Brothers and sisters:
September is the month that we traditionally set aside a day to remember workers on Labor Day. Since September 11, 2001 we must also set aside a day to remind us of the 2997 that died or went missing and to thank those 4066 who have given their last in our defense in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are many that will debate our motives for going into Iraq and question whether the cost in American lives is worth the result. To those I would like to put these numbers in perspective.
The WWII Battle of the Ardennes, better known as The Battle of the Bulge, was a Nazi effort to center their attacks against the American forces, due largely to Hitler’s view of Americans as incapable of fighting effectively, and his belief that the American home front was likely to crack upon hearing of a decisive American loss.
Does this sound familiar?
The Germans launched the battle the morning of December 16, 1944. In 30 days of fighting, the Americans lost 19,276 men, 23,554 went captured or MIA and 47,493 were wounded. The battle ended January 15, 1945 when the Germans withdrew, leaving their heavy equipment behind because of lack of fuel and supplies and the two American armies closed the bulge and started their race to Berlin. That is an average of 642 men killed per day for 30 days. In other words, we lost more fighting men at this battle in seven days than we have in six years of our War on Terrorism.
As General George S. Patton said “war is hell.” No one knows this better than a soldier at war which is why we must REMEMBER EVERY SEPTEMBER the reason these brave volunteers in Afghanistan and Iraq put their lives on the line so we can be here at home, feel safe and remain free.
Through the Mill 