Ft. Hood tragedy felt close to home

I was trying to relax and spend time with my niece and nephew last week when I heard about the shooting at the Army base in Fort Hood, Tex.

While I was shocked by the violence - coming less than a week before Veterans Day - I didn't realize at the time that the tragedy would affect so many people close to home.

I returned to Chicago to learn that several soldiers from the area - including a woman from Humboldt Park and men from Homewood and Bolingbrook - were among those killed or injured in last week's attack.

Also among the Chicago-area soldiers hurt in the shooting was Staff Sgt. Miguel Angel Valdivia, an Army medic who was preparing to serve a tour in Iraq.

Valdivia has deep local roots, with family members in Elgin, sisters who work in local high schools and a math degree from at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, where Valdivia lived before he was sent to Fort Hood.

Fortunately, Valdivia, who has undergone surgery for his injuries, appears to be on his way to making his way to a full recovery - albeit with months of physical therapy likely ahead of him, according to his sister.

It is worth noting that Valdivia did not sign up for the Army to serve in Iraq or Afghanistan. When I talked to her this week, Valdivia's sister said he joined the Army nine years ago, before the United States was involved in either of those conflicts.

Valdivia, she said, wanted to serve and knew the Army would help pay for college. In fact, after earning his teaching certificate, Valdivia was working on another degree before he was told to report to the Texas Army base.

Although as of press time, authorities have not completely uncovered what motivated the bloody attack on Fort Hood, it appears it may have been a political statement against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

If so, the attack punished dozens of people who had nothing to do with crafting U.S. policy in those wars, including soldiers like Valdivia who likely would not serve in combat roles - soldiers who would help other young men and women who themselves were victims of shortsighted Washington policymakers.

Whatever the motive, the attack showed us again that our soldiers can be targets even when they are not serving in a combat zone.

As we mark Veterans Day this week, the attack hopefully reminds us to be thankful that a few good men and women are willing to risk their lives not for the sake of badly managed or ill-conceived wars but to protect us from people who would use violence to kill us, maim us or scare us into changing our values or way of life.

And it is perhaps a testament to their sacrifices that in 2009, one of those values - the right to have open debate on the issues that affect our lives - appears to be as robust as ever.