October 19, 2005 [LINK]

Second area soldier killed

Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Bubb, of Grottoes, VA, was killed in combat on Monday, on the day before his 20th birthday. For details, see newsleader.com. This comes nine months after the first area youth, Jason Redifer, also a Marine Lance Corporal, was killed in Iraq; see Feb. 3 and Aug. 27 blog posts. May God comfort the families of both fallen heroes, and may all Americans pay honor to their sacrifices.

The total number of American military personnel who have been killed in action in Iraq is approaching 2,000. Reaching that landmark figure will be another occasion for questioning war objectives, testing the ability and willingness of both war opponents and the Bush administration to engage in constructive discourse about "what we are fighting for."