Ryan McGlothlin, Hero
And he
didn't vote for Bush:
Ryan McGlothlin was set for life: a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the College of William & Mary, a doctoral research fellowship in chemistry at Stanford University, a bright future on the cutting edge of science.
He gave it all up to join the Marines. On Nov. 16, at age 26, he was killed in Iraq.This is a terrific story on several levels. First, it debunks the "ignorant and taken advantage of by military recruiters" meme that the Left spreads about the members of our armed forces. Second, it shows an honest young man, who despite voting against Bush clearly believed in the Iraq mission:
"I know this war is not the most popular one back home, but people must understand that to pull out before the Iraqi army is fully ready to assume responsibility for the security of their own country is not only irresponsible of us but would ensure the persistence of terrorism," Ryan wrote. "If you walk through these cities and see how terrified the Iraqi citizens are of the terrorists and how thankful they are that we finally came to their cities, you could not possibly consider doing this job incompletely."Obviously, the story would be improved if Ryan had lived. But it is young men like him who represent the best this country has to offer.
