Iraq War Veteran, Outspoken War Critic Tomas Young Dead at 34
On how he wanted to be remembered: 'I fought as hard as I could to keep another me from coming back to Iraq'
Iraq war veteran and outspoken Iraq war critic Tomas Young has died at the age of 34.
Democracy Now! reported his death Monday, the eve of Veterans Day.
Young enlisted in the Army following the September 11 attacks, volunteering to go to Afghanistan. He was sent to Iraq, and was left paralyzed by a bullet on the fifth day of his deployment. In 2008, he explained that "many of us volunteered with patriotic feelings in our heart, only to see them subverted and bastardized by the administration and sent into the wrong country."
Young was the subject of the award-wining documentary Body of War by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.
In 2013 Young wrote "The Last Letter: A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran." From the letter:
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.
Asked by Democracy Now! last year how he would want to be remembered, he said: "That I fought as hard as I could to keep young men and women away from military service. I fought as hard as I could to keep another me from coming back to Iraq."
Watch Young reading his letter to Bush and Cheney below:
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just three days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Iraq war veteran and outspoken Iraq war critic Tomas Young has died at the age of 34.
Democracy Now! reported his death Monday, the eve of Veterans Day.
Young enlisted in the Army following the September 11 attacks, volunteering to go to Afghanistan. He was sent to Iraq, and was left paralyzed by a bullet on the fifth day of his deployment. In 2008, he explained that "many of us volunteered with patriotic feelings in our heart, only to see them subverted and bastardized by the administration and sent into the wrong country."
Young was the subject of the award-wining documentary Body of War by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.
In 2013 Young wrote "The Last Letter: A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran." From the letter:
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.
Asked by Democracy Now! last year how he would want to be remembered, he said: "That I fought as hard as I could to keep young men and women away from military service. I fought as hard as I could to keep another me from coming back to Iraq."
Watch Young reading his letter to Bush and Cheney below:
Iraq war veteran and outspoken Iraq war critic Tomas Young has died at the age of 34.
Democracy Now! reported his death Monday, the eve of Veterans Day.
Young enlisted in the Army following the September 11 attacks, volunteering to go to Afghanistan. He was sent to Iraq, and was left paralyzed by a bullet on the fifth day of his deployment. In 2008, he explained that "many of us volunteered with patriotic feelings in our heart, only to see them subverted and bastardized by the administration and sent into the wrong country."
Young was the subject of the award-wining documentary Body of War by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro.
In 2013 Young wrote "The Last Letter: A Message to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney From a Dying Veteran." From the letter:
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.
Asked by Democracy Now! last year how he would want to be remembered, he said: "That I fought as hard as I could to keep young men and women away from military service. I fought as hard as I could to keep another me from coming back to Iraq."
Watch Young reading his letter to Bush and Cheney below: