As the bloodshed and conflict intensify in Iraq, U.S. troops continue to be caught in the middle of the maelstrom and sacrificed to the machinery of war. October has been among the bloodiest of months since this nation recklessly invaded. While Americans at home are viewing with admiration the red leaves of autumn, Americans in Iraq are viewing with horror the red blood of their fallen comrades—69 so far in a month that is not yet two-thirds complete, 2782 altogether since the war first began. The pace of fatalities in October is the highest in 2 1/2 years. Each day brings new tragedy. When will it stop?
In today’s Washington Post, Amit R. Paley writes of one fallen soldier and the impact his death has had on the members of his squadron. The tale of LeeBernard Chavis is one of all too many:
SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq — His commanders gave Airman 1st Class LeeBernard E. Chavis the proud emblem of their squadron — a blue-and-yellow flag known as a guidon — because they knew he would rather die than lose it.
The 21-year-old District native carried it from the unit’s home base in the hills of Georgia to the sands of Kuwait and onto the streets of Baghdad, where, on Saturday, he was killed by a sniper as he tried to keep civilians away from a suspected roadside bomb.
“The colors have dropped,” said Maj. Thomas Miner, commander of the 824th Security Forces Squadron, as he waited to escort Chavis’s body onto a C-130 Hercules late Sunday. His lip quivered and his eyes turned glassy. “But we’ve got to pick them back up.”
More than 200 personnel from the squadron and other units stood in near-total blackness on a tarmac and saluted the man who became the unit’s first combat fatality in Iraq. The guidon was solemnly carried forward, for the first time by someone else. Then a white, unmarked truck pulled up and the door swung open.
“Reach for remains!” a voice barked. [full text]
Kmareka.com 