U.S. Army Major, and blogger, Andrew Olmsted was the first casualty of the year in Iraq. According to Rocky Mountain News (via KCHBlog) the 38-year-old from Colorado was killed by small arms fire.

Last spring, his commanders asked him to tone down his blog, Andrew Olmsted.com. So, he turned to writing more focused pieces in blog form for the Rocky Mountain News.

His last post, one he wrote to be published in the event of his death and that was published on his own blog, is…something.

What I don’t want this to be is a chance for me, or anyone else, to be maudlin. I’m dead. That sucks, at least for me and my family and friends. But all the tears in the world aren’t going to bring me back, so I would prefer that people remember the good things about me rather than mourning my loss. (If it turns out a specific number of tears will, in fact, bring me back to life, then by all means, break out the onions.) . . . I’m dead, but if you’re reading this, you’re not, so take a moment to enjoy that happy fact.

Believe it or not, one of the things I will miss most is not being able to blog any longer. The ability to put my thoughts on (virtual) paper and put them where people can read and respond to them has been marvelous, even if most people who have read my writings haven’t agreed with them. If there is any hope for the long term success of democracy, it will be if people agree to listen to and try to understand their political opponents rather than simply seeking to crush them.

I do ask (not that I’m in a position to enforce this) that no one try to use my death to further their political purposes. I went to Iraq and did what I did for my reasons, not yours. My life isn’t a chit to be used to bludgeon people to silence on either side.