Pensamientos

The following news story crossed my computer screen, while I was receiving my daily 4th ID Iraq Update bulletin today: TIKRIT, Iraq (AP) - An American soldier was killed Tuesday morning after a roadside bomb exploded while his convoy was passing by, the U.S. military said. The soldier was the first member of the 1st Infantry Division, which is replacing the 4th Infantry Division, to die in Iraq, said Maj. Debra Stewart. The soldier was killed after the Humvee he was riding in was hit by the bomb in Balad Ruz, just east of Baqouba in the Sunni Triangle. A second soldier was wounded in the explosion and airlifted the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad and was listed in stable condition. The names of both soldiers were withheld pending notification of their families. ``It is a very sad day for the division, we have lost a very valuable team member,'' said Stewart, a Division spokeswoman. The latest death brings to 553 the number of American service members who have died since the Iraq conflict began March 20. Most of those deaths occurred after President Bush declared an end to major combat May 1. The 1st ID soldier was killed in the same area where my son has been serving for the past year. My son has been in a convoy leaving Iraq this past week. I still haven't received news of his arrival in Kuwait yet. My family and I are anxiously awaiting word of his return. Even when he's safely in the states, I'll continue to support and pray for our troops and their families who sacrifice much in this violent war. 553 deaths from war, is 553 too many!!