Dust to Dusk

Image courtesy: Sgt. Ruth Pagan

On Christmas Day in Afghanistan, a group of soldiers with the Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division celebrated by playing a game of football. As the above photo shows, dust from an earlier helicopter landing by generous fellow troops delivering Christmas presents filled the Kandahar province air as the deployed warriors tossed around the pigskin.

Some troops in Afghanistan were able to relax on Christmas, though I suspect it's still difficult to unwind while separated from your family by thousands of miles. Some U.S. troops, however, had to go outside the wire and fight. The enemy doesn't take a break for Christmas or New Year's Day, and our brave men and women in uniform are there to stop them from terrorizing Afghan citizens and planning new attacks on the United States.

Northeast of the dust-filled football game, a soldier named Staff Sgt. Joseph Altmann went out on a Christmas Day patrol with the Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division in Afghanistan's rugged Kunar province. As Staff Sgt. Altmann fought, his wife, who lives in Texas, and his parents, who live in Wisconsin, tried to enjoy the holiday while undoubtedly worrying about the safety of their loved one.

According to the Pentagon, Altmann was killed on Christmas when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire.

"Christmas will never be the same in the Altmann home," the soldier's father, John Altmann, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after being notified of his son's death on Christmas night.

Image courtesy: Facebook

Don Behm reports that the 27-year-old combat medic previously served two combat tours in Iraq after graduating from high school in 2003, when both post-9/11 conflicts simultaneously raged.

The soldier's dad told the newspaper that when it came to being a soldier, his son took a similar approach that helped him excel in high school sports.

"He was not a superstar," his father explained. "He just played his heart out."

As much of America remains wrapped in the holiday season, the Altmann family is bringing home their hero from Delaware's Dover Air Force Base. After witnessing multiple dignified transfer ceremonies at the base, I still cannot imagine what families go through when they see their loved one's flag-draped casket return from a war zone, where their husband, wife, son, daughter, brother, or sister performed their last measure of devotion to freedom.

Instead of being caught up in deciding which New Year's Eve party to attend or which college football bowl games to watch, let's think about those troops throwing around a football in the dust. Let's ponder the ultimate sacrifice of Staff Sgt. Joseph Altmann and his family, as well as other heroes giving everything to keep America safe.

Few of us can say that we've spent every waking moment of a day protecting something. But that's exactly what our troops in Afghanistan are doing from dawn to dusk, even on Christmas.

Image courtesy: Sgt. Ruth Pagan

Triumph Over Tragedy

Images courtesy: McClung
family

During a phone conversation with the parents of Maj. Megan McClung, I referred to the loss of their daughter in Iraq as a tragedy. The fallen Marine's mother, Dr. Re McClung, offered a prompt, polite correction.

"Nothing about Megan's life was tragic," Maj. McClung's mom, speaking from Coupeville, Wash., told the Unknown Soldiers. "A tragedy does not occur when you have a compelling desire to serve your country in the best possible way."

Long before she fought for freedom, Megan declared her independence.

"When she was about 2 years old, I would try to lay her clothes out on the bed," Re said. "She would take the outfit and say, 'No, mommy, I want to wear this instead.'

"I knew she would go on to do something really important," Megan's mother concluded.

Whether it was learning to climb up the stairs, successfully arguing for admittance to an all-male strength training class, or becoming the first woman to attend the prestigious Admiral Farragut Academy in Toms River, N.J., an unjust "no" was something Megan refused to accept.

"In the military, you often hear about 'command presence,'" said Dr. Mike McClung, who served as an infantry platoon commander in Vietnam. "Megan had command presence as a young child."

As a Marine, Megan impressed her peers by sticking up for them.

"Megan was an interesting little force because she had no qualms about speaking up to a senior officer if she thought something was wrong," her father said.

McClung's military success was no accident. Her mom explained that Megan's laser-like focus on three key areas — mind, body, and spirit — helped her daughter become remarkably well-rounded.

"Megan used to collect quotes, and she'd write them on scraps of paper and stick them in a book," Re said. "One of them says, 'To give anything but your best is to waste the gift.'"

