Dec. 21, 2002 ~ Casualties
My cousin called this morning. His son (Army)is stationed in Germany now, but is due to be deployed elsewhere very soon. Either he doesn't know or can't say where he will be going. We talked about that, and about all the uncertainties, for a bit. Then we talked about the fact that two US soldiers in Afghanistan had been shot yesterday. I told him that my first impulse was to look it up online, try to find out more details. But I didn't. "Does all this stuff *#@! with your head?" he asked. It does. It definitely does.
For all my bravery (or denial, however you want to look at it), I did give in and look up the story about the shooting. That was when I read that one of our soldiers had been killed. They are not releasing the name, pending notification of next of kin. The story went on to say that we currently have about 8,000 troops stationed there. So I can't help it... I think in terms of the odds. What are the odds that it was my son? Slim. Very slim. But it was somebody's son, husband, brother or friend. Did you know that 16 American soldiers have been killed in combat in Afghanistan since the anti-terror campaign began last year? I didn't. Do these things just not make the news, or is it just that we... forget? I know there are 16 families out there whose lives will never be the same.
UPDATE
The soldier who died was a paratrooper with the 82ND Airborne. My son is a paratrooper with the 82ND. We are anxiously waiting for more news, and praying for the safety of our Soldier Boy, and all the other Soldier Boys and Girls out there, who are facing the unthinkable.
Final UPDATE
It was one of his "brothers," or one of his friends, but it wasn't him. Somewhere, a family is grieving, and oh, how my heart aches for them. I will tell you something... grown men do cry. There was not a dry eye in this house today, as each awful minute ticked by, second by second. It was slow torture, pure and simple. Can someone please explain to me how it serves the public to release that kind of information, without giving the soldier's name? Do you have any idea how many families, across this nation, sat glued to their TV's, phones, and computers today, afraid to leave the house, but also afraid to answer the phone or door? But we are safe. Our baby is safe.
But I have to tell you... As long as my child is in Afghanistan, and maybe as long as there is a possibility of war, I will never feel completely safe again.
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