More War Shit

Maybe readers of Lassiter Space are familiar with the story of Airman Carl J. Ware Jr, a Glassboro native who was killed last summer in Iraq. To recap, Airman Ware was killed last July in what was described as a "non combat" related casualty. Almost immediately, ominous questions began to emerge about the exact nature of his death. His family suspected foul play and in retrospect they were right. Yesterday, Carl Ware's killer -- a fellow soldier named Kyle Dalton -- pleaded guily to manslaughter and faces a dozen years in the brig.

Dalton's bargained plea (the original charge was murder) is some 10 months in the making and hopefully will allow Ware's family some solace. I know for sure it hasn't been an easy time for them. His sister and widow Christine reached out and told me so. (Aparently a Google search of Carl led them to the blog and they wanted to send a shout out for keeping Carl's story alive and for asking the tough questions, namely WTF did Carl Ware die for?) Since that sad day in Iraq, Carl's wife and sister have both given birth which is bittersweet given the circumstances. And now a trial to boot. Oy. At least Christine gets the chance say her piece today at the trial of her husband's killer. Hopefully that will be theraputic for her. It's worth remembering she's only 23 which is an awfully shitty age to be a widow.

The war in Iraq has been going on for ages and the death toll continues to climb. The latest count is 3,332. That's a lot of anguished families, but for me the Carl Ware story is the one that keeps this number from being just a statistic.