The Father Who Sought Revenge in Iraq

AOL News has a story about a dad who volunteered for service in Iraq following the death of his son. His motive was to take revenge on the insurgents who killed his son. His experience taught him a few lessons:

National Guard member Joe Johnson volunteered to go to Iraq to avenge his son's death. But what he saw there caused a change of heart.

Johnson was horrified by the extreme poverty. The friendliness of the people and the grateful smiles of Iraqi children weakened his desire for revenge and made him want to help instead.

At a ceremony Friday, two months after Johnson's return from his eight-month tour, the state of Georgia dedicated an rural north Georgia interchange to the memory of his son. Justin Johnson, 22, was killed by a roadside bomb in April 2004, just 12 days after arriving in Iraq.

"I believe the Lord changed my heart because I do have a heart for the children," Johnson said after the ceremony.

His wife, Jan, said she told her husband before he left that killing Iraqis was never going to bring Justin back. However, she recognized that going to Iraq was something he had to do to start healing.

When he called his wife from Iraq, Joe told her about passing out candy and school supplies to the children.

"The old Joe is coming back," she said to herself. "It was a good thing. The kids won him over."

Joe acknowledged the transformation. He credited God with knowing what he needed.

"The kids changed me," he said. "I still had hate in my heart for Muslim people, for the insurgents, but the Lord changed me."

Read the rest of the story. He came back a changed man.

As you read the story, compare his reaction to that of Cindy Sheehan.