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When I first heard the news that President Biden was following through on his pledge to bring troops home from Afghanistan, I was pleased. To my thinking, it was past time to end our engagement there. Our sacrifice had been enough and our mission had been served. On another level, the news was personal to me. My daughter enlisted in the Marines nearly three years ago and is serving as a First Lieutenant. Pulling out of Afghanistan meant that she would not be deployed there and perhaps suffer the consequences so many of our men and women have tragically experienced before her. When I heard the news yesterday that 11 marines and a member of the United States Navy were killed in a senseless suicide bomber attack and many others grievously wounded, my first reaction was horror. Simultaneously, I began feeling a sense of relief knowing my daughter was not one of them. Since hearing the news, my horror and sense of relief have been replaced by some form of survivor’s guilt. How can I be happy knowing my daughter was spared from the wrath of war in this instance while the parents and families of so many brave and noble men and women are experiencing unimaginable pain and suffering? The brave and precious Marines who were killed in Afghanistan this week are truly the kindred of all Americans. We are all diminished by their passing. We are all connected to them and to their families by a shared sense of duty, service and simple humanity. May their memory be forever honored knowing their sacrifice will make for much better lives for the thousands of people they were sent there to rescue. For the parents and families of the fallen, may the words of President Biden spoken to other grief ridden parents bring them some peace, “The time will come when [their] memory will bring a smile to your lips before it brings a tear to your eyes.” Thanks for reading, Kristine If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:
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