United We Roll at Stardust Radio

Memorial Day always brings a mix of emotions, most of which are very sobering and that make one feel very humble in this world where so many men and women have given so much, including their own lives, for the benefit of our country and our freedom.

Another young, dedicated American became a Fallen Hero to be remembered on Memorial Day. Marine Cpl. Jacob C. Leicht was killed Thursday, May 27th, when he stepped on a land mine in Helmand province. Cpl Leicht, the 1,000th American serviceman killed in Afghanistan, was born on the Fourth of July. Eight more service members have fallen since last Thursday, bringing the number of fallen in Afghanistan to 1008 as of this writing.

This incredible young Marine had begged to return to the battlefield after a bomb exploded under his Humvee in Iraq during the early days of his first deployment. He spent two painful years recovering from face and leg injuries, all the while asking for a return to combat through letters from his hospital bed.

He finally was able to return to the front lines in Afghanistan, but was killed less than a month after arriving for the deployment he wanted so very much. He died only a few days before Americans honor fallen troops on Memorial Day, May 31st. To read more about Cpl Leicht and see some photos, go to the site at
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/sns-ap-us-afghan-1000th-death,0,7651686.story

To see the many people walking back and forth in front of the Viet Nam memorial - the wall that carries the names of more than 58,000 Heroes who did not come home from that war- still gives me chills. Have you ever noticed how big that wall is and how people are dwarfed by its size? Have you ever noticed how small each name is on that wall? Think about that and let it sink in as to how many families lost a loved one, how many Americans did not get to come home to hug their loved ones. The actual statistics, according to the website at http://www.vhfcn.org/stat.html "one out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. 58,169 were killed and 304,000 wounded out of 2.59 million who served". This site has some other very interesting facts about the war in Nam and also dispels many myths.

How many of us have felt humiliated at the way our service members were treated as they came home from the jungles of Nam? Can we ever make up for that? It is one of the few times of shame for our country and I am so proud to see that we have not allowed that to happen again - despite some less than admirable attitudes that some people have who reside in this country and who enjoy the freedom that was won by the sacrifices of others.

How about Korea, WWII, WWI and all the lives lost back to the birth of our nation? The first Fourth of July, Independence, Freedom, the Liberty Bell and all the other meaningful places, memorials, people and American spirit that are part of this great country? So many joined who never questioned why they were serving.

There are many sites with information on casualties from all the wars in which our men and women have served. Due to a variety of sources, lost records, etc., the numbers do vary somewhat, but most are very close. The best collection of and presentation of clear cut information that I found was from the site located at http://www.pbs.org/greatwar/resources/casdeath_pop.html where it has a list of all the warsand the statistics for each. I did notice that some of the figures here were lower than other sources, but again, this information seems to vary a bit from one to another:
Previous Wars deaths 1,003,071 wounded 1,430,290 total 2,433,361
Iraq 4,400 31,808 36,208
Afghanistan 1,008 5,725 6,733

5/31/10 (mid-day CDT) Current Total:
Fatalities 1,008,479 Wounded 1,467,823
(Iraq & Afghanistan figures from http://icasualties.org/)

Will I ever live long enough to find a way to appropriately say "Thank You" to all who serve and especially to deserve the freedom that has been given to me by so many lives? I will do my best to "Pay It Forward" and to live my life with the honor, respect and appreciation of others that will hopefully make me worthy of so great a gift.

By the way, I thought it was also interesting to note the following information about WWII that was included at the site http://www.worldwar-2.net/casualties/world-war-2-casualties-index.htm. It listed US civilians who were killed in the war and the religious status of the country (there seems to be so much discussion as to whether or not the USA is or has been a Christian nation):

the casualties from 1941 - 1945 were:
Soldiers (Allied) - 408,200 Killed
Civilians - 1,000 Killed

and the religious status:
United States of America (USA)
Status: Independent
Type of Government: Democracy
Religion: Christian
Population: 131,000,000 (1939)

I am sure that many of us have seen the email with some of the cemeteries in Europe listed where many of our service members and other Americans (medical, missionaires, etc) rest in peace. If you want to find out more about these overseas memorials to Americans, or if you are planning a trip to Europe and plan to honor these Heroes of Freedom with a visit, you can find out more at http://www.pegww2.net/Pages/Museum_cemeteries.htm.

As the daughter of an Air Force pilot, we lost close military friends both in peace and in war. I believe that my life has been blessed to have known so many people who would - and did - give the ultimate sacrifice for their families, for their fellow Americans, for their country and for freedom. I give thanks again as we are able to share unique and historical conversations with the Heroes who stand guard over our freedom, our families, our lives today.

On Memorial Day and Every Day - Thank You!