It is most difficult for those of us at the Scott Vallely Soldiers Memorial Fund to learn that we have now lost 1,000 of our finest in the Afghanistan theater of war. No words can ever soften the blow when someone hears of the loss of their child, brother, spouse, friend, neighbor, and loved ones.
May their soul be embraced in heaven; may we never forget them in our lives. For they have given the ultimate sacrifice for we Americans. Please take a moment to ponder this and all deaths, along with all the wounded, and their families here at home.
Here is the story at the NY Daily News:
BY STEPHANIE GASKELL
The U.S. death toll in Afghanistan has reached a grim milestone – 1,000 American troops have been killed since the war began nine years ago.
And that number is expected to rise as the largest military offensive since the fall of the Taliban continues in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.
Twelve U.S. Marines have been killed in the province since Operation Together began on Feb. 13 in the Marjah district, according to the Pentagon.
The offensive is expected to last several more weeks as 15,000 U.S., NATO and Afghan forces push out the Taliban in heavily mined, poppy fields.
Gen. David Petraeus, head of U.S. Central Command, warned that more casualties are expected.
“These types of efforts are hard, and they’re hard all the time,” he said. “I don’t use words like ‘optimist’ or ‘pessimist.’ I use ‘realist.’”
Military leaders hope the operation will turn around a war that has only worsened in the past two years.
Officials said 54 U.S. troops have been killed in Afghanistan so far this year, compared to just eight in the same time period in 2008.
Last year was the deadliest year for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war began – 316 soldiers were killed in action.
That’s more than double the previous year when 155 soldiers died.
In Iraq, eight U.S. troops have died this year bringing the total to 4,378 since the war began in 2003.
