DAVID BELLAVIA ON IRAQ: Our Mission Is Finally Accomplished . . . Does Anyone Care? “What we achieved in the face of an implacable enemy, overcoming many in our own government willfully ignorant of our struggle, is what I believe to be the defining moment of my generation. The veteran today is the embodiment of what it means to be an American. Even when our valor was used for political sport, we continued to serve quietly. This is truly without precedent.”