Megan gave her best as a marathon runner, gymnast and diver. She earned a master's degree in criminology from Boston University. And she was one of the most effective public affairs officers the Marine Corps had ever seen.

"She wanted to see first-hand what was going on (in Iraq)," Megan's mother explained. "She wanted people to write about the individual stories of bravery."

Determined that political divisions at home should not overshadow the heroism she witnessed on the ground in Iraq, Megan brought a profound sense of purpose to her job.

"Within a month of Megan being there, the whole attitude and feeling of the base had changed," her mom said. "Megan was focusing on the good things."

Spending almost all of 2006 in Iraq's then-volatile Al Anbar Province, McClung was tasked with helping journalists embed with units on the ground.

"She wanted to make sure the writer got the story he or she was looking for," her dad said.

In dealing with the press, Megan had a motto that rubbed off on fellow Marines: "Be bold. Be brief. Be gone." Today, those six words are engraved on her headstone at Arlington National Cemetery.

Image courtesy: Lisa Sileo

Megan didn't just repeat her mantra. She lived it.

On Dec. 6, 2006, Megan was helping escort Newsweek journalists through Ramadi when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath her vehicle. McClung, 34; Army Capt. Travis Patriquin, 32; and Spc. Vincent Pomante III, 22; were killed in the attack.

For five years, Mike and Re McClung have approached Megan's death with the same passion their daughter displayed in life. They support scholarships, marathons, and charities that embody Megan's focus on mind, body, and spirit. They learn more about Megan the warrior from her fellow Marines. And when they have a bad day, Megan's collection of quotes provides comfort.

"Do something you're passionate about," one quote reads.

That saying is rarely lived to the fullest. Yet Megan spent 34 years doing the things she was passionate about, which included helping some of the Iraq war's most compelling examples of valor end up on our kitchen tables.

After a revealing conversation with her parents, it's clear that the story of the highest-ranking female Marine officer to be killed in Iraq is not tragic. The real tragedy would be for us to forget Maj. Megan McClung's extraordinary life.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

Note: In honor of Maj. Megan McClung, please consider supporting the Semper Fi Fund, Toys for Tots, Be Bold M3, and the 6th Annual Maj. Megan McClung Memorial Run.

The Ghosts of Christmas Past

Images courtesy: Kristi Pearson

Christmas will never be the same for Kristi Pearson. Instead of a day to rejoice and relax, the holiday is a time to remember and reflect.

During the 2006 holiday season, Kristi, at the insistence of her husband, Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson, flew home to central Michigan from Germany, where the soldier trained for his first combat tour. As the 19-year-old warrior spent Christmas fighting during the height of the Iraq war, he wanted his bride surrounded by loved ones.

After a Christmas-morning video chat with her husband and a nice afternoon with her family, the 19-year-old Army wife suddenly panicked.

"I looked at my brother and said, 'Something doesn't feel right ... I feel like something has been taken away, and I don't know what it is,'" Kristi told The Unknown Soldiers.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 26, military messengers knocked on the door of her family's home in St. Johns, where Kristi and Andrew met in 4th grade. At almost the precise moment that a sense of dread began to consume her, Kristi's husband lost his life on the battlefield.

According to the Pentagon, Pfc. Nelson died when an improvised explosive device blew up near his Army vehicle. The Baghdad terrorist attack also killed Sgt. John Bubeck, 25, and Spc. Aaron Preston, 29.

"All of this was a giant blur to me," Kristi bravely recounted four and a half years later, while admitting that the tragedy still spurs panic attacks. "I don't know how to explain it."

Kristi grew up in a military family. But when Andrew decided to join the Army after high school, she couldn't help but worry.

"It's different when it's your husband instead of a parent," she explained, while emphasizing Andrew's love for the Armed Forces.

Kristi and Andrew married on Nov. 5, 2005, just before the soldier left for Germany. She joined him there in the spring, when they would finally be able to take a honeymoon to London and Paris.

"I am really thankful we were in Germany together," Kristi said. "Whenever I think of our marriage, I think of all the amazing things we got to see and all the places we got to go."

