Growing up I knew it was a day to thank the sacrifice of many honorable men who served the nation and risked their lives. Those were abstract soldiers. Men unkown to me.

Now the Veterans are my own. My daughter has lived the uncertainty of her father’s absence as he went to protect a people far away from a bad ruler that was cruel and unjust. Thankfully, my husband is a veteran without having gone to the battlefield but on the eve of Veterans Day my heart is heavy because another loved one leaves to serve the world and honor American ideals.

My youngest brother,  will on Tuesday leave for the Middle East, destination Central Iraq, east of Bagdad. His mission to train the 5th Iraqi Brigade. I can still see him as the young boy, around the age of 8, brazen defender of "the people" – any of his 3 older siblings – speaking up for justice when he saw wrongful accusations and unjust punishment. Yes, the drama was no bigger than what is experienced in an average family of 4 children, where discipline was on the strict side and my mom balanced free-lance work and the demands of childrearing, but we all knew back then he was uncommonly courageous.

My heart is heavy with wrestless anxiety as I pray with every breath for his safe return and successful mission. I want a free and democratic Iraq that ensures basic human rights. I shudder at the cost of that goal. But if no one dares defend the ideals and nobody tends to the cries for help, then the ideals are just as well forgotten.  Criticism that we go only where there is national interest is not a valid argument against the military action. If we cannot act upon every crisis is it better to act in none? I believe not. It is well known that collaboration and alliances are strongest when each side has an interest in a common result. In that sense, having national interests where we put our troops is a sign that bodes well for the thoughful development of the engagement and meeting of goals.

Today, my thoughts are drawn not just to our current crop of active duty soldiers and veterans but to the Iraqi nationals that have given their lives to defend and rebuild a new Iraq.  If 1000 US soldiers have died in almost 2 years of fighting, on the Iraqi side, casualties have met our loss 50 to one.

On this Veteran’s Day, as my brother is soon to leave, I pray for a future where the minority does not rule tyranically over the mayority, where human dignity is afforded to everyone, where fascism and terrorism are dead and senseless words. I pray that courage and hope are never in short supply, that dreams give ways to bright futures and the sharing of abundance. I pray that our soldiers come back in good health, richer in experience, compassion and wisdom. I pray that time flies and soon I will see the day when I hold my brother once more fast and hard.  May we have the luxury of growing old together.