Since the beginning of the war in Iraq many young men and women have had to face the harsh realities of not only war but the emotional aftermath that comes with it. The media is loaded with accounts of horrific violence in the Middle East and more and more the war is following our soldiers home.

The War followed Richard home in the form of his own platoon members. No matter what their motives turn out to be, these men were so immune to violence they failed to distinguish between who was a friend or who was the enemy. As a result Richard was brutally stabbed to death and then set on fire by the very men he should have been able to consider his closest and dearest friends for life; his brothers in arms.

The Richard T. Davis Foundation for Peace has been created to remind everyone of the importance in making sure people are properly screened for mental disorders and criminal dispositions prior to being admitted into military service. We want to raise the bar on the all-time low recruitment standards in place now, so that the honorable men and women who serve our nation don't have to do it alongside criminals and murderers. Our troops deserve better than that.

It's time we support our troops as human beings.