AlterNet: Counting On Marla: "Marla's self-assigned mission in life was to help innocent people who are caught in the crossfire of armed conflict. So, perhaps it was fitting, in the brutally impersonal way of the universe, that Marla herself became an innocent victim of war. On Saturday, April 16, Marla was killed in a car bomb attack as her vehicle traveled along the road to the Baghdad airport. She was 28 years old.

Marla Ruzicka was a paradox. In some respects, she was the quintessential California girl -- so pretty, blond and lively she could be mistaken for a cheerleader. But behind that luminous smile was a person of remarkable strength who possessed a purple heart of courage."

(Via AlterNet.)