The Graves of the Marines I Lost

May 29, 2016 8:09 AM

"In the early hours of Jan. 26, 2005, one of two large Marine helicopters transporting troops for this expanded and therefore riskier mission crashed, killing all onboard: 30 Marines and a Navy corpsman....I promised myself that night that I would visit all 31 grave sites. I needed to get a sense of where these military service members came from: the schools and churches they attended; the streets where they learned to drive; the neighborhoods where many of their families still lived."
posted by roomthreeseventeen (8 comments total)

Surprisingly bloodless essay for such an event. Good for him, however, for pursuing his promise.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 8:26 AM on May 29, 2016

Great article, great sentiment. It's sort of amazing how much of a microcosm that crash was, down to his starry eyed optimism about Iraqui adoption of democracy, and the disappointing results despite the sacrifice. Thanks for posting.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 9:45 AM on May 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

A moving article. Thanks.
posted by bongo_x at 10:47 AM on May 29, 2016

.
posted by scaryblackdeath at 11:26 AM on May 29, 2016

.......... .......... .......... .
posted by Zonker at 3:29 PM on May 29, 2016

Bearing witness. Not enough of that done and we'll continue to make the same mistakes.
posted by arcticseal at 3:52 PM on May 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

Two of the casualties' graves are not recorded / reported.

Did he make two trips to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier?
posted by bukvich at 6:07 PM on May 29, 2016

.
posted by SisterHavana at 6:34 PM on May 29, 2016