When Dick Linn was younger, he protested the Vietnam War and joined the Peace Corps. Now he plans to stage a counterprotest against Iraq War demonstrators in D.C.. Even if you don’t agree about the reasons the country went to war, he said, America has a responsibility to see the mission through.



Dick Linn has been to seven military funerals since he buried his son Karl in Culpeper National Cemetery two years ago. He attends to show solidarity with the families, to let parents know they’re not alone and, in a small way, to reconnect to the greater world around him. Dick Linn has joined the Patriot Guard Riders and stays in touch with soldiers and parents on the Internet. The former Vietnam War protester planned to stage a counterprotest against Iraq War demonstrators in D.C. over the weekend. Even if you don’t agree about the reasons the country went to war, he said, America has a responsibility to see the mission through. “I’m not for war,” he said. “But you can’t back out. You have to finish what you started.”

When Dick Linn was younger, he protested the Vietnam War and joined the Peace Corps. Now he plans to stage a counterprotest against Iraq War demonstrators in D.C.. Even if you don’t agree about the reasons the country went to war, he said, America has a responsibility to see the mission through.

Iraq War: Four years of battle abroad and at home

Caption: Richard Linn lights a candle for his son, Karl, 20, who died in Iraq, at a Buddhist shrine in his family’s living room in Midlothian. Photo: Jay Paul/For The Examiner

WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The Iraq war came here in early evening four years ago today, March 19, 2003. To Washingtonians it was no surprise. Thousands of The Examiner’s readers work at the Department of Defense or the White House, Congress or the State Department.

At first, it went swimmingly, like Afghanistan, a smooth projection of America’s technological power. But for many of our servicemen and servicewomen, Iraq has become a place for trials, anguish and what is politely called the “ultimate sacrifice.” For the first time since World War II, the U.S. has sent large numbers of National Guard and the reserves into combat.

Dick Linn has been to seven military funerals since he buried his son Karl in Culpeper National Cemetery two years ago.

He attends to show solidarity with the families, to let parents know they’re not alone and, in a small way, to reconnect to the greater world around him.

When Dick Linn was younger, he protested the Vietnam War and joined the Peace Corps. Now he wonders whether he could have been a more responsible citizen, instead of just making a living and providing for his family.

“You try to do the right thing, you put your nose to the grindstone,” Dick Linn said, “and then suddenly you find yourself looking up and the whole world has gone crazy.”

Karl Linn signed up as a Marine reservist after the attacks of Sept. 11. He was small, weighing only 125 pounds. Karl fulfilled his military duties from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he had earned a full scholarship in mechanical engineering for his success in robot-building competitions.

By the time Karl was shipped to Iraq, the military had built him up to 135 pounds.

Two months later, his Lynchburg-based unit was searching at night for insurgents in a small village on the banks of the Euphrates River in western Iraq when they were bombarded by rocket-launched grenades and gunfire. Linn, 20, was one of four Marines who died in the firefight.

Linn is buried next to his grandfather, who served in the U.S. Navy in the Atlantic during World War II.

Dick Linn said he’s gone through cascading emotions: shock, anger, disbelief and doubt.

In the beginning, Dick Linn sometimes believed that Karl was still alive, that his death was really a cover story for a secret mission.

“Your mind plays tricks on you,” he said. “Like you’re in a worm-hole in space. You feel lost.”

Dick Linn has joined the Patriot Guard Riders and stays in touch with soldiers and parents on the Internet. The former Vietnam War protester planned to stage a counterprotest against Iraq War demonstrators in D.C. over the weekend. Even if you don’t agree about the reasons the country went to war, he said, America has a responsibility to see the mission through.

“I’m not for war,” he said. “But you can’t back out. You have to finish what you started.”

– Scott McCabe

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: March, 2007; Military; Iraq; Protest

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