Today is Veteran’s Day. In honor of those who have served in our nation’s military, please take a moment to read about the brave men and women who protect us. I have taken stories of fallen servicemen and servicewomen from the site thefallen.militarytimes.com. This selection is in no way meant to slight veterans who did not fall in the line of duty, or who fell earlier this year (the LinkedIn character limits do not allow more than a few to be shown). Please pray for the widows, children, parents and friends of those so recently fallen.
Staff Sargent Matthew C. Lewellen. Killed November 4, 2016 in Jordan (7 days ago). Green Beret, 5th Special Forces Group. Hometown: Kirksville, MO. Age 27.
Staff Sargent Kevin J. McEnroe. Killed November 4, 2016 in Jordan (7 days ago). Green Beret, 5th Special Forces Group. Hometown: Tuscon, AZ. Age 30.
Staff Sargent James F. Moriarty. Killed November 4, 2016 in Jordan (7 days ago). Green Beret, 5th Special Forces Group. Hometown: Kerrville, TX. Age 27.
Captain Andrew D. Byers. Killed November 3, 2016 in Afghanistan (8 days ago). Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Hometown: Rolesville, NC. Age 30.
Sargent First Class Ryan A. Gloyer. Killed November 3, 2016 in Afghanistan (8 days ago). Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Hometown: Greensville, PA. Age 34.
Staff Sargent Adam Thomas. Killed October 4, 2016 in Afghanistan (38 days ago). Company B, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group. Hometown: Takoma Park, Maryland. Age 31.
Aviation Boatswainís Mate (Fuels) Airman Devon M. Faulkner. Died September 20, 2016 (52 days ago). Assigned to USS Wasp, forward deployed in the central Mediterranean Sea. Home: North Carolina. Age 24.
First Lieutenant Jeffrey D. Cooper. Died September 10, 2016 in Kuwait (62 days ago). Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. Hometown: Mill Creek, Washington. Age 25.
Staff Sargent Matthew V. Thompson. Killed August 23, 2016 in Afghanistan (80 days ago). 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne). Hometown: Irvine, CA. Age 28.
Staff Sargent Christopher A. Wilbur. Died August 12, 2016 in Afghanistan (91 days ago). 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Hometown: Granite City, IL. Age 36.
Lieutenant Colonel Flando E. Jackson. Died August 4, 2016 (99 days ago). 194th Wing, Camp Murray, Washington National Guard. Hometown: Lansing, MI. Age 45.
First Lieutenant Anais A. Tobar. Died July 18, 2016 in Southwest Asia (116 days ago). 4th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, Seymour Johnson Airforce Base. Hometown: Miami, FL. Age 25.
To any veterans reading the roundup today, thank you for your decision to protect me, my family and my way of life. Thank you!
To any of the fallen, you will certainly have much more joy at the feet of Jesus than reading my silly little RoundUp. Thank you.
To Paw Paw (Sargent Major Ott Cecil Farris, Marine veteran of WWII, Korea and Vietnam)- I miss you. We all do. We are all so grateful for what you did for us so many years ago. And we all look forward to seeing you again.
To Private William Robert Caddy of Quincy, MA, thank you for jumping on that grenade on Iwo Jima on March 3, 1945. You saved my grandfather’s life (and the life of another Marine pinned down under Japanese sniper fire). It was thus possible for my father to be born 4 years after that, me to be born 28 years after that and my first child to be born 31 years after that. Your sacrifice upon that grenade has had impact for 61 years and counting. You are in no way forgotten and never will be. I will tell my children of you and they theirs.
Thank a veteran today. Thank one tomorrow. Pray for one today. Pray for one tomorrow. Buy one lunch. Pull your head up from the cesspool of the 24 hour news cycle and do something to honor them.
And each and every day- Praise God you were born in a country worth dying for.