A Letter From A Soldier

NOTE: Below is an e-mail from a soldier, Josh Lomen, who is 24 years old. By the time he was 21, he had two combat tours under his belt and had made Sergeant. He and others like him are the heroes your kids like to read about. The only difference is that they are real. They may not have degrees from Harvard, but they can take an order without question and recite from memory the Army values. They may not have seen the seven wonders, but they can save or take your life. They are not afraid to cry for the brother that they lost or the wounded they will never see again, but they are proud to serve under the Flag that they drape over their dead comrades. They are the unsung heroes your children love.

Those of you who know me and know me well know that leaving blogs or forwards or anything of that nature is not my style. But over the past week I've seen some things that cannot go untold.

As you all know I am a squad leader, currently serving in Afghanistan. Been here for 6 months now, but this is by no means my first combat tour. In a span of 3 days, I saw 4 soldiers fight, and lose their lives in combat. A lot of people like to say that they were fighting for their country. While I agree with that, there is also more to it than that. People always seem to overlook the rest of that statement. These soldiers died so that their brothers next to them could live. At the time of their deaths they were not thinking that they are helping a nation fight terrorism, rather they died knowing that they were protecting the rest of us who fought beside them. One man died reloading one of our heavy weapon systems. He knew that the operation of that weapon was vital to the safety of the rest of the platoon. At that moment, self sacrifice was what protected the other 4 soldiers within his vehicle. His actions and the other soldiers who died as well will never be forgotten.

"A brother is not someone who shares a father with you because we all share the same father anyway, rather it's someone who is always there for you in your times of need, as well as your times of joy." The quote is from one of our fallen comrades. He paid the ultimate sacrifice so that he could be there in OUR time of need.

The reason I am telling you all this, is because I am angry. If I were to go home to the United States and pick one random person and say that I just returned home from fighting a war in Afghanistan, what do you think his reaction would be? I am willing to bet his reaction would be this. That he would ask, "We still have soldiers in Afghanistan?" We are still fighting the terrorist who inhabit this poor region. Afghanistan seems to be the forgotten war. The people of the United States don't understand that people are still fighting and dying in the mountains, roads, streets and cities of Afghanistan. I don't know when this transition happened, but people need to be reminded of our actions over here.

Iraq seems to be all that fill the minds of our citizens. Please don't take this the wrong way, I am not trying to take away from the good that our soldiers in Iraq are doing. I just believe that our forgotten soldiers in the mountains of Afghanistan, and the soldiers who die along with them, deserve some respect as well. While the casualties in Afghanistan are lower then Iraq, consider this fact. The number of troops in Iraq number roughly around 125,000 while the number of troops in Afghanistan number only around 20,000. That's why the death toll between the two war zones seems so drastically different. I have fought the enemy in both countries, been shot at and blown up more times then I can count. And I can tell you this. The enemy we face in Afghanistan is a much greater and more determined enemy. They are better trained and know how to fight. They have been doing it for hundreds of years.

In closing, over the past few weeks, we have encountered some very serious resistance. My platoon alone has lost two of their brothers and had 7 wounded, all of whom were evacuated to echelons of medical care far away from our current position. While I weep for the ones who have lost their lives, I am also concerned for those who are trying to heal. Some may never walk again, others will be permanently disfigured, and all have some trying times ahead of them. Those are the people I am asking you all to pray for. That they have a speedy and healthy recovery. I can say this, though -- I am happy that they are at least out of harms way.

This is my charge to all of you. We need to spread the word of the soldiers who are still fighting in Afghanistan. Our soldiers here depend on the support of our loved ones back home. Please copy and paste this to your profiles. Tell everyone you know of the trying times our brothers are facing. Tell everyone of the heroism of the soldiers who lost their lives and of the soldiers who are fighting to recover what they have lost.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For those interested in sending e-mails to Josh Lomen, please send them to this address: Dan@rffm.org. Also, anyone interested in sending a letter or sponsoring a care package for some of the men and women who keep America safe, in the near future, RFFM.org will post information about organizations who help support our troops and desperately need your contributions. Let's do more than pay lip service to the phrase "Support our Troops."

Yeah, I was just pointing out on another thread, when was the last time the media talked about any soldiers dying in Afghanistan? The opposition to the war in Afghanistan is much smaller than the war in Iraq, so it is not as politically advantageous for the American-hating media to talk about Afghanistan. God bless all the soldiers in both wars. These are critical battles to try to stabilize the region. If we lose these two countries to the Ismofascists, it is only a matter of time to WWIII.

Yeah, I was just pointing out on another thread, when was the last time the media talked about any soldiers dying in Afghanistan?

Sadly, the DBM (and don't forget JFnKerry) only mentions Afgahnistan when they want to accuse the President of ignoring it in favor of Iraq.

With the holidays coming up, a box of homemade treats would be the best thing possible. There are a number of exchanges in country for basic necessities as well as chips, dips, cookies, etc. So I would recommend homemade goodies. I know they were really appreciated when I was there.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.