VOICES FOR WISCONSIN'S FALLEN

In an attempt to pay homage to Wisconsin's Native Son's and Daughter's that lost their lives passing along our most valued rights, it does not seem proper to shine a light on myself. Anything I say from here on out may be construed into being Self-Serving, all I can say is, ''that is not my intention'', I just hope to be the spark of change for so many that think they cannot possibly make a change, and to give all the non-believers something to believe in.

Sometimes in all our lives we come head first into problems that can be fixed, but we find excuses not to fix or help fix said problems. We actually expend more energy avoiding positive progress and carry false delusions that someone else will fix it. We tend to listen to others around us and their excuses about how hard it is or will be. When did we begin to believe change shoud be easy? Change is hard, going against the status quo is hard! Just because it isn't easy, does not mean it's not possible. After all, we ALL live in the Greatest Country of possiblities, so it is all very possible.

I've been told that I'm too optimistic, that I cannot fix every problem, I will not achieve anything, and many more one liners along the way. If I were to have believed in all those imaginary roadblocks, nobody would be reading this now. Luckily, the more I hear, the more ambitious I become and it all inspires me to prove anything is possible.

Possibilities present themselves each and every day, some small, others large, but they are always there. For myself, as of today, possibilities seem endless. I couldn't have made that statement in the 90's, the selfish nature of my character made it hard to see many possibilities. Today, the hardest part is to pick from all the possibliities the one(s) that speak to me directly, and can't be ignored. Some of the causes I've taken on that spoke to me; children with Cancer, Homeless shelters, At Risk Kids, and now our Soldiers.

The major driving point for my involvement with Wisconsin soldiers came with the realization that most of them have no voice, and I know that fact alone was enough to speak to my soul. Before the United States became involved in the Operations of Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the people of Iraq were not free to make choices, they had no voices! Our men and women gave them voices. Who is going to do that for our fallen hero's now? US! Here and NOW!

Another reason for my involvement, is that I am in debt to these men and women, they have allowed me to live a life many people in other countries can only dream of. Through all stages of my life I've had opportunities that were fought for by men and women like the ones featured on this site and so many more heroes that are not the focus of this site. No matter how I used opportunities that were presented to me or didn't, they were there for me (and all of us) and with a gift like that, why wouldn't we all feel like we were in debt to the price they paid for our freedoms?

Everything I do and want to do, never seems like enough. How can I possibly make a difference? My only answer is to always be (like our State moto) 'Moving Forward'. And by doing good, others will soon follow and I'll just be one out of many. By uniting people for a common good, this is how we will see things get done. I may only be one person, (a person that has never been on a cell phone, the internet, held a DVD or MP3) but I'm all it takes to start the fire! From a lone spark, the greatest of fires are born, but without others' (which is the most important element) the Spark will only revert back to darkness. My hope is people will unite, because the most well intended ideas and concepts need more than one person to succeed, and this tribute is worthy of success.

As long as our troops are committed to Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, I am also committed to keeping up on the Portraits of the Wisconsin's Fallen, and to having the - Break the Silence - Voices for Wisconsin's Fallen, updated and maintained. This may all go at Pony-Express Pace, but I along with my most appreciated team (mainly my mother) are truly doing our very best.

So if you are at all wondering who I may be, here it goes; On September 17, 1997, I turned 20 years old, by December 17, 1997, I was locked up in prison for life, for taking a life. My name is Kelly Vincent Bodoh, an inmate at a maximum security prison in Wisconsin. My only reason for not staying annoymous is to prove anything is possible; even people who are thought to be uncaring, can be caring and generous. I know there are numerous people that are walking in similar shoes as mine all across the State and Country, have the Greatest respect for the men and women who wear a uniform, ALL uniforms. Contrary to popular belief, we don't all hate, and there are many prisoners who appreciate, honor and respect the service people who made it their lives to make the world a better place, I just wish more people would get involved for a common cause, just act upon it. In this land of excuses, I hope to be just one example, of a future of many examples that have been inspired by our soldiers to, PUT DOWN THE EXCUSES AND PICK UP THE NATION, do something (create a site about your State), because doing nothing, equals nothing getting out there and nothing getting done! Remember, soliders fight for our freedoms, and one of these freedoms is SPEECH, at the very least - express yours, write a comment.