The war at home

"The Shiites couldn't get him, the Sunnis couldn't get him, if there is al Qaeda in Iraq, they didn't get him. But he comes home, and that's where he meets this devastating fate."

When Thomas Wortham IV recently returned from his second tour of duty in Iraq, he immediately got back to work policing the streets of the Windy City. The Chicago police officer took a particular interest in improving the city's Chatham neighborhood, which has been plagued by violence in recent years. According to The Chicago Tribune, he was even president of the Nat King Cole Park advisory council.

"He was part of a group of residents concerned about the park," [Ald. Freddenna] Lyle said. "They were working on trying to make sure things went on as they should. He was there all the time. We were getting ready to have a community event this Saturday. ... I don't think we'll have it now."

In an unthinkable turn of events, an off-duty Officer Wortham was gunned down last night in the very neighborhood he was trying to save since returning from war. The Tribune article said he was murdered in front of his father, Thomas Wortham III, as four petty thugs tried to steal the combat veteran's new motorcycle. Residents are rightfully stunned and outraged by the senseless murder of one of the city's finest protectors.

"This is a tragedy. This young man survived two tours in Iraq, and came home and got murdered on the streets in front of his house that he grew up in," said Lyle, who has known the officer and his family for years. "In front of his father, it's just unbelieveable."

One criminal was shot dead at the murder scene, another is in critical condition, and two more are being hunted around the clock by a devastated Chicago police force. Wortham had just returned from a Washington event to honor fallen police officers, and kept the above picture, which salutes fallen troops, on his Facebook profile. The fact that Wortham's father, who is also a military veteran, had to watch his son die after recently welcoming him home from Iraq is almost too difficult to comprehend.

"It's an urban terror," [neighbor Ron Ernest] said.

Iraq and Afghanistan are not the only countries where evil is being confronted. The senselessness of this American hero's death does not subtract from his legacy of bravery, compassion, and community involvement. From a Chicago park to an Iraqi square, Thomas Wortham IV was always there to stand guard. We send our deepest condolences to his family, friends, fellow troops, and the Chicago police department.