|
Afghanistan - over eight years and 1000 dead Americans
This entry was posted on 2/25/2010 2:01 AM and is filed under Extraordinary Events, Perennial war culture, Wisconsin at war, Afghanistan.
One of my main sources for keeping track of casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan is CNN.com. I use various sources, but CNN usually weighs in after verifying casualties. Some outlets report on numbers from preliminary reports from the battle field. That just seems a little too quick to push numbers. All the "numbers" dare we remember, represent a grieving family.
Regardless, CNN is getting close to reporting that the United States now has 1000 military personnel killed in Afghanistan since the fall of 2001. Coincidently, the number of wounded in Afghanistan surpassed 5000 within the last couple weeks.
Poetically, just as I returned from Iraq in March of 2008, I had to make a post noting the 4000th American death in Iraq since the spring of 2003. That number passed by the public rather unnoticed. Although the death rate has slowed in the last couple years in Iraq, that does not diminish that every death has ruined some family's dreams. The number of American dead in Iraq is now 4382. The American wounded in Iraq hovers around 32,000 - having served in the Vietnam era, that high a number is disturbingly Vietnam-esque.
I suspect this current Afghanistan War 1000 casualty number will slip under the public radar too. We do after all, need to focus on fallen-from-grace professional golfers, and other "professional" millionaire athletes that compete as "amateurs" in international competition. To our credit however, American groups are still trying to help Haiti. But Toyota cars with mechanical schizophrenia have knocked Haiti's tens-of-thousands of earthquake dead out of the collective media-noise. But I digress.
Bear in mind, these casualty numbers only reflect American loses. Between the two wars, another nearly 1000 coalition military personnel from contributing countries have also died - including 442 Britons. Canada opted to participate in Afghanistan exclusively and has lost 140 military personnel. And of course, the number of dead Iraqis and Afghans is many thousands, both civilian and military.
Bringing the number of dead to our own state, the two wars have claimed nearly 120 military service people with Wisconsin connections. They come from places with names that befuddle the rest of the country: Fort Atkinson; Little Chute; Rhinelander; Peshtigo; Onalaska; Waukesha; Ladysmith; Menomonie; Oshkosh; Milwaukee; Oneida; and Fond du Lac. All places mispronounced by national talking heads. All places that represent a rich Native American, French, and German history. And, the biographies of the dead reflect the culture of the peculiar hometown names. They liked to ice fish, snowmobile, snow board, four-wheel, turkey hunt, deer hunt, play hockey, and play football. They went to Friday fish fries; and, in random free time played cards with family and friends - Euchre. They are both men and women, many college students, and all volunteers. Many were in the Guard or Reserves. Their family names reflect an eclectic citizenry: African American; Hispanic; German; Irish; Polish; and, Norwegian. They all had plans for their futures.
There is something disturbingly Orwellian about this two, perennial-war culture we now live in. If we pay attention at all, year after year, we see and hear only numbers. It is in a way overwhelming to comprehend it at its core costs. But, these numbers represent our fellow citizens, our allies, our neighbors, our friends, our family members - real living souls, and the many people they connect with. Behind the numbers is...meaning.
There is nothing that I could adequately contribute or say to ease the grief of the families and friends of the many thousands of dead and wounded.
Like an old supervisor and friend of mine always says, "Bob, sometimes things are just better left...un-said."
Wisconsin Military Service Person Special Mention of the Week
(each week Cooldadiomedia mentions a Wisconsin service person killed in Iraq or Afghanistan)
Lieutenant Michael McGreevy Jr., 30, was killed when the MH-47D Chinook helicopter he was in was shot down during operations near Asadabad, in Kunar Province, Afghanistan on June 28, 2005. McGreevy was a U.S. Navy SEAL. He had received a Congressional Appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1997. After commissioning, Lieutenant McGreevy served aboard the USS OAK HILL (LSD 51) as a Surface Warfare Officer. Information about Michael has been compiled by cooldadiomedia.com from pow-mia-kia.org; livinglegendteam.blogspot.com; usmountainranger.org; and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In recent years Michael was a resident of Portville, New York. He was however, a Wisconsin native, and was born in Milwaukee where he lived until 10 years old. His family moved away from Shorewood, Wisconsin when he was still in grade school. At the time of his death Michael was survived by wife Laura and daughter Molly, around a year old at the time. McGreevy was assigned to SEAL Team 10 as Officer-in-Charge of Echo Platoon, Naval Special Warfare Group Two, stationed out of Virginia Beach, Virgina. This is the unit he was in when deployed to Afghanistan in April of 2005. During his service time McGreevy was awarded many military medals including the Bronze Star (with "V" for Valor), and the Purple Heart. Lieutenant Michael McGreevy was the third Wisconsin military service member with Wisconsin roots to die in Afghanistan since 2001.
As of this blog entry's posting date:
95,412 Iraqi civilians have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
9,378 Iraqi Security Forces have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
4,382 Americans have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
995 Americans have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
317 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
649 Coalition soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
31,693 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
5,064 U.S. troops have been wounded in action in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
101 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 Wisconsin soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
139 journalists (several nationalities) have been killed in Iraq since Spring, 2003.
17 journalists (various nationalities) have been killed in Afghanistan since October, 2001.
Wisconsin military service person special mention of the week, military casualty, and journalist casualty information sources: Committee to Protect Journalists; cnn.com; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; washingtonpost.com; thehighground.org; Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs; iraqbodycount.org; and, icasualties.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
