Each of the vice presidential candidates in this race has a son headed to Iraq. We will be hearing a lot about both of them as we head toward the debates.

但是， Track Palin 和 博比登 不孤单。

点击 点击此处 for a reminder that while election-mania soaks up most of the airwaves, America’s sons and daughters continue to fight the war without front-page attention.

上帝保佑他们所有人。

故事出自 丹佛邮报 昨日：

3,800 head for year in Iraq

Camouflage-clad soldiers packed up, drew weapons and shipped out for Iraq on Wednesday as tearful relatives watched and hoped for the best.

These soldiers — the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division — are charged with helping Iraqi forces south of Baghdad and in northern Iraq target terrorists and hostile militias.

The Americans “are the best-prepared soldiers for any war, between their combat life-saving and physical training,” Suann Bonner of Denver said as her son, Pvt. Robert Bonner, 21, stood by.

Through his military service, Bonner “has turned into a fine human being” and Iraq “is his destination, what he was supposed to do,” said his father, Don, who runs a gas station in Wheat Ridge.

“Good luck, Rob. Love you,” Don Bonner said as the private turned and fell into a formation that led him onto one of several red and silver buses.

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一位读者发来电子邮件：

Having flown to Iraq more than two dozen times as an enlisted aircrew member in the Air Force Reserve, I feel that I’m a least somewhat qualified to comment on the upcoming deployments of Beau Biden and Track Palin. Biden will be going to Iraq as support staff, specifically, as a lawyer. In no way does that compare to Track Palin’s assignment to a Stryker unit. Biden’s status both as an officer and the son of a sitting senator in the majority party will afford him plenty of protection while in Iraq. It would not be in his commander’s best career interest to allow Biden to even get a hangnail. Track Palin, in the meantime, is an enlisted soldier who will be dodging IED’s on a daily basis in a claustrophobic metal box with wheels. I can understand the media trying to draw some sort of equivalence between their respective deployments, because Sarah Palin scares the hell out of them and they’re trying to downplay any good that comes from her and her family. However, comparing their respective deployments is ridiculous. Beau Biden’s greatest danger will be sun burn.

He has a point, but I am not going to dump on Beau Biden’s deployment. Everyone who has volunteered to serve in Iraq, in whatever capacity, whether enlisted or reserve, is doing something good for this country.

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Reader D., a retired LtCol USMCR, adds:

While there is really no comparison between those who are walking on patrol and those who are serving in a support role in the camp, both roles are equally important to the overall effort. Also, I would be very surprised if Beau Biden was not sent outside the wire at least a number of times in order to conduct investigations or to resolve some claim against the US government. These are typical roles for a Staff Judge Advocate or a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps branch in the Army. These are also roles that cannot be accomplished from behind a desk within a secure compound. Both have volunteered to serve and both are putting their lives at risk for the sake of the country. While there is no comparison between the roles, there is equivalence in their service.

永远忠诚