The death of a co-blogger in Iraq
prayers for major andrew olmsted and his family and friends
By Charles Bird Posted in War — Comments (11) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
Andrew Olmsted was a co-blogger with me at Obsidian Wings, and here is his final posthumous entry. The Army reservist was killed yesterday in Diyala province, in the service of his country. I don't know any more details than that. He left for Iraq last summer, then wrote occasional blog entries for Rocky Mountain News. He continued to write entries at ObWi under the name of G'Kar, and his personal blog is here, if you want to get a sense of him.
This one really hurts. I didn't know him well, but I do know that he was a good man. His loss, and the loss of thousands of other Americans in Iraq, is a true and harsh cost to this great nation. I'll never forget him.
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The death of a co-blogger in Iraq 11 Comments (0 topical, 11 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
Everyone should take the time to go through his personal blog and read his last blog postings (in case of his death). I've never heard of this guy, but it truly is an amazing and humble thing to read that. God Bless him.
as Reagan would say, so yeah, not having heard of the man and having little use for ObWi, I went and read the whole thing anyway. Very moving. And this is worth keeping in mind:
I do ask (not that I'm in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn't a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side. If you think the U.S. should stay in Iraq, don't drag me into it by claiming that somehow my death demands us staying in Iraq. If you think the U.S. ought to get out tomorrow, don't cite my name as an example of someone's life who was wasted by our mission in Iraq. I have my own opinions about what we should do about Iraq, but since I'm not around to expound on them I'd prefer others not try and use me as some kind of moral capital to support a position I probably didn't support. Further, this is tough enough on my family without their having to see my picture being used in some rally or my name being cited for some political purpose. You can fight political battles without hurting my family, and I'd prefer that you did so.
"No compromise with the main purpose, no peace till victory, no pact with unrepentant wrong." - Winston Churchill
I too had interacted with Andrew in the past, though not recently, and always found him friendly and intelligent. Somehow that small connection makes it that much harder to hear.
Prayers for his family and friends. I know he will be missed.
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Kevin Holtsberry
Managing Editor
www.StopHerNow.com
...to read his post if you can. He will be sorely missed.
He was truly one of the best. What a huge loss--my deepest condolences to all those who loved him.
Yeah, this one hurts.
but I was definitely touched by his final words. May he rest in peace and may God comfort his family and all those he left behind.
I hope it's okay to say thank you, Major Olmsted.
Our prayers are with the Major's family and friends.
Thank you, REdstate, for posting this news.
I had read Andrew's blog several times at the behest of someone here; glad I did. Can we keep at the top?
This is a must read.
God bless Andrew, his family and friends
"Nec Aspera Terrent"
bene ambula et redambula
Contributor to The Minority Report
We'd traded emails some time ago. Very sad to hear.
My prayers go out to his family and friends.