Friday, May 23, 2003 | 5:12 a.m.
MEMORIAL DAY EDITION
May 26, 2003
Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.
The casualty list of Americans and British troops killed in Iraq came to a total of 193 last Monday. These deaths included several soldiers who were killed in accidents and a few from "friendly" fire. The American War Library's last update of Americans killed and wounded in Iraq, dated April 5, shows 74 killed in action, 8 missing in action, 497 wounded in action and 7 prisoners of war. Since then the missing and prisoners have been moved into the killed and returned columns.
Too often we read about the low number of deaths in this short war. This is true when compared to causalities of Vietnam, Korea and World War II. Nevertheless, each American killed has left a hole in a family that will always remain no matter what the healing process. Each death has ended the young life of a person who was not only a soldier but also a son, daughter, brother, sister, father, mother, uncle, aunt, neighbor, fellow worker, church member, team member, classmate or just a good friend of somebody left behind. This weekend has been set aside for all of us to recall those who died and the role they played in our lives.
Although this is the time we take flowers and flags to the local cemetery for all who died, we give special emphasis to those who died too soon, too young and when performing a duty for their country. Quietly, thousands of military veterans from past wars have died during the last 12 months. The ranks of veterans have diminished, but our nation continually gets involved in foreign affairs and self defense to replenish their numbers. Most military veterans return from the wars alive with some scarred from wounds. During the past 12 months there have been 1,516 burials of veterans and spouses at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City.
Even during times most of us regard as peaceful, there have been Americans wearing military uniforms who were killed by people who hate us and for what our country stands. This includes the 241 Marines killed by Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and the 17 sailors killed on the USS Cole in Yemen. The war waged by terrorists has taken the lives of hundreds of Americans, military and civilian, and its end is still not in sight. More flags will be added to our graveyards because of terrorists who hate us and our government.
This Memorial Day we should recall the deaths of those Americans who died by the thousands fighting on tiny islands like Iwo Jima and on the beaches of Normandy. Iwo Jima is but a speck in the Pacific Ocean where 6,503 Americans died. The heroism of those Americans who died in the freezing cold of Korea and sweaty jungles of Vietnam have also had their names added to the long list of patriots who answered the call to combat.
When going to the cemetery we should all pause for a moment to think about the importance of the people beneath the flags and gravestones. I'll be thinking of several friends who died in combat. Each of them had a special place in our outfit. There was Sgt. Thomas Funakoshi from Hawaii, who was scheduled to leave Korea and go home after his tour of duty. A day or two before his departure another soldier stepped on a landmine and a fragment killed Funakoshi. Life is very fragile and his death reminded every man in the company that he wasn't home alive until he was in the kitchen hugging his mother or wife.
The wife and children of Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Cline of Sparks have received his remains from Iraq. He was killed, according to his company commander, trying to save the lives of his comrades. This Memorial Day will be most difficult for the family, but so will every future day we honor the dead. During the coming weeks and months almost every day will start and end with thoughts of their husband and father. It would probably be a better world if all of us gave more thought to the lives and deaths of those who answered the call for the rest of us.
This will be a long weekend for Americans to take a break before the hot summer months of June and July and the dog days of August. At the very least we should spend some time recalling those who died serving our country and our other friends and relatives who have passed away and left the family circle.
I didn't know Lance Cpl. Cline before his death, but he has made the supreme sacrifice, and he along with Marine Lt. Frederick Pokorney of Tonopah, who also was killed in Iraq, and Army Cpl. Matthew Commons of Boulder City, who was killed in Afghanistan, should be on the minds of Nevadans this weekend and during future Memorial Days.
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