Andrew was a "jokester," but as a soldier, he was intensely prepared. Fellow troops told Kristi that her late husband brought an almost ridiculous variety of tools with him on every mission, earning him the affectionate nickname "Ranger Rick."

"He was a soldier who had everything," Kristi said. "Everyone always joked about that and gave him a tough time."

After Andrew's sudden death, communities throughout central Michigan and the U.S. military embraced the soldier's widow, his loving parents, Alan and Tami, and Andrew's loyal siblings, Jessica and Stephanie. For Kristi, picking up the jagged pieces of her shattered life after the worst Christmas imaginable would not be easy.

In the years to come, Kristi fell in love with another brave American soldier, Staff Sgt. Aaron Pearson.

"I want people to know that it's okay to move on and be happy again," she said.

Sadly, Kristi's grandfather passed away last fall. With the horror of Christmas 2006 still looming, Kristi again flew to Michigan with a husband in a war zone; this time it was Afghanistan.

"I was terrified to go home because I was so scared that if I went there while my husband was deployed, something would happen again," Kristi recalled.

Staff Sgt. Pearson was injured in Afghanistan a few months later, within days of Christmas 2010.

"He called me later and said 'I was medevaced, but I am fine,'" Kristi said, her voice trembling. "There were a lot of coincidences, and it was really scary."

With her second husband home, Kristi feels a fragile sense of ease. But with her first husband departed, a sense of loss still remains.

"It's always there, and I always think about it," she said.

On Dec. 25, Kristi Pearson will observe the five-year anniversary of Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson's tragic passing in Iraq while also reflecting on how fortunate Staff Sgt. Aaron Pearson was to survive Afghanistan. Indeed, Christmas will never be the same.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM


Note: This story was originally posted on Oct. 8.

A Christmas Miracle

Images courtesy: Facebook

The last time this blog updated readers about wounded Army 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, the situation was precarious. One of his sisters, Olivia, had posted an urgent prayer request on the family's Facebook page before another very serious surgery. First Lt. Vogt lost both his legs while serving in Afghanistan on Nov. 12.

Fifteen days later and just four days before Christmas, the wounded soldier's dad, Steve Vogt, posted this:

"What a great day," he wrote late Tuesday night. "New pain med seems to be working good. Nick seems a little clearer. There were several big smiles from him today. (None were for any of my jokes. Situation normal.)"

Vogt, who turned 24 on Dec. 13, faces a change in lifestyle that few of us could imagine. Yet judging by every Facebook status update and all the wonderful e-mails The Unknown Soldiers has received from the hero's relatives and friends, there is no doubt that Nick will conquer this new challenge.

"He got his new wheelchair today. A powered model," Nick's dad wrote. "They put him in it for a 20 minute trial sit but he wanted to stay in it longer so he went for an hour. What a stud."

Indeed. But another group of studs and angels are the parents and siblings of this wounded Army Ranger. From the very first day of this painful ordeal, the Vogts have invited the public into their lives, shared difficult details about their son's recovery -- even when the situation appeared dire -- and pleaded for prayers, which have been said everywhere from their quaint Ohio hometown, to the cold mountains of Afghanistan, to the candle-lit magnificence of New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral.

"I told Nick about what Fr. Mike said about Nick's current trials and relating it to Jesus falling under His cross during His passion," Nick's father wrote on Monday. "I think it made Nick feel good to believe that his current suffering could somewhat be compared to the pain that Jesus felt. He is being strong. I'm very proud of him."

As the war in Afghanistan continues at this very moment, 1st Lt. Vogt and his parents know that they are not the only ones who have suffered or will face extraordinary new challenges.

"Praise God for more answered prayers," Steve Vogt wrote. "Also please include prayers for a couple more wounded warriors that arrived this evening into ICU."

Vogt's heart briefly stopped after a roadside bomb robbed him of his legs. The amount of donated blood he needed to stay alive is among the highest any wounded service member has ever received. Some Naval Academy buddies even wore Army gear to show their support for the West Point graduate at the Dec. 10 Army-Navy game. In short, the military community and much of this nation have come together to pray for this fine young man's survival.

