" doctrine, and international respect for the United States. That's definitely going to hurt us - and the rest of the world - in the years to come. I think we could have made the world better without killing tens of thousands of the people we're supposedly helping. And I don't think that inspiring terrorists to redouble their recruitment efforts - and giving them plenty of material to use to justify their cause - is going to help in the long term, either.

It only makes sense in the short term. So Nick's generation is going to suffer twice: first in the loss of him and others like him, and second in dealing with the long term consequences.

Nick and I were high school sweethearts for about two years and talked to him when he was in the army. He was damn proud to be a US solider and any one that bashes my first love I get very defense about because he was such a good person. He was loyal, worked hard, and never gave up. He was no kid with a gun but a man. The army matured him into a man with honor.