I learned this morning that an extraordinary American died in Iraq last week. 

Mark Metherell was a Wheaton graduate, a former Navy SEAL, and a civilian training the Iraqi Security Forces when the evil guys got him and his trainees in an IED attack in Baghdad.

I have met some of Metherell's extended family over the years in Orange County, california.  He is part of an extraordinary band of servant leaders, and his commitment to the new Iraq does not surprise given the family in which he was raised.  He was a graduate of Wheaton College, and at the memorial site his friends have created for his wife and little girl, his platoon commander from SEAL Team Five has written a memorial that you ought to read.

It is so obvious from the memorial site that Mark Metherell was back in Iraq because he loved the Iraqi people and wanted them to remain free.  He is an example of the very best that our country produces, and the piece by Michael Yon in Friday's Wall Street Journal on the extraordinary progress being made in Iraq is a testament to the significance of the sacrifice made by Mark Metherell and his family.