Posted on 08/28/2005 10:23:22 AM PDT by SmithL
WILDOMAR, Calif. - In a letter to a local newspaper, Army Sgt. Nathan Bouchard explained why he was fighting in Iraq.
"You ask, 'Why, why are we in the Middle East? Why don't we leave Saddam alone? Why do we even get involved?' It is because somebody has to," read Bouchard's letter, which was published in April 2003 in the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
"Problems do not go away just by closing your eyes or turning your back or burying your head in the sand," Bouchard said. "This freedom we have was not free."
He was raised in Wildomar, about 80 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Bouchard, 24, was one of four U.S. soldiers killed Aug. 18 in Samarra, Iraq, when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee. They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Spurred by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bouchard enlisted in the Army in May 2002 and was on his second tour of duty in Iraq.
"Nathan believed in what he was doing," his mother, Alida Bouchard, said from the family's home in Cottonwood, Ariz. "He wrote, and he told us about the good things that they were doing in Iraq."
A funeral service was scheduled Saturday at Cornerstone Community Church in Wildomar.
"Problems do not go away just by closing your eyes or turning your back or burying your head in the sand," Bouchard said. "This freedom we have was not free."
These are such obvious truths, and yet there are still some who refuse to believe them. Thank God we have a President and fine men and women in our military who see this clearly. May God Bless Sgt. Bouchard through life everlasting.
So sad to hear that Sgt. Bouchard is gone. God bless him and keep him, and God bless his family with courage, comfort, and strength. Thanks, Sgt. Bouchard, for fighting for me.
bump
BTTT
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.