(Palm-Print
Photo by Edward F. Palm)

About Me

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Forest, Virginia, United States
A long time ago, my sophomore English teacher, Father William Campbell, saw something in my writing and predicted that I would someday become a newspaper columnist. He suggested the perfect title for my column--"Leaves of the Palm." Now that I have a little extra time on my hands I've decided to put Father Campbell's prediction to the test. I'm going to start using this blog site not just to reprint opinion pieces I've published elsewhere but to try to get more of my ideas and opinions out there. Feedback is welcome. To find out more about me, please check out my Web site: www.EdwardFPalm.com (Click on any of the photos below for an enlarged view.)

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

To "Amy"

I was humbled to discover that "Amy," the sister-in-law of the late John LaBossiere, found my blog and left a comment.  She confirms that her brother-in-law came back from Iraq a changed man and that the war indeed played a major role in his tragedy.  I don't doubt it.  As I wrote before, I only know what the Seattle Times reported about the confrontation between LaBossiere and the police, and I hope that no further news reports add to the family's pain.  But what I do know is that we can't keep overextending and abusing our troops.  It's just not right.  To paraphrase Churchill, never have so many asked so much of so few.  This is not our country's "finest hour."
       Thank you, "Amy," for your comment.  --EFP

2 comments:

Amy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Amy said...

This is the memorial slideshow that was shown at his memorial service that I made to honor John's life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBkHjbg6Z8Y

It shows just how much John loved his wife and children.

There is no one that can convince me that the John I know and love would have done what he did if he had never been deployed to Iraq.

He had nightmares, he drank a LOT, he had massive mood swings. He had problems controling his anger.

If there are others reading this who are experiencing the same things tell someone, get help.

There is NO shame in saying you are struggling. Don't let what happened to our family happen to yours, GET HELP NOW!!!