Almost nine years ago, St. Louisan Diane Guerra was waiting anxiously for her son, Lance Cpl. Eric Shelvy, to return from Iraq. Shelvy's tour had been a difficult one, as he was nearly killed when an insurgent popped out of the grass where he and a friend were walking. Shelvy's friend, Cpl. Erik Silva, was killed, and, in response, Shelvy killed the insurgent, all on his 20th birthday. On his next tour, he was with the first forces to enter Baghdad and fought in the month-long battle at Fallujah.
In 2007, SLM staff writer Jeannette Cooperman interviewed Shelvy and three other St. Louis soldiers who had returned from Iraq. In that article, Guerra said her son told her a little bit about his experiences at the time, but now doesn't talk about it much, clearly affected by his tour.
Yesterday, "Another Mother's Son Lost," an essay from a memoir Guerra is currently writing, was published in the At War blog on the New York Times website. Guerra details the day her son returned from Iraq in 2003, his experience in the grass, and what it was like meeting Silva's mother, who was present at the homecoming, despite the loss of her son.
Click here to read Guerra's essay.
