7.09.2006

Father Goes to Iraq to Avenge Son's Death, Comes Back Changed Man

This story got me early this morning (which it still bloody well is):

National Guard member Joe Johnson volunteered to go to Iraq to avenge his son's death. But what he saw there caused a change of heart.

Johnson was horrified by the extreme poverty. The friendliness of the people and the grateful smiles of Iraqi children weakened his desire for revenge and made him want to help instead.
At a ceremony Friday, two months after Johnson's return from his eight-month tour, the state of Georgia dedicated an rural north Georgia interchange to the memory of his son. Justin Johnson, 22, was killed by a roadside bomb in April 2004, just 12 days after arriving in Iraq.

"I believe the Lord changed my heart because I do have a heart for the children," Johnson said after the ceremony.

His wife, Jan, said she told her husband before he left that killing Iraqis was never going to bring Justin back. However, she recognized that going to Iraq was something he had to do to start healing.
I do rather question, however, why the military would allow a family member of a fallen soldier to go over soon after that family member's death. While not everyone is going to go seeking revenge, the possibility for it is quite high, one would think.

Oh wait, that's right. Mr. Rumsfeld will take any warm body so long as it's not attached to the Bush/Cheney family or a member of the chickenhawk Congress.