Remember
Editorial

Over the course of the last 16 days the community has honored 1st Lt. Ryan Patrick Jones, who lost his life in Iraq this month.

There have been the formal tributes on Academy Hill and in Holy Spirit Church and Mt. Pleasant Cemetery. There have been the less formal tributes of American flags flying throughout the community and the gathering of the people on the street corners.

Kevin and Elaine Jones are mourning the lost of their son and they have had to do in front of the eyes of a community. They have spoken about his life, his death, his service to our country and his legacy.

Very few know the pain they suffer but we all know that they have shown a community where Ryan received his sense of honor.

Over the course of the rest of this month we will be asked to recognize the tribute of other men and women who lost their lives in service to our country over the course of its history.

We must remember that these are not nameless faceless people from other community but these are members of this community.

One of those that paid tribute to Jones and gave his words of comfort to Kevin and Elaine is Westminster resident Spc. William Pfeiffer. Pfeiffer was home on leave for two week from Baghdad. Pfeiffer and Jones are only two of the many area residents serving overseas as part of the U.S. military and the National Guard.

Many question the reason for Jones death. We ask questions of "Why did God take him?" to questions of "Why are we fighting in this war?"

What we have to remember is that we each find different answers to the first question.

But to the second question, we have to remember there is a time and place to ask it.

No matter our political belief: the ballot box, the floor of the political debate and the mailboxes of our politicians are the places to express our political views.

As we remember and honor Jones, as we support his family, as we stand in support of other area soldiers and their families, this is not the time.

These are the times that we are neighbors and friends. As we move farther from the formal tributes we cannot forget to support these soldiers and their families.

For as long as we have members of our Armed Services serving overseas we should remember them as individual people and as members of a community.