Bob McCarty Writes

I never had the opportunity to meet Col. Stephen Scott while he was on this earth. For several reasons, though, I will honor him and show my respect for his ultimate sacrifice when I attend his funeral tomorrow morning at the St. Louis-area church where he was — and I am — a member:

• It’s the least I can do for this man who was killed by insurgents one week ago today while serving as an Army officer at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq.

• It’s the least I can do for this man who, in addition to being a brave warrior, was a Godly Christian man, a father, a grandfather, a brother, a son and a friend to so many; and
  

• It’s the least I can do to offset, in my own miniscule way, the disrespect shown him by people such as writer Greg Mitchell.

Several days ago, an article written by Mitchell was published on the pages of the liberal blog, The Huffington Post. In the article, its writer chose to use the occasion of Colonel Scott’s death — and that of fellow soldier, Maj. Stuart Wolfer — to do anything but express thanks for his sacrifice.

First, Mitchell criticized the manner in which officials at the Pentagon make public the circumstances under which soldiers die and concluded that it was often up to local journalists to “bring out the truth”:

For years, the deaths of U.S. military personnel in Iraq have often been reported to the press and public by the Pentagon on extremely sketchy ways, while remaining “under investigation.” These are often cases, it turns out, involving death by illness or accident or suicide. Often, the efforts of local newspapers bring out the truth while the lengthy investigations go on and on.

Next, he drew attention to the specific manner in which Colonel Scott had died, concluding with an insult reflecting his anti-war, Berkeley-esque views:

Yesterday, The Huntsville (Ala.) Times revealed that Col. Stephen Scott, 54, had died on Saturday while working out on a treadmill in the U.S. Embassy in the Green Zone after it was rocketed by insurgents earlier this week, according to his sister. He was only the ninth officer at his level killed in the war to date. The treadmill symbolism is painfully apt, of course.

Finally, he provided an anti-war platform upon which Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) could exploit the death of Major Wolfer, a devoted husband and father of three:

Rep. Wexler said that he had talked to Len Wolfer of Boca Raton, Fla., the night before and asked what he wanted to ask Petraeus. Wexler said the father wanted to know: “For what? For what had he lost his son?”

After the funeral, I will travel to Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in South St. Louis where Colonel Scott will be buried with full military honors. Well deserved honors.

As for Mitchell, I can only hope that, one day soon, he recognizes the error in his ways and comes to appreciate the freedom-loving an sacrificial duty-honor-country mentality of people like Colonel Scott, Major Wolfer and 4000-plus others who’ve paid the ultimate price during the past five-plus years. It is, after all, sacrifices like theirs and those of countless others during the past three centuries that make our way of life possible, warts and all.

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See also: A Real American Hero Was Honored Today

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