in honor of meredith howard

This is a woman about whom I know almost nothing at all, except that she was a 51 year old Army sergeant serving in Afganistan when she was killed by a suicide bomber. The bomber slammed his SUV into Meredith's Humvee before detonting his vest full of explosives. What impressed me so much about this woman, beyond the fact that we need every personification of the sacrifice of American female military members that we can get, was the fact that she was fulfilling her duty by enriching the lives of Afaganistan children, working to rebuild their schools and futures. Furthermore, her tour of duty was nearly at a close when she was killed. But while this would make the story even more melodramatic, the truth is that she had told her superior she planned to volunteer for a second tour to continue her work helping the children and future of Afganastan. So while she is only one of thousands who have made the ultimate sacrafice in the debacle that is the the Middle East, I SALUTE SGT MEREDITH HOWARD, USARMY, for her dedication to children, her service to her country and her strength of character in the face of adversity. I see her as one who lit a candle, rather than curse the darkness.