War Hits Home

I've seen stories about local kids who were injured or killed in Iraq. But never anyone I knew. Until this morning. The headline in my hometown paper was about a 21-year-old soldier who was killed in Iraq on Tuesday. I can see his face. He was on the football team and the basketball team. He was also on the track or baseball team, I think. It was a small school. I knew nearly every kid in the place before I moved on. His mom was on a city board, and I covered those meetings, too.

Has anyone else had to deal with an athlete you covered dying in war? I bet there are lots of Vietnam stories from some of the older folks around here.