For many, the war in Iraq is dealt with in abstract terms. Car bombs and fire fights are on the same level as images in a historical text. Here in the Bay Area, the war in Iraq and the war on terror mean there is longer lines at the airport and more training for local police. We see it as a level on the color-coded Homeland Security Advisory System.
It is removed from our reality despite its presence in current events. Often, our only connection is a daily dispatch from across the world.
Even the names and faces of the casualties of war have yet to be solidified in our collective consciousness. So far, there have been 582 U.S. casualties since major conflict began just over a year ago. Sixty-five of those deaths have been Californians. The Peninsula has been spared - until now.
Today, a Foster City family, the student body of Aragon High School and the community at large mourns the loss of Andrew Dang, a 20-year-old lance corporal for the U.S. Marine Corps whose life was cut short in a gun battle during a patrol near Ar Ramady, Iraq.
The horror of war is now suddenly more real. Those that knew Dang describe the Foster City resident as someone with passion for science and technology who spent his free time building robots and rockets. He was one of the founding members of Aragon's renowned robotics team and by his senior year, Dang was taking multiple advanced placement classes in physics and chemistry.
Dang was a bright, enthusiastic and popular young man who sought out a career in the military to get technical experience. It was his way of getting a college degree and obtaining a career path.
In doing so, he also made a decision to defend the United States in its war on terror. His friends say he believed in the cause he was fighting for. He was proud of his job.
Whether you believe the war is justified or not, its local impact can now be felt on very real terms. Too often, war is politicized and processed into sound bites. But war - and its casualties - is more than politics and candidates.
Politics falls by the wayside when comprehending the loss of such a promising young life. Dang put his life on the line to protect what he believed in. In his heart he sought to protect the United States from terror and he fought to give the Iraqi people a taste of freedom. And he paid the ultimate price for that belief.
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and the community that knew and loved him. Today, there is a hole in the heart of the Peninsula.
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