With Christmas approaching, 1st Lt. Vogt is alive, which is something to be thankful for. But as we spend the holidays with our families, we must continue to pray for Nick and his wounded brothers and sisters in arms, as well as families like the Sharps, who lost their loved one, Sgt. Ryan Sharp, after he was wounded in combat on Nov. 21. Our hearts go out to the Sharps and all families of fallen heroes.

After more than a decade at war, the conflict in Afghanistan is not over. But every once in a while, a reason for hope is revealed through war's dense fog. After witnessing the bravery, tenacity, and faith shown by 1st Lt. Nick Vogt and his family, it is clear that Christmas is still a time for miracles.

Like A Rock

Images courtesy: Sgt. James Shea

When I spoke to Sgt. Dakota Meyer by phone in August, I was immediately struck by the future Medal of Honor recipient's total and complete humility. As the sounds of cows on his family farm filled the background, Sgt. Meyer told The Unknown Soldiers how he would carry himself before and after being honored by President Obama at the White House.

"I hope to try to help people see how much the Marines help people," he said.

On the heels of an outrageous, discredited front page New York Times story targeting a group of Marines last week, McClatchy Newspapers, which claims to speak "truth to power," decided to attack Meyer and the Marine Corps eleven days before Christmas. Just when you think some in the media can't stoop any lower, we get this:

"Sworn statements by Meyer and others who participated in the battle indicate that he didn't save the lives of 13 U.S. service members, leave his vehicle to scoop up 24 Afghans on his first two rescue runs or lead the final push to retrieve the four dead Americans. Moreover, it's unclear from the documents whether Meyer disobeyed orders when he entered the Ganjgal Valley on Sept. 8, 2009," the report states.

After his incendiary "question" about whether Meyer disobeyed orders, reporter Jonathan S. Landay, perhaps accidentally, directly contradicts himself and calls the entire reason for his story into question.

"What's most striking is that all this probably was unnecessary. Meyer, the 296th Marine to earn the medal, by all accounts deserved his nomination. At least seven witnesses attested to him performing heroic deeds 'in the face of almost certain death,'" he wrote.

After previously stating that it's "unclear" whether the Marine disobeyed orders, the writer bizarrely acknowledges that Meyer deserved his nomination. So why did McClatchy editors still publish this story? Gen. James Amos, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, issued a strong statement standing firmly behind Meyer's Medal of Honor.

"The facts are that he saved many lives and recovered the bodies of his fallen comrades," Gen. Amos said in the written statement. "In this, he did not act alone; other brave warriors-soldiers and Marines and Afghans-were also in the fight for their lives."

The general rightfully points out what another Marine who was wounded in Iraq recently told me: during the chaos of a battle, nearly everyone remembers details differently. The combination of adrenaline, confronting death, and attacking the enemy is something that 99% of our population has never experienced, even though some modern journalists routinely write articles criticizing those who made split-second decisions during the heat of battle.

"In the final analysis, I did not find cause to question any single fact, nor minor discrepancy that may be buried in descriptions of a battle that lasted for hours and evoked such bravery in our troops," the general wrote.

Rick Leventhal of Fox News, who has met Meyer several times and even had dinner with him, makes an important point in this excellent opinion piece.

"Dakota Meyer never asked for the attention he's getting and he's never considered himself a hero," Leventhal wrote.

I've worked with hundreds of journalists, many of whom relish the spotlight and consider themselves very important people. Some of these journalists would almost certainly pat the McClatchy reporter on the back at a cocktail party for writing this story. I left the mainstream media because I'd rather spend my career learning more about those who volunteer to protect us instead of trying to help some journalists create the news.

At the end of his statement on this manufactured controversy, Gen. Amos gave the country something to think about regarding heroes who are willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

"My only question is - where do we find such men?" the general asked.

To respectfully answer the general's question, you will find one such man on a farm in Greensburg, Kentucky, where Sgt. Dakota Meyer often spends time thinking about the dear friends he lost on the battlefield in Afghanistan. This deserving Medal of Honor recipient fought valiantly for peace, and with his honorable service complete, it's time for some in the national media to give it to him.

