The Missouri Department of Transportation has just commenced an investigation into the cause of the horrific vehicle accident that occurred on I-44 this week to determine if it was preventable.
The same question should be asked about the death last week of the first Missouri woman to lose her life as a soldier in the war in Iraq, as well as every soldier and civilian whose life has been sacrificed for a war that human history will record as unjust – if not criminal.
Had we had a president who was willing to heed the advice of the pope or the most esteemed statesman on the planet, Nelson Mandela, or even those who directed the military campaign in the Gulf War under the leadership of his father, then a fate other than dying as a soldier in a distant, desert land would have flowered for beautiful 19-year-old Army Pfc. LaVena L. Johnson.
Eric E. Vickers
Submitted via email