Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Family last: Yahoo story: The gravestones of fallen Americans buried at Arlington National cemetery during the Iraq war era show a change in style from earlier conflicts, in Arlington, Va., Friday, July 1, 2005. Unlike earlier wars, nearly all Arlington National Cemetery gravestones for troops killed in Iraq or Afghanistan are inscribed with the operation names, such as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom' and 'Operation Enduring Freedom', which the Pentagon selected to promote public support for the conflicts. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) With this photo:  A closeup (x3) reveals one tombstone with the following:  Which reads: ROBERT JOSEPH
MOGENSEN
SFC USA
FEB 17 1978
MAY 29 2004
BSM PH & OLC
ARCOM WV
OPERATION
ENDURING FREEDOM
BELOVED HUSBAND
& FATHER It seems odd that the sentiment of the family is at the bottom. And about that family, this from arlingtoncemetery.net: Soldier from Gloversville Killed in Afghanistan
26 year-old Staff Sgt. Robert Mogensen enlisted in the army when he was 18. Over the years he's served in a number of special forces assignments, but his family never imagined he wouldn't come home. “I didn't believe it -- at first I said Robert who? You don't think of it as being your own family,” said his aunt Karen Martin. Mogensen and two other U.S. soldiers were killed Saturday in Kandahar, Afghanistan when their vehicle hit a land mine. His family in Mayfield got the news later that day. His aunts rushed to his mother's side. “It's just a bad dream. We thought we were going to wake up and it was just a dream. It wasn't. We still think he's going to come home and still be the same, you know?” said his other aunt, Kathy Belfance. “You always think it's always someone else, and when it hits you, it's unreal,” said Martin. His aunts say Mogensen was a fun-loving young man -- a good husband and father. His death serves as a reminder that soldiers are dying in more than one war zone. “You see Iraq, Iraq but there's kids dying every day in Afghanistan fighting for us,” said Martin. Mogensen's family members still don't know much about the incident that took his life, but they do want people to know one thing about him... “That he did it for us. Because he loved us. He wanted everybody to be living here safe and free,” said Belfance.
Mogensen leaves behind a wife and 3 children, the youngest an 8-week old daughter. His mother – who also lives in Mayfield – is in North Carolina tonight. Four points: - Unless the families requested the inscriptions, this is in really bad taste. What's next "GSAVE", or "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism"?
- It's not much different from the planned march on September 11 to honor the troops in Iraq.
- This White House politicizes everything. Here is your evidence.
- It's going to get worse.
posted by Quiddity at 8/23/2005 03:17:00 PM
8 comments
Talk about scoring political points over the dead bodies of soldiers!
I've seen people weep openly when walking past the graves of Civil War soldiers. I wonder what people will be thinking 150 years from now when they walk past these graves?
I find it odd that it is put in 'Operation' terms. Makes it seem like a skirmish rather than a war. Just my perception.
Initial reaction when I saw this same article/picture in the local paper: "Purple Heart" yeah, no kidding, quite an understatement.
It took me a while to remember that survivors/non-Purple Heart bearers can get buried there when they eventually pass away.
operation: opec
Operation names on the tombstones have always been an option.
You fell for the slant hook, line and sinker.
Anything to get Bush, right?
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