For Melissa

I am in South Korea once again. It is time to get down to the serious business of training for Iraq. I was reminded once again of how serious being in Iraq is by the news of the death of a friend of mine in Iraq. I won't divulge her full name since that is not my privilege, but I will say that her death really brings home how real and how dangerous it is over in the "Sandbox".
Melissa (her real first name) had trained in the same platoon with me through BCT and AIT. She told me about her little girl, nicknamed me "Gizmo", boasted of her prowess at physical training, and told of her wild antics as a bartender in civilian life. She was real, I knew her, and now she's cold lying in state with a bronze star pinned to her chest to solace her family.
I don't know whether she died bravely (she probably did), but I do know that I'd rather her be alive. I'd rather that my cocoon of invincibility - people I know don't die - hadn't been shattered. People who win medals die. Coming back alive is my number one goal. The cost in human life has been painful but we cannot falter. The only way to redeem the life lost in Iraq is success. Iraq must become a nation worth dying for. Leaving would be an affront to the people who sacrificed their blood in the desert. Leaving would say that Melissa died for nothing. I can't allow that. We must stay the course as painful as the course may be.