Mr. Speaker, as South Carolinians recognized our freedoms on the Fourth of July, we also express gratitude for fallen heroes who made our freedoms possible. A moving tribute was published on June 29th as an editorial in The Greenville…
Mr. Speaker, as South Carolinians recognized our freedoms on the Fourth of July, we also express gratitude for fallen heroes who made our freedoms possible. A moving tribute was published on June 29th as an editorial in The Greenville News.
Fallen Soldiers, Families Are Heroes
Three families in South Carolina--and the state as a
whole--were given a bitter reminder earlier this month that
men and women still put their lives at risk every day to
protect American ideals in faraway places. These men and
women are heroes, as are the families that wonder, every day,
if their son, daughter, spouse or child will return home.
Three from South Carolina won't. The S.C., National Guard
troops were among 21 people killed in a suicide bomb attack
on June 20. These brave men soon will be laid to rest, but
their families will continue to grieve in ways that few of us
can even begin to comprehend. It's a heart-wrenching reminder
of the cost of war, and particularly of the cost of the
current war in Afghanistan and the one in Iraq. These two
conflicts have demanded a very heavy commitment from--and
thus taken a very heavy toll on--our National Guard and
Reserve troops.
The three members of the 133rd Military Police Company who
were killed include Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Brad Thomas, of
Easley; 1st Lt. Ryan Davis Rawl, of Lexington; and Spc. John
David Meador II, of Columbia. Five other members of the
company were wounded in the attack. Thomas' funeral is
planned for this weekend.
The 133rd, nicknamed the Palmetto Regulators, is based in
Timmonsville. It was in Afghanistan to train the Afghan
national police force and was scheduled to return home in
August. The three deaths bring to 16 the total of South
Carolina National Guard troops who have been killed in
Afghanistan since 2003.
These two wars have exacted a heavy toll on military
families across the country. Many of those deaths have been
among Guard and Reserve troops who traditionally have been
used in support roles, but have been called upon during these
wars to serve more and longer combat tours, a result of
leaner operations for a military force that is spread
increasingly thin.
Thomas leaves behind a wife, Jana, and a 3-year-old son,
Kayden. The family, who grief cannot be assuaged by our
expressions of gratitude, nonetheless deserves our sincerest
thanks for Thomas' devotion to this country and its ideals.
The family members need our thoughts and prayers as they try
to wade through a grief that too many military families have
experienced in the past decade.
There have been 6,440 military deaths in Iraq and
Afghanistan since the wars began. Of those, 1,022, or nearly
16 percent, have been National Guard or Reserve troops,
according to The Washington Post.
Few of us reflect daily on the lives at risk every day in
Afghanistan. Despite the continuing draw-down of American
forces, it still is an exceedingly hostile place. And our
nation still is calling on its part-time warriors to complete
that mission.
Maj. Gen. Robert E. Livingston Jr., South Carolina's
adjutant general, offered a poignant reminder to all of us
that these wars still go on and our brave men and women still
risk their lives.
``These men died serving their country and I want to
express my deepest sympathy and condolences to their
families, who are the unsung heroes of our war effort,''
Livingston said, according to a recent report in The State.
``These deaths are grim reminders that our military, to
include the South Carolina National Guard, is still active in
combat defense of our country. We are privileged to have such
heroes in our midst.
Privileged, indeed.
As the nation pauses in coming week to celebrate its
founding and the establishment of liberties and ideals that
are desired by people around the globe; it would be worth
taking more than a moment to remember the heroes--both the
fallen and those whom they've left behind. These spouses and
children, and the service men and women they love, are above
the political rhetoric of which wars should be fought and
how.
They simply serve. Their burdens are tangible reminders
that the struggle for freedom continues and that it has a
tremendous and painful cost. This is a cost these soldiers
knew they might have to pay when they stepped forward to
serve in an all-volunteer military during a time of war, but
one their families are left trying to comprehend.
These men are mourned. They are praised. And they and their
families should be remembered by a state and a nation that
needs to be eternally grateful for their service and their
immense and incomprehensible sacrifice.
Said Thomas' father, Charles, ``They're doing a very
important job. A lot of Americans don't understand that. But
they're doing a very important job.''
Amen.