Did You Know Tomas Young? He Has Died. *

It is possible you didn't even know the name, Tomas Young.  It is possible you never heard the words of his letter to Bush and Cheney.  I did know his name and I also read his letter when first published. 

Again, today, I heard and watched as he struggled to read his letter found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dtUctHW23o .  He was paralyzed from the neck down, you know.  It is with a torn heart that I watched the video.  Hopefully, your heart will be torn too.

This young man was a true patriot; felt he was doing the right thing; as so many feel.

Regrettably, he paid too high a cost, just as millions have and still the many will continue to pay the high cost of wars.  I ask you: Is it worth it?  No it isn't, absolutely not!

It is a shame and shamble that the civilizations of this planet see no way to settle differences but by killing and destruction.  It is a very sad state of affairs that we citizens of this world do not put all the destruction and death behind/aside and  learn to live in peace and to love one another, knowing that each of us is a part of the whole.  "Do unto others as we would have them do unto us".  These words are only a heartless joke to so many.  You and I know who they are; the ones who exist only for power, controlling power. 

Ironic that Tomas Young ceased to breathe the day before we 'celebrate' Veterans Day.  I wonder how many more recent young veterans chose also this day to cease breathing. There are many choosing this pathway out of their personal hell, every day.  Maybe you aren't aware of the rash of suicides occurring with the military; the numbers are tremendous! It is highly possible one of them is of your family.  I lost a beloved in this manner; his agony released by suicide.  He could no longer exist with the horrors in his mind and heart, having lived with this since the Vietnam war.

Tomas Young, Veteran Author of ‘The Last Letter,’ Dies at 34

Iraq War veteran and activist Tomas Young has died, "Democracy Now" is reporting. There is no word as of this posting about the cause of death.

Young was the author of "The Last Letter," a message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, published by Truthdig, in which he stated his intention to die. Young, who was in hospice care at the time and required assistance to live, later changed his mind, saying he wanted to spend more time with his wife.

Chris Hedges wrote about Young and worked with him. The columnist wrote, "Young will die for our sins. He will die for a war that should never have been fought. He will die for the lies of politicians. He will die for war profiteers. He will die for the careers of generals. He will die for a cheerleader press. He will die for a complacent public that made war possible. He bore all this upon his body. He was crucified."

In March 2013, we named Tomas Young our Truthdigger of the Week.

In his seminal work, Young said, "I write this letter, my last letter, to you, Mr. Bush and Mr. Cheney. I write not because I think you grasp the terrible human and moral consequences of your lies, manipulation and thirst for wealth and power. I write this letter because, before my own death, I want to make it clear that I, and hundreds of thousands of my fellow veterans, along with millions of my fellow citizens, along with hundreds of millions more in Iraq and the Middle East, know fully who you are and what you have done. You may evade justice but in our eyes you are each guilty of egregious war crimes, of plunder and, finally, of murder, including the murder of thousands of young Americans—my fellow veterans—whose future you stole."

He will be missed.

—Posted by Peter Z. Scheer  at www.Truthdig.com