Dulce et decorum est

Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
(It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country).

So ends Wilfred Owen's famous poem condemning the barbarity of war.

Owen uses his recollection of death by gas attack in the trenches of WWI to illustrate something it would be well for us, in this age of smart-bombs, to remember, death is death. And it is never glorious, for good causes or bad.

One would think, none the less, that a soldier who's died fighting in his or her country's name would, at the least, be able to receive a decent burial close to family and friends. One would think.

From today's Pasadena Star-news:

Marine Lance Cpl. Dion Whitley is coming home.

Whitley, 21, was killed June 15 in Iraq when his convoy hit a roadside bomb. His family's devastation at the news was compounded by stress when they learned his military stipend would not cover the expense of a local funeral.

The money would only stretch for a burial at a military cemetery in Riverside.

Whitley grew up in Altadena, played football at John Muir High School, where he was a 2002 graduate, and was an Eagle Scout.

"Altadena is his home,' Dion's brother Arian Whitley said. "This is where he's been all his life. So it wouldn't have felt right if he'd been (buried) in Riverside, or Westwood.'

The family wants him laid to rest at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, where other family members are buried. The cemetery worked with the family on a reduced rate, but they still were short on funds, Arian Whitley said.

Now no need to send checks, the Whitley family's story was published in the local news, and to no-one's surprise local families were more than happy to make up the difference on their own. Individual Americans are typically and deservedly known for their generosity at such times.

But ask yourself this: If Americans are so generous, why are they represented by a government so niggardly that it won't pay for the burial of soldier's killed in its service?

And were this an isolated incident I would still be angry. But the US military has recently become accustomed to send soldiers onto the killing streets of Baghdad in underarmored trucks, humvees and flak jackets as well.

All this is part of an effort on the part of BushCorp™ to convince Americans that war can be accomplished on the cheap, the only sacrifices being suffered by a relatively small number of volunteers and their families.

In fact "war on the cheap" is vital for this administration, because if the majority of Americans had to face the true costs of war they'd be much more reluctant to send our boys and girls into harm's way.

According to our cheerleader-in-chief, all Americans have to do is wave the flag (and not near any open flames mind you) and all will be well.

This 4th of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom, by flying the flag, sending letters to our troops in the field or helping the military family down the street.[Emphasis mine]

I suppose that to many across the country that last phrase means remembering them in your prayers.

To the family and friends of Marine Lance Cpl. Dion Whitley, it means raising money for his funeral.

[x-posted at Daily Kos]