thedrifter
02-05-09, 08:28 AM
Gazette Opinion: A tribute to American heroism in Afghanistan
Once again, on Friday, Montanans will lower their flags to honor a son who died in service to our country far from home.
As friends and family prepare to gather Saturday to remember Sgt. Trevor J. Johnson of Forsyth, Montanans are reminded that foreign wars hit close to home. The 23-year-old U.S. Marine was one of two Americans killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 27. Sgt. David M. Wallace, 25, of Sharpsville, Pa., also died that day. Both Marines were serving with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp LeJeune, N.C. The two Marines were among 15 U.S. military members who died in Afghanistan in January alone.
Although casualty numbers from this 7½-year-old war in Afghanistan are smaller than the toll from the Iraq war, the numbers are growing. Last year, 155 Americans and 294 military members from the international coalition were killed in Afghanistan, the first front in the battle that began after the 9/11 attacks on America. Since the war began, 645 U.S. military members have died, with the toll increasing every year since 2004.
Johnson was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan after a year's stint in Iraq. He was in Helmland province in southwestern Afghanistan on foot patrol clearing land mines ahead of other troops when his life was taken by a roadside bomb.
The sergeant's parents have said he felt called to serve after the 9/11 attacks. Trevor Johnson decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 and started his military career shortly after he graduated from Colstrip High School. He earned numerous honors and military awards for his service, and he re-enlisted.
On Saturday, a memorial for Johnson was scheduled to start in Colstrip, where he was a standout student and athlete, and proceed to his family's ranch on Rosebud Creek, where he rode horses, raised cattle and grew into a smart, strong, patriotic young man.
Montanans' hearts go out to his parents, Tom and Colleen Johnson of Forsyth, his sister, Erin, his wife, Nicole, and their two young children. We cannot lessen the magnitude of their loss, but we can join them in honoring an American hero from Forsyth.
Ellie
Once again, on Friday, Montanans will lower their flags to honor a son who died in service to our country far from home.
As friends and family prepare to gather Saturday to remember Sgt. Trevor J. Johnson of Forsyth, Montanans are reminded that foreign wars hit close to home. The 23-year-old U.S. Marine was one of two Americans killed in Afghanistan on Jan. 27. Sgt. David M. Wallace, 25, of Sharpsville, Pa., also died that day. Both Marines were serving with the 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force based at Camp LeJeune, N.C. The two Marines were among 15 U.S. military members who died in Afghanistan in January alone.
Although casualty numbers from this 7½-year-old war in Afghanistan are smaller than the toll from the Iraq war, the numbers are growing. Last year, 155 Americans and 294 military members from the international coalition were killed in Afghanistan, the first front in the battle that began after the 9/11 attacks on America. Since the war began, 645 U.S. military members have died, with the toll increasing every year since 2004.
Johnson was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan after a year's stint in Iraq. He was in Helmland province in southwestern Afghanistan on foot patrol clearing land mines ahead of other troops when his life was taken by a roadside bomb.
The sergeant's parents have said he felt called to serve after the 9/11 attacks. Trevor Johnson decided to join the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 and started his military career shortly after he graduated from Colstrip High School. He earned numerous honors and military awards for his service, and he re-enlisted.
On Saturday, a memorial for Johnson was scheduled to start in Colstrip, where he was a standout student and athlete, and proceed to his family's ranch on Rosebud Creek, where he rode horses, raised cattle and grew into a smart, strong, patriotic young man.
Montanans' hearts go out to his parents, Tom and Colleen Johnson of Forsyth, his sister, Erin, his wife, Nicole, and their two young children. We cannot lessen the magnitude of their loss, but we can join them in honoring an American hero from Forsyth.
Ellie