1,825 days - and still counting
Rocky Mountain News
Published March 15, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky
Matthew Isaiah Stewart, a high school senior from Grand Junction, is sworn-in as a Marine recruit Friday by Maj. Cort Hunt at the Military Entry Processing Station in downtown Denver. Recruiting numbers are high, despite the war.
Five years later, these are the faces of the Iraq War:
The mother who became an anti-war activist after she saw what combat did to her son.
The soldier who lost his legs but never his will to survive.
The father who still believes in the battle, even as he mourns the death of the heroic Marine who happened to be his eldest son.
The Iraqi student who holds on to hope despite chaos in his homeland.
The veteran helicopter pilot who deals with the emotional toll of war by writing about it.
Since March 19, 2003, nearly 4,000 American troops have died and more than 29,000 have been wounded in Operation Iraqi Freedom. Its resolution seems both elusive and divisive: Many people view it with increasing detachment.
But for those who mark the days waiting for a loved one to return, for a wound to heal or for grief to subside, stepping back is not an option. For those whose lives have been touched and forever changed, it remains a war so far away - and so very close to home.
Here are their voices.
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March 15, 2008
6:13 p.m.
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mayday writes:
Thank you Matthew Stewart, and all the others willing to fight for our way of life...
March 15, 2008
8:21 p.m.
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samsmargolis writes:
Be proud of your service and commitment, Matthew. You're already light-years ahead of most of your age group and your training and experiences will serve you well all your days.
March 16, 2008
1:28 a.m.
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Domino writes:
You are not fighting for me.
March 16, 2008
6:52 a.m.
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Charles__B writes:
March 16, 2008
6:53 a.m.
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Charles__B writes:
a
b
c
March 16, 2008
6:54 a.m.
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Charles__B writes:
d
e
f
March 16, 2008
11:39 a.m.
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Bumpskier writes:
Domino-He may not be fighting directly for you, but he will be fighting for you to maintain your right to say silly stuff like that!
March 16, 2008
1:26 p.m.
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Johntrythisone writes:
Thank you Matthew. Good luck and know we are behind you.
March 16, 2008
2:58 p.m.
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lazer writes:
how stupid do you have to be? this is not a war for our freedom, it is a war about oil and keeping the dollar relevant in the world. this kid is no hero just some D student off to die. get some loans and go to school. look up "Genocide" or "ethnocide" we are all guilty of these atrocities, please look at the bigger picture.