A tale of two soldiers

Robert Jamieson:

This is the story of two soldiers with a common bond -- the mess that is Iraq.

The first soldier, born in Tacoma, put on a military uniform after enlisting out of high school. The 24-year-old was living the bachelor life until the day he walked into the Taco Bell near Fort Lewis and locked eyes with a woman working there. She became his wife.

The second soldier isn't married. Nearing 30, he made his way to the same Tacoma-area Army base, hundreds of miles from where he grew up. As a boy, he grew accustomed to uniforms -- first as Cub Scout and Boy Scout, later as an Eagle Scout. He had a hunch he might one day end up in a military uniform.

The first soldier is the kind of guy you meet at a bar and strike up an easy conversation with. He likes soccer -- he played as a kid -- and enjoys finding solutions to problems. His mother proudly tells one reporter, "He could meet a rock and make a friend."

The second soldier has a bookish mien, speaks in full paragraphs and quotes civil rights icons. After high school, he went to a university and graduated near the top. Senior military officials sensed he had what it took to be an officer.

...

The first soldier got his boots dirty overseas, including in Iraq. He re-enlisted after a tour. Presented with a chance for a stateside post, he said no thanks. He would much rather be in Iraq doing what he can to help. He recently asked his family to send clothes and shoes for Iraqi kids.

The second soldier has no war scuffs from Baghdad. He hasn't been there and doesn't want to go. The bloodshed sickens him. He questions the meaning of it all.

...

The first heeded the call to duty, went off to war and died Jan. 27 when a roadside bomb exploded near Baghdad.

The second shirked his duty, avoided the battlefield and now makes the rounds on the lecture hall circuit.

Sgt. Mickel David Garrigus, who leaves behind a widow, Natasha, and year-old son, is to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery. He is a bona fide hero to us all.

Lt. Ehren Watada, whose court-martial in Tacoma ended in a mistrial Wednesday, wants to choose which battle he gets to fight while criticizing the war.

That doesn't make him a hero to all -- only to those who believe there is power and honor in breaking the rules as one sees fit.

Watada needs to be retried. He was playing games with his stipulation of facts agreement for his court marshal and the judge would not buy into it. I think the judge had a point. Watada was again trying to have it both ways as he has since joining the military. His assertions about the legality of the war are ridiculous anti war puke nonsense and they should be tried straight up.