Just three years ago, Ohio Marine Reserve families were frantically calling back and forth, trying to find out which of the six men attached to the Brookpark 3/25 had been killed in Iraq.After an anxious day, we learned that the Aug. 1 fallen were snipers: Cpl Jeff Boskovitch, Seven Hills, OH; LCpl Roger D. Castleberry Jr., Austin, TX; Sgt David Coullard, Glastonbury, CT; LCpl Daniel (Nate) Deyarmin Jr., Tallmadge, OH; LCpl Brian Montgomery, Willoughby, OH; Sgt Nathaniel S. Rock, Toronto, OH.
Aug. 3, we awoke to the news that 14 men, plus a translator, had died when their transport had been blown up by an IED. Most of those men, including our son, were from the first squad, third platoon, of Lima Company, out of Columbus, OH.
The squad had earlier posed for this group picture in Iraq. Back, from left, LCpl Eric Bernholtz, Grove City, OH, LCpl Edward (Augie) Schroeder, NJ/OH, Cpl David Kreuter, Cincinnati, OH, LCpl Chris Dyer, Cincinnati, OH, LCpl William Wightman, Sabina, OH, Sgt. Justin Hoffman, Delaware, OH. Front: Living, LCpl Nicholas Bloem, Belgrade, MT, Living, LCpl Timothy Bell, West Chester, OH, LCpl Aaron Reed, Chillicothe, OH. Not shown: LCpl Michael Cifuentes, Fairfield, OH, LCpl Grant Fraser, Anchorage, AL, Spt. Bradley Harper, Dresden, OH, Cpl David (Bear) Stewart, Bogalusa, LA, and LCpl Kevin Waruinge, Tampa, FL.
(I realize that your eyes might have skipped over the names. Those names, like the men who carried them, do matter, however, to every one of their families. Especially for today, I ask you to care, too.)
So many fallen in such a short time sent shock waves through Brookpark and made this area the epicenter of attention on the human cost of the war.
Three years have passed. The level of violence in Iraq has dropped considerably, a matter that Lima Company families are thankful for, since 10 of their Reservists are in California, training to return to the battlefields in a few months. Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman, in Cleveland this weekend for the national Democratic platform drafting committee, said his son is among those going back.
Iraq has been pacified to the point that even President Bush is considering a drawdown of troops. The question is, can we bring the troops home, or are we just going to send them to Afghanistan?
What, if anything, have we learned?
a million miles away from home (©2006 Bob Stewart)
”Today we stop to say goodbye to the children who fought and died Far too young, and too alone a million miles away from home . . . .
Flags are flying, they gently wave; soldiers fight on, must be brave Far too young and too alone a million miles away from home . . . .”
Listen to Bob Stewart’s CD "a million miles away from home," released on Aug. 8, 2006, the one-year anniversary of the state of Ohio's "Day of Mourning."
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1 comment:
Though I am greatful the violense in Iraq has lessened, I am saddened by the fact that "only 9 this week" is a good thing. It's still 9 kids, 9 families, 9 lives...
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