My 'kids' are of an age when some of their friends and classmates enlisted in the years after 9/11. Two of my sons have friends that have served in Iraq/Afghanistan or both. They have friends that went onto West Point, Annapolis, and The Air Force Academy from high school. They are still in contact with them. They've not lost one of 'their best buddies,' but have lost several they were acquainted with, some more, some less. One of those 'lost' went to school with my sons, but they weren't close, I however got to know his mother pretty well, through my friend whose daughter is best friends with his sister. The mother didn't want her son to enlist, they fought about it before and even after. Now that he's been killed, she's having a very hard time of it. We've talked about it, it's a mix of guilt of not supporting him and anger that she couldn't make him choose differently. Here's some of those whom my family has had some interactions with:
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20120521/news/705219615/print/
Wheaton’s fallen native sonsArticle updated: 5/21/2012 6:38 PM
By Christopher Placek <!-- %Body% --> <!-- %Body$x("^.+$", "$0
", "r+m+g-")% --> <!-- %Body$x("^.+$", "$0
", "r+m+g-")x("^<(p|div|h\d+)([^>]*)?>(.+)</\1>
$", "<$1$2>$3</$1>", "r+m+g-")% --> <!-- save the body to sh_bodyParagraph --> <!-- wrap the line in paragraphs and make sure that any DIVS are outside the paragraph tags --> <!-- %sh_bodyParagraph$x("^\s*(<div[^>]*>)?(.+)(</div>)?\s*$", "$1$2
$3", "r+m+g-")V(sh_bodyParagraph)% --> <!-- wrap the line in
tags --> <!--%sh_bodyParagraph$x("^.+$", "$0
", "r+m+g-")V(sh_bodyParagraph)%--> <!-- look for block level elements, and on detection, remove the wrapping
tags --> <!-- look for leadins --> Army Spc. Samuel Watts is the fifth member of the armed services from Wheaton to die since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The memory of Watts — and all of Wheaton’s fallen native sons — will be on the minds of attendees of the city’s Memorial Day parade, which begins at 10 a.m. Monday at Hale and Wesley, and proceeds to Wheaton Cemetery for a ceremony at 11 a.m.
Wheaton City Councilman Tom Mouhelis, a member of Wheaton VFW Post 2164 and an Air Force veteran who spent 30 years in the service, said it’s important to honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice.
“They feel an obligation to give back to their country that gives them freedom,” he said.
The other Wheaton natives who have died in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan are:
Ÿ Marine Lance Cpl. Kevin E. Oratowski, 23, who was killed Aug. 18, 2010, by a roadside bomb in the Helmand province of Afghanistan during his first combat deployment. He was a 2005 graduate of Glenbard South High School. This is the young man I referred to above.
Ÿ Army Staff Sgt. Robert J. Miller, 24, who was killed during a Jan. 25, 2008, battle with Taliban forces in Barikowt, Afghanistan. Miller, a Medal of Honor recipient, was a 2002 graduate of Wheaton North High School. Obviously this young man has been a focal point at the high school, I sub there regularly. Students speak often of how inspirational he is. Most years this high school sends 3 or more students to the military academies.
Ÿ Army Capt. Kevin C. Landeck, 26, who died in Iraq on Feb. 2, 2007, when the Humvee he was riding in south of Baghdad hit a roadside bomb. He graduated from Wheaton Warrenville South High School in 1999. The library is dedicated to this fallen soldier. The school I sub at most frequently. Memorial Day is huge here, I've written about the luminarias and posters before. There is an 'Honors Case' for those that have served and are serving in the military, next to it is a case with write ups from the fallen.
Ÿ Marine Lance Cpl. Nicholas Larson, 19, who was killed during the U.S. assault on Fallujah, Iraq, on Nov. 9, 2004. He was a 2003 graduate of Wheaton North. Much like Wheaton-Warrenville South, the school has a display case for those serving and those fallen. Miller tends to take up a huge portion, but that is to be expected.
Last month, the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans dedicated its second Wheaton facility at 111 N. West St. in honor of Miller. The original facility at 119 N. West St., which opened in 2007, was named in honor of Larson.