My late husband was a Civil War buff. I might even say he was a scholar, having written several good articles on several subjects.

And I began to read his books, too.

When he died, there were more than 175; and some were the journals of Union and Confederate soldiers.

They had to go back into battle when they were barely over their grievous sounds. They had to go back into battle (especially the Confederate soldiers) with newspaper stuffed into their shoes. They had inadequate clothing. They slept rough and limped. They suffered from scurvy and dysentery.

Everything's diffrent now.

Everything.

It's a modern war in Iraq. Soldiers have plenty of good food and safe places to sleep (relatively).

But not since the Civil War, according to medical experts, have soldiers been sent back to the front so soon after being wounded. Some don't want to go; many aren't ready. But they signed on the line.

Is this "supporting our troops?" Is this the real meaning of the bumper stickers people slap on their cars so they can feel good and forget about it?

A wounded or barely healed soldier is a liability to his or her comrades and himself.

In the Civil War, Americans believed they were fighting a holy war, that God was on their side (whatever their side was). They made foolish choices through vanity and courage.

We were to have learned from that war.

What have we learned?

This has to stop; and nineteen months is too long to wait.

It has to stop.

It has to stop.

JGM