Remembering Our Heroes By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl

Weekly Column
May 22, 2006


Remembering Our Heroes By U.S. Senator Jon Kyl




Every Memorial Day, Americans pause to remember those who died in service to our country. Our brave soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines separate themselves from friends and family, and are sent across the globe to defend our nation and preserve the freedoms we enjoy. Unfortunately, one of the sad realities is that some of our troops don’t come home – and we must never forget their sacrifice.

Since the beginning of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, we have lost 72 of Arizona’s finest. Heroes like Lance Corporal John Thornton, 22, of Phoenix, who died in February from wounds received as a result of an enemy mortar attack in Ramadi. John always dreamed of being a Marine. As a child, he had his bedroom decorated with Marine memorabilia, such as camouflaged stuffed animals; and as a teenager, he was in the ROTC program at Tolleson Union High School, graduating top of his class in 2002. He enlisted in the Marines in 2004 and was deployed to Iraq shortly thereafter.

Private Lori Piestewa, 23, was a member of the Hopi Tribe, whose reservation is near Tuba City. Lori was classified as missing-in-action after enemy soldiers in Iraq ambushed her mechanical unit in March 2003, and was later declared dead in April 2004. Lori was one of the few American Indian women that served in our armed forces, and the first to lose her life in combat. Lori comes from a long line of heroes; her father served in Vietnam and her grandfather fought in World War I. Lori was a single mother and leaves behind two children.

John and Lori represent the millions of heroes who have defended, and continue to defend the rest of us. Their volunteer service and sacrifice will long be remembered and honored in Arizona; and we will celebrate their service and sacrifice this Memorial Day.

Our gratitude should also compel us to action here on Capitol Hill. As the House and Senate complete action on legislation that provides emergency funds for our ongoing efforts in Iraq and the war and terrorism, we must put the needs of our service men and women first, providing them with everything they need to accomplish their mission with the least amount of danger. The President has threatened to veto the bill if it is loaded with unrelated pork-barrel spending; and he should. The Senate added $14 billion over the military requirements when it passed the bill on May 4. I voted against that additional funding because it had no place on this emergency bill for our troops.

Memorial Day, amid the current global conflict, also makes us think about the lives lost in previous wars, and the sacrifices those soldiers and their families made for the security of America. In World War I, we lost 116,516 American soldiers; in World War II, 405,399; in the Korean War, 36,574 soldiers died; in the Vietnam Conflict, 58,209; and in the operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, 2,721 lives have been lost.

I am grateful for and humbled by the service and sacrifice of these brave Americans, as well as all who have otherwise been causalities and continue to bear the scars of their wounds. Let us remember them all this Memorial Day.


see more at Mccain alert