Sergeant David Thul is serving with our hometown heroes in the unit of the Minnesota National Guard that has been deployed in Iraq for over a year. Sergeant Thul writes with news that his "Appeal for Courage" will be delivered to Congress today:

I wanted to give you a heads up that we have lined up a group of Congressmen to accept the Appeal For Courage. The ceremony should be at 2:30 Eastern, with members of the National VFW standing in for Lt Nichols and myself. I'm not sure how much media attention we'll get, but every little bit helps. I'll be rounding up the coverage we get at my site Foreign and Domestic.

After a relatively mild spring, our second Iraqi summer is in full swing with temps already in the 110's. But this year we are facing a hugely diminished threat from IED's and that makes a big difference. That and the fact that we should start heading out of Iraq in the next couple of months.

Thanks again for all your help,
SSG Dave Thul

Minority Leader John Boehner's office also alerts us to this related Army Times story: "Appeal for Courage takes petition to Congress." The petition reads:

As an American currently serving my nation in uniform, I respectfully urge my political leaders in Congress to fully support our mission in Iraq and halt any calls for retreat. I also respectfully urge my political leaders to actively oppose media efforts which embolden my enemy while demoralizing American support at home. The War in Iraq is a necessary and just effort to bring freedom to the Middle East and protect America from further attack.

We'll be watching for news of Sergeant Thul's valiant effort today.

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