Note: This post was edited at 11:15 a.m. eastern.

Freedom's Gate

Images courtesy: Master Sgt. Montigo White

Hundreds of thousands of Americans served during America's second war in Iraq. Nearly 4,500 of our best and brightest citizens were killed, with many more wounded. Countless military families were forever changed by the strains of war.

The immeasurable sacrifices of our nation's troops, veterans, and military families brought this long war to an end. They are national treasures. As the last large convoy of American troops crossed the gate at Iraq's border with Kuwait, it became more and more clear that they made this historic day possible, not politicians in Washington or Baghdad.

Today, our nation is being challenged. Will we always remember the valiant men and women who served in Iraq? Will all of us step up to help our country's veterans and families of the fallen? Will the national media start paying attention to the sacrifices of our brave men and women in uniform still fighting in Afghanistan?

I don't know the answer to these questions. What I do know is that this is a proud day to be an American. Even after an almost nine year war, with another long conflict continuing, the United States military is second to none. In a world full of darkness, America is still the brightest beacon of light.

Letters From Afghanistan

Image courtesy: Spc. Louis Kernisan

Hours after their fellow soldier stepped on an improvised explosive device and lost his leg, Army 1st Sgt. Edward Mosher saw Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray sitting alone in the war zone's desolate moonlight. Murray, 38, felt responsible for the younger warrior's devastating injury.

"I went and sat with him there in the cold and chatted with him until it started to (reach) daylight," Mosher wrote. "He still felt very badly about (the wounded soldier) and he said that it should have been him that stepped on the IED."

Seeing their breath as they spoke in the frosty southern Afghanistan air, Mosher tried to console his brother in arms.

"I knew he was hurting," Mosher, 40, explained. "And despite my desire to help ease his pain, all I could do was just be there to listen if he needed to talk. It bothers me very much that I could not do more for him that night."

After a quick nap, Murray, from Spring Lake, N.C., with roots in Red Boiling Springs, Tenn., boiled with fury toward the enemy. The soldier bolted to the front of his patrol to clear roadside bombs.

"I had never seen him look like that before," Mosher, first sergeant of the Army's D Company, 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, wrote. "I believe he was even more determined than ever that he was not going to let it be another one of his men that got hurt next time."

Later that night, after spending Nov. 21 finding numerous bombs and saving countless lives, Murray was dead. The previous and subsequent quotes are contained in two powerful letters written by Mosher, who emailed The Unknown Soldiers from the war zone.

"I cannot begin to say how sorry I am regarding the loss of your loving husband," Mosher wrote to Murray's wife, Shelee. "I would not begin to try to offer words that were intended to ease your pain or soften the blow."

Mosher recounted the moment he learned by radio that Murray had stepped on an improvised explosive device, just as they had discussed the previous night.

"My heart fell into my stomach, and I felt sick," the soldier wrote. "I had a feeling of hopelessness at this moment. I began to feel that no matter what we did now, we were all doomed to be maimed or killed this night."

With no moonlight to guide them, Mosher and his fellow soldiers wandered into the treacherous darkness and found Murray's body. As they carried their departed brother in a blanket, Mosher saw shadows of his own death.

"I saw a bright flash just to my left front, and there was a huge explosion," he wrote.

After being thrown into a wall, Mosher woke up on top of Murray's body. But in that confusing, awful moment, the soldier had a profound realization. Most likely, his fallen friend absorbed much of the explosion and saved his life.

"Had it not been for this, I am sure we all would have been killed or much more severely wounded," the soldier wrote.

In the letter, Mosher said Sgt. Ryan Sharp had suffered the Nov. 21 blast's worst injuries while also shielding his fellow soldiers. On Dec. 3, Sgt. Sharp, 28, died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

A stunned Mosher sat down to write another difficult letter.

"I truly expected he would get better and soon be home in the states before the rest of us," Mosher wrote to the fallen soldier's parents, David and Lynette Sharp of Idaho Falls, Idaho. "I suppose these things are only for God to understand."

First Sgt. Edward Mosher shared these deeply emotional letters to help more of us understand the incredible sacrifices being made for our freedom. Some of the last words he wrote to the widow of Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray, whom Mosher believes saved his life after losing his own, should resonate with every American during this holiday season.

"I will never forget that night. I will never forget your husband," he wrote. "He can never be replaced, and he will live on in all of us as long as we all still draw a breath."

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

"It would seem that even after his death your husband was still making sure he did not let anyone else get hurt if he could."

~1st Sgt. Edward Mosher to Shelee Murray, wife of Sgt. 1st Class Dennis Murray. The above photo was taken by Mrs. Murray in Verona, Italy.

Saving Lives

Images courtesy: Cpl. Reece Lodder

On Wednesday afternoon, I received an e-mail from Cpl. Reece Lodder, a Marine combat correspondent who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. It was a relief to hear from Cpl. Lodder, who I first spoke with before he left in the fall.

"I hope this message finds you well," the Marine wrote. "Please pray for (my wife) and I during our time apart this Christmas season."

With those prayers said, I began reading the story of heroism the Marine journalist relayed from Afghanistan's Helmand province. On a frigid Dec. 2 evening, an Afghan National Army soldier at the front of a joint patrol with U.S. Marines was hit by a car full of civilians, sending the soldier and eight Afghans in the vehicle plunging into a canal.

Many would be frozen after this shocking accident on a cold Afghanistan night. Marines from 2nd Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, however, jumped into the canal's cold water to save as many lives as possible.

"It took a split second to realize what happened," Lance Cpl. Nicholas Dumke, a 20-year-old rifleman from Huron, South Dakota, told Lodder. "We train for firefights, not for a vehicle going into a canal … we just snapped into reacting to a high-stress situation and did what we had to do."

Lance Cpl. Dumke's fellow Marines -- Sgt. Matt Garst, 23, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Lance Cpl. Ryan Gerrity, 21, of Cranford, New Jersey; and Lance Cpl. James Blomstran, 22, of Cortland, Ohio -- used every means at their disposal, including a bamboo pole used to find improvised explosive devices and their trusted explosive device detection dog, Sage, to rescue the Afghans. In the end, eight Afghan civilians and the badly injured Afghan National Army soldier were saved.

"I saw the problem, saw the security we needed and sent everyone else into the canal," Sgt. Garst, who also jumped into the canal, told Lodder.

In an irresponsible front page article on Thursday, the New York Times unsuccessfully tried to paint U.S. Marines as bloodthirsty murderers, based on a disputed incident that occurred in Iraq more than six years ago.

Flying in the face of some ugly media stereotypes, this important, recent story filed by Lodder from the front lines shows that in addition to being highly-skilled warriors, U.S. Marines are also champions of compassion, often risking their own lives to protect the innocent.

While I'm sad that Cpl. Reece Lodder and his wife are apart during the holiday season, thank God someone like him is in Afghanistan to bring the real story home.

"I'm humbled to have had the opportunity to tell it," Lodder wrote in his e-mail to The Unknown Soldiers. "It is another reminder about why service members do what they do. Not for themselves, but for others."

Sign of the Times

File image courtesy: Cpl. Tyler Hill

As politicians in Washington declare the war in Iraq officially over, the vast majority of Americans, regardless of their political stance on the eight and a half year conflict, feel a deep sense of gratitude for the hundreds of thousands of men and women who fought there. We live in a noble, patriotic nation that knows how to thank those who volunteer to defend America.

The New York Times, on the other hand, is treating this historic day as an occasion to smear our military. From the current front page of its website, which has a sub-headline of "An Unpopular Conflict Comes to an Uncertain End," to the print version's incendiary, inaccurate Dec. 15 front page story, the Times has made clear that it will continue to attack our troops in the name of "journalism."

After TIME published a Mar. 19, 2006 story about what it called a "massacre" in Haditha, Iraq, on Nov. 19, 2005, the mainstream media, especially the New York Times, heavily pushed the story on its front and editorial pages. Almost universally, journalists treated the allegations as fact, placing the burden on U.S. Marines to prove their innocence after the deaths of 24 civilians in a combat zone.

Despicable columns like this one by the New York Times' Maureen Dowd perfectly sum up the