Author’s note: I am not sure how to post this one on the blog here…it’s really long. Let’s start with this, a poem…
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Excerpt:
The words of Dr. McCrae, written in 1915 after witnessing the death of his friend, have as much relevance today as they did then. July was the deadliest month for Americans in Afghanistan since the war began almost nine years ago. And there is no end in sight.
President Obama marked the beginning of August with a speech, stating that:
Our overarching goal remains the same: to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and our allies in the future. To meet that goal, we will pursue the following objectives within Afghanistan. We must deny al Qaeda a safe-haven. We must reverse the Taliban’s momentum and deny it the ability to overthrow the government. And we must strengthen the capacity of Afghanistan’s Security Forces and government, so that they can take lead responsibility for Afghanistan’s future.
It is, however, unclear how this “goal” and these “objectives” can be attained without either the full cooperation of the Afghan people, a never-ending U.S. military presence, or both. Meanwhile, the members of the armed services who put their lives on the line every day are paying to achieve these ambiguous goals and unclear objectives with their lives.
Here are a few of their names…
Cpl. Larry Donell Harris Jr., age 24, Thornton, Colorado. 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force. Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on July 1, 2010. Following a rifle volley at Fort Logan National Cemetery, a Marine took the American flag off Larry Donell Harris Jr.’s silver casket, folded it and placed it on the lap of his weeping wife. The Harris’ had only been married for four months.
Spc. Morganne Marie McBeth, age 19, Fredricksburg, Virginia. Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. Died on July 2, 2010, in Al Asad, Iraq, of wounds sustained in a non-combat related incident in Khan Al Baghdadi, Iraq, on July 1, 2010. “Morganne treated all of her patients with unsurpassed compassion, regardless of their injury or illness severity,” said 1st Lt. Abraham Medina Jr. “Morganne’s vivid smile and attitude were contagious. Regardless of how rough your day may have been, if Morganne entered the room you were going to smile. Her spunky character and selflessness will be remembered by all who were privileged enough to have met her.”
Capt. David Anthony Wisniewski, age 31, Moville, Iowa. 66th Rescue Squadron, 563rd Rescue Group, 23rd Wing. Wisniewski died July 2, 2010, at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, of wounds sustained when his HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter was shot down near Forward Operating Base Jackson in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on June 9, 2010. Four other airmen also were killed in the crash. His brother, Craig, said Dave had his sights set on flying helicopters ever since their grandfather took them to Offutt Air Force Base, Neb. “As we left, he tugged on my grandpa’s shirt tail and said, ‘You know what grandpa? One day I’m going to do that. I’m going to fly one of those things.’ ”
Staff Sgt. Christopher Francis Cabacoy, age 30, Virginia Beach, Virginia. B Troop, 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. One of two soldiers killed when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a roadside bomb in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on July 5, 2010. The last contact from Cabacoy to his family came on Facebook, just three days before he was killed. He told his wife, Tami, “I love you and can’t wait to see you.” And to his little boy Aidan, he wrote “Keep growing and be good, I love you.”
Pfc. Michael Shane Pridham, age 19, Louisville, Kentucky. Company D, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. One of three soldiers killed when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a roadside bomb in Qalat, Afghanistan, on July 6, 2010. Pridham’s wife, 17-year-old Deidre, says it’s all hard to believe. “He would always tell me, I’m coming home. Don’t worry, I promise I’m coming home. I knew something was wrong because there were two army men in my house. But, it just felt kinda like a dream…like a nightmare.” Deidre and Michael got married just days before Michael was deployed. Michael was supposed to be back home in just six weeks, close to when the couple is expecting their first child. Deidre says Michael would always talk about how much he was looking forward to coming home and “he asked about the baby all the time.”
Lance Cpl. Daniel Gabriel Raney, age 21, Pleasant View, Tennessee. 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force. Died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on July 9, 2010. Penny Riley said, “One of the last things he said to me was ‘I can’t wait to come home and take my baby brother and my cousin Kody to the movies.’” Penny said she was notified of her son’s death just one day after she found out he was to be home for a visit in August. “It was a happy day. We were all so ecstatic and happy because we got a homecoming date. Then I came home and there was this vehicle in my driveway. At first, I thought they were lost, but then I looked at the car tag and noticed it was government. I saw the green uniforms. I screamed ‘no!’ of course, and I ran to the back seat of the car to pick up my 11-year-old, who was crumpled over already. I don’t remember much else after that.”
I know…I am preaching to the choir here on the bartblog, so no need to go through all 69 of them.
Almost every day young Americans are dying in these wars. 69 may not sound like a large number when given a 30-second sound byte or a few sentences, but it is very large when ones looks into the lives that each and every one of these individuals could have had. The casualty list above does not include the 123 soldiers of other nations that have died in these wars this year or the 85 U.S. troops wounded in July.
There are now 5629 U.S. military personnel who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001, each with their their own story, a life and loved ones they have left behind. 5629 families without fathers or mothers, sons or daughters this August, as well as the tens of thousands that have been horribly wounded in these wars. With all the other problems that this nation faces today, is it not about time to end this insanity?
Many Americans voted for a leader that promised to bring an end to the wars, yet nothing substantive has been done toward that end. Meanwhile, the corporate media buries news about the wars, leaving these brave young men and women to die with a hardly a mention to their names. They deserve more. We as a nation deserve more.
Read more, read all the names and links here: Madison Independent Examiner – 69 Americans in Flanders Fields.