Friday, March 8, 2002
This has been a painful week for the United States.
Seven U.S. soldiers were killed in the bloodiest fighting yet for American troops in the war against terrorism. They died when two U.S. helicopters came under fire from al-Qaida and Taliban fighters.
The Pentagon identified the men as Air Force Tech. Sgt. John A. Chapman, 36, and Senior Airman Jason D. Cunningham, 26; Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Neil C. Roberts, 32; and Army Sgt. Bradley S. Crose, 27, Sgt. Philip J. Svitak, 31, Spc. Marc A. Anderson, 30, and Pfc. Matthew A. Commons, 21.
One name took away the breath of some Mahoning Valley residents. Marc Anderson was a graduate of Alliance High School who had moved to Florida. At Alliance High he was a National Honor Society student, football player, wrestler and shot-putter.
The same sense of shock, pain and loss was felt in other communities across the nation. These were seven young men in their prime, each with talents and abilities they were using in defense of their country. Each had something special to offer when the war was over, something special that has been lost to all of us.
The toll: There have been others before them in this war. Last week, Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, 34, of Wade, N.C., was killed by enemy fire in a ground attack.
In January, the war claimed these American lives: Staff Sgt. Walter F. Cohee III, 26, Wicomico, Md.; Sgt. Dwight J. Morgan, 24, Mendocino, Calif., Capt. Matthew W. Bancroft, 29, Redding, Calif.; Capt. Daniel G. McCollum, 29, Irmo, S.C.; Gunnery Sgt. Stephen L. Bryson, 36, Montgomery, Ala.; Staff Sgt. Scott N. Germosen, 37, New York; Sgt. Nathan P. Hays, 21, of Wilbur, Wash.; Lance Cpl. Bryan P. Bertrand, 23, Coos Bay, Ore.; and Sgt. Jeannette L. Winters, 25, Gary, Ind., all Marines, and Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman, 31, San Antonio.
In December, Staff Sgt. Brian "Cody" Prosser, 28, Frazier Park, Calif.; Master Sgt. Jefferson Donald Davis, 39, Watauga, Tenn.; and Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Petithory, 32, Cheshire, Mass., were killed.
In November, Pvt. Giovany Maria, 19, New York; CIA officer Johnny "Mike" Spann, 32, of Winfield, Ala., and Sailor Bryant L. Davis, 20, of Chicago.
In October, Army Rangers Pfc. Kristofor Stonesifer, 28, Doylestown, Pa.; Spc. Jonn J. Edmunds, 20, Cheyenne, Wyo., and Air Force Master Sgt. Evander Earl Andrews, 36, Solon, Maine.
That is a relatively small number of people to lose in five months of war. But each of those people had not only a name, but a face, a family, a role to play in his or her community.
Even a small number of such people is a heavy price to pay, even for a large and great nation.
Every American should not only feel the pain of these losses, but should resolve that these soldiers shall not have died in vain.