A Hero Lost, a Lesson Gained

The finest piece in the April 25 magazine was on Scott Helvenston, a true hero who was killed in Iraq while protecting the delivery of food (“A Good Man Gone,” by Candice Reed, Metropolis). His picture, and not McGruder’s, should have been on the cover.

Barb Hawley

Via the Internet

*

As a Vietnam vet, I have seen more than my share of wartime death and destruction. Given the volume of media coverage of the war in Iraq, I had become jaded to its heartbreaking realities. My typical response to the morning casualty head count was anger and frustration, and I avoided too much introspection lest I became sensitized.

Then I stumbled on Reed’s essay. I would like to thank her for putting me back in touch with an important aspect of my humanity that I buried 35 years ago: It is appropriate to experience grief and sorrow at the loss of a friend. Celebrate the life, as Reed has done, before you resign yourself to the loss.

Edward S. Lopez

Valencia