Tragically on Aug. 6, 2011, 30 U.S. servicemen – 22 of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs 120-strong unit (Team 6) that killed Osama bin Laden – were killed when their U.S. military CH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down during fighting in Afghanistan, allegedly by the Taliban. This was the deadliest incident for U.S. forces in the 10-year war.
During my two trips to Iraq, I had the honor of meeting many members of SEAL Team 6, and my brother, Aaron, is very close to many of them as well. My wife, Gena, and I, along with Aaron and his wife, Becki, send our deepest condolences and prayers to the families of these brave warriors. There are no words to describe the loss these families are facing, and they will need our greatest support not only now, but in the future.
Prior to those 30 additional U.S. deaths, CNS News reported last week that at least 1,019 U.S. troops have died in and around Afghanistan since President Obama's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2009. What that means is at least 64 percent of U.S. military deaths in Afghanistan occurred on Obama's watch.
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A total of 1,618 deaths have occurred since Oct. 7, 2001, when U.S. forces deployed to Afghanistan to expel the Taliban who were harboring al-Qaida. In 2010, 497 American soldiers died in Afghanistan. Since January this year, 260 U.S. soldiers have been killed. In July alone, 32 U.S. soldiers died in Afghanistan. And already in August, 30 U.S. troops have sacrificed their lives. There have been at least 17 coalition and Afghan aircraft crashes in Afghanistan this year.
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Considering all of these casualties of war, they seriously call into question President Obama's abilities as commander in chief and his December 2009 promise to the nation: "Taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011."
U.S. Army Gen. (retired) John Keane, a former vice chief of staff of the Army, just testified two weeks ago before the House Armed Services Committee, "The president's recent drawdown decision of 33,000 troops no later than September 2012 has increased risk significantly and threatens overall mission success."
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Last week a myriad of Facebook subscribers blogged how music stars like Amy Winehouse, and yesteryear's Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison all made front-page news when they died at age 27 from drug-induced deaths. But servicemen such as Andrew Found, Daniel Prior, Martin Lamb, Steven Dunn, Graham Shaw – all members of our armed forces killed in action in Afghanistan – didn't make front-page news when they died at age 27.
What many people value brings me back to the wisdom of 19th century Irish poet and dramatist, Oscar Wilde, who said, "Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing."
Our sincerest gratitude is owed to those serving in the Middle East, those who have left family and friends to serve abroad. And the real heroes are those who sacrifice everything for the cause of freedom – ours and others. It is to them that we owe our greatest thanks and their families our greatest prayers.
With 9/11 on the horizon, we all need to double our efforts to extend our gratitude to those who serve our country and their families. And thank military support groups like Give2TheTroops.org, who send continual care packages to our servicemen and women abroad, and the Blue Star Moms, who have posted banners in a host of cities across America of those who presently serve, like my wife Gena's nephew, Andrew Cox, who is on his second tour of Iraq.
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No one likes war, least of all me. Gen. Sherman was right: "War is hell." But Thomas Jefferson was also right: "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
My mother, younger brother, Aaron, and I do understand the pain of the families who bear the special grief of losing loved ones on the battlefield. My brother, Wieland, paid the ultimate price in Vietnam on June 3, 1970. I'll never forget when I received the news. I miss him still, all the time.
Wieland had a premonition when he was a teenager that he would never see his 27th year. Roughly a few months before his 27th birthday, he was killed in Vietnam. His death didn't make front-page news, either, but his life will always be celebrated in the forefront of our hearts and memories.
My brother fought a foreign war, as many of our service members do today. Despite the political chaos behind Vietnam, I refuse to believe that he died in vain. I also refuse to believe the thousands of valiant warriors who have given their lives in the Middle East did as well. Their sacrifices bring reality to Jesus' words, "Greater love has no one than this: that one lay down his life for his friends."
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To all of our living service men and women, we salute you, pray for you and hope for all of you to safely return. But if, by destiny, like my brother, Wieland, you should breathe your last on the battlefield, rest assure that your sacrifice will never be in vain, for you will have purchased some aspect of someone's future freedom. Your legacy will continue, and you will never be forgotten. Fight the good fight, keep the faith and press on for the prize!
![]() Blue Star Mom's banner of Andrew Cox, Gena Norris' nephew, who is now serving his second tour in Iraq. |