Vow to care about them so that we can care for them

Vow to care about them so that we can care for them
by Chaplain Kathie

This notice of death announced by the DOD was linked from iCasualties.org and they have been doing a wonderful job of keeping people up to date on what has been going on in Iraq as well as Afghanistan all along. The problem is most people in this country have just about forgotten men and women are dying in both countries. Some are shocked to discover there are still troops in Iraq so when news like the following comes out, they appear to be shocked.

DOD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Sgt. Andy C. Morales, 32, of Longwood, Fla., died Sept. 22 in Baghdad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 143rd Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Orlando, Fla.

Yet this year Sgt. Morales was one of the 46 killed in Iraq. Another 341 have been killed in Afghanistan. Men with stories to tell, lives lived and families left behind.

Brownsville soldier killed in Afghanistan
September 26, 2011 10:19 PM
By LAURA B. MARTINEZ/The Brownsville Herald
A 26-year-old U.S. Army first lieutenant from Brownsville is the latest soldier from the Rio Grande Valley to die in the Middle East.

Andres "Andy" Zermeño died Sunday in Afghanistan from injuries he sustained in the line of duty said his brother the Rev. Joaquin Zermeño, outside his parents’ home in Cameron Park Monday afternoon. Father Joaquin is a priest with the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville.

"He was on patrol in Afghanistan...an IED (improvised explosive device) struck the vehicle and he died from the injuries he sustained," said Father Joaquin. Several other soldiers in the vehicle were also killed.

Andy, as he liked to be called, was in his first tour of duty and had been Afghanistan for about 11 months, his brother said. He was expected to end his tour in about a month and head home.

"He was 11 months into it, so we were expecting him to come home sometime soon but...." Father Joaquin said, as he voice faded away.

Andy had been active duty in the Army for three years. He also served in the National Guard.
read more here

Dana Point soldier dies in Afghanistan
By CLAUDIA KOERNER / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
An Army Ranger from Dana Point died Saturday in Wardak province, Afghanistan, the Department of Defense has reported.

Sgt. Tyler N. Holtz, 22, died from wounds suffered during heavy fire with insurgents. As he led his men in an assault against an enemy position, he was shot, according to a release from U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Holtz was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Holtz enlisted in 2007 after graduating from Mater Dei High School and served as a rifleman and Ranger Team Leader. This was his fourth deployment to Afghanistan.

Already decorated for his service, Holtz was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart and Joint Service Achievement Medal.
read more here

Oklahoma City soldier killed in Afghanistan
Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, is the 12th soldier from the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in combat since July 29 and the fifth this month.

FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: September 26, 2011
Another Oklahoma soldier has died while fighting in Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense reported.

Spc. Francisco J. Briseno-Alvarez Jr., 27, of Oklahoma City, is the 12th soldier from the Oklahoma National Guard 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team to die in combat since July 29 and the fifth this month.
Briseno-Alvarez was killed Sunday in Laghman province when his unit was attacked with a roadside bomb, according to a Defense Department news release. He was a member of the 1st Battalion, 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, based in Stillwater.
Three other soldiers also were injured in the attack, according to a news release from the Oklahoma National Guard.

read more here

As of today iCasualties.org has 4,476 killed in Iraq and 1,787 killed in Afghanistan.

This blog is here for a reason. Local news will cover the death of one of their own but as a nation we are left with no clue at all about what is going on because the national media stations don't bother to cover any of it unless something huge happens with many deaths all at once. They forget these men and women do not serve just their own community. They serve the entire nation. The least we can do is pay attention as a nation. I made a vow to do whatever I could, whenever I could back in 1982 when I met my husband. Believe me, I could find other things to do but nothing I want to do more.

I've heard many say that "until they all come home" but why stop there? We've seen how many have been forgotten about while they serve. The odds of being paid attention to when they are back home are very low. It is easier to find support when they come home missing limbs but so much harder for them to find support when they have wounds no one else manages to see.

We need to pay attention to everything going on if we really care as a nation. We need to acknowledge they are not just numbers but people with families and we need to make a vow to care about them so that we can care for them.

They come home wanting to get over it but when we read about the deaths by bombs, we ignore the fact their eyes saw it all happen.

They come home expecting to pick up where they left off with their families, but they forget they are not the same after all they lived through.

They come home with family members expecting them to only need time to "get over it" like they did before and when that doesn't happen, they leave.

They come home in need of help but when they ask for it, it is not what they need. This was made perfectly clear yesterday in an article about military suicides.

"About 46 percent had been seen at a military treatment facility sometime in the 90 days before death. The treatment services include physical and behavioral health, substance abuse, family advocacy and chaplains."read more here

Until we all pay attention we will see even more paying the price for what was asked of them.