Dear Ms. Sheehan,
	You don't know me, but I think most everyone in the country knows who you are. 
My name is Corporal Jacob Maynard. I am in the United States Marine Corps and have successfully 
completed 2 "tours" in Iraq. I was even in Sadr City for a time. My little brother also served 
in the Marine Corps. He was, sadly, not as successful as myself in returning. He was killed 
June 15, 2005 by an IED in Ar Ramadi. His name is Lance Corporal Chad Bryant Maynard. I would 
like to tell you a brief history of this true hero.

	Chad was 19, a mere 22 days from being 20. Since he was about 13 or 14 or so, he wanted 
to be a Marine. He wanted to be an infantry Marine, that is. His dream was never tarnished by 
the dangers and hardships that would come with this career choice. Our father served as a radio 
operator in Vietnam, another dangerous and hard job where life expectancy was about two weeks for 
that particular job. My baby brother wore my father's dog-tags every day after he discovered them 
in our garage. My brother knew that his life would never be right if he wasn't a Marine.

	He finally got that chance in early 2004. He graduated boot camp on May 21st, 2004. 
Thirteen weeks of being treated like less than human, being torn apart just to be rebuilt, and 
being pushed beyond limits he thought he could ever achieve didn't take away his motivation and 
desire. I barely got the opportunity to be there for his boot camp graduation. I was deploying 
6 days later, and I had to live on the ship 4 days before we deployed. Chad had stated a long time 
before that he didn't care who else showed up to his graduation, he wanted my father and me there. 
On family day, the day before graduation, I wasn't able to be there. He cried to hear that I might 
not be able to be at his graduation. But God blessed my brother and I there.

	I deployed to Iraq for the second nine month deployment 6 days later. I could never stop 
thinking about the first deployment, when my family would send me newspaper clippings of Chad 
standing on the main intersection of my hometown rallying support for the troops and the war. He 
wore my camoflauge uniforms and carried the Marine Corps flag. This time, he would support me by 
training for his turn.

	At the end of my deployment, I was concerned that I wouldn't get the chance to see my baby 
brother before he deployed. I didn't know when I would get to see him if he left and I didn't get 
to see him. I came back to the U.S. and got to live with my brother for about a week before he made 
his first and only trip to Iraq. My brother was kind enough to bring my wife with him from Colorado 
after he returned from pre-deployment leave. While she was with him, he confided to her that he knew 
that he was not coming home. He said that God had told him in a dream that he would not be returning 
from Iraq.

	In late April, my brother was the gunner in a HMMWV (highly mobile, multi-wheeled vehicle) 
when it was struck by an IED. He suffered some minor hearing loss for a short time, but he was back 
up and running in no time. This was a close call for him in which he wrote this to us:


"This isn't so strange after you've had an IED go off that should have taken your life; this isn't 
so weird after you've had shots go over your head that somehow didn't find you. It IS strange when 
you live a life that is taken for granted because it's never been threatened or you've never seen 
a friend's body torn apart by metal that should have ended the possibility of going home to a wife 
and unborn child. It's funny how I never thought about it until I came here. It's true you can't 
find an atheist in a combat zone. Don't take it for granted. I don't anymore. Love to all. Semper 
Fidelis. Oorah, my brothers. We have braved what few will ever see and none will ever understand... 
To all of you I love, sleep in peace, the men of 1/5 are on watch tonight."


My family and I all believed that this reflected the true dedication and the bravery of my baby 
brother. He never questioned his "call to duty."

	Now, while you blame President Bush for your joblessness, you could be spending your time 
looking for a job, rather than taking the honor away from your son, and giving the terrorists 
reason to strike more. My mother has had to switch jobs 8 times in the last year. It's funny that 
she never had a problem getting a job.

	Frankly, ma'am, you could be doing much more productive things which are not so hurtful to
the nation and your son's memory. Instead of blaming the president for killing your son, think about
the facts. Your son joined the Army of his own accord, am I correct? How is this any fault of the 
president? Your son was never forced to sign any papers. My brother, father and I all knew what
we were doing when we signed up, and that this job was perilous and uncertain. I'm pretty sure
Casey knew it as well.

	You mentioned several times that President Bush stole the election, and that he misled the
public to maintain his position as president. You even used a number. The thing is, though, that even
though 56,000,000 plus people voted against him (which, I'm sure, his campaign manager told him 
election night), he won the electoral vote. That's what matters. That's the system that is in
place. The American people have not changed the voting process by contacting their congress-people,
and senators. Maybe that is a righteous cause you could fight on.

	Now, let me see if we can put your "hard work" premise into perspective. I agree that you
have done a tough job burying your son. My mother faced the same challenges. My father, sister,
grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. all had that same hard task. I shared in it as well. You know
what, though? They were rational. They knew that Chad fought for the cause he believed in. They
knew that if Chad hadn't spilled his blood, more innocent people would die. Terrorists would be
free to roam and carry out their bloodthirsty tasks which would have killed not only Iraqi
innocents, but peoples of all nations in the world. Spain pulled out of the war, and the terror
didn't stop for them. Do you think the terrorists would have just stopped after 9/11? Do you
think they would have been happy with that unprovoked attack and just been done with all of it?
It takes the blood of heroes to secure freedom. Back to the hard work idea, your son faced hard
work by fighting and watching his friends die. Your son faced an even harder task of following
the orders of a president that you don't believe in. But your son performed above and beyond his
call of duty. Now, you dishonor him and endanger more troops and the nation. They see they can
break the weak, and they will chisel away again and again until they have control. That is what
is happening every day with every bomb, and every execution that these monsters publicize.

	I think if you look on the Fallen heroes memorial website, you will find that the nation
has not abandoned you or your family. Those messages are very clear. If you look on the internet,
you will find many organizations and families who are trying their best to support the families
of fallen heroes. How is that being abandoned?

	If you perhaps understood more of the situation we face with Iraq and terrorism, which 
can be accomplished by just a short time of actual research, you would understand that though
it may be difficult, America and the other countries that fight with us are doing the right thing.
We are helping to gain a peace, and there is no peace without war.

	I am proud to have served in the military with such mentionable heroes as Casey Sheehan,
and Moses Rocha, and especially Chad Maynard. They have all served a valiant purpose and in
an honorable way which far exceeds the expectations of military personell. God bless the heroes
who remain today to help defend my family and theirs alongside of me.

	Ma'am, honor your son's memory. Support the troops there who protect the freedom of the 
United States and peace in Iraq. Send letters to the ones still over there and say thank you. 
Let them know that they are loved and their fight is not in vain, which is exactly what they 
already believe. Sending cookies and stuff is pretty nice, too.


From the proud, older brother of Marine Lance Corporal Chad Bryant Maynard, also a Marine,

Corporal Jacob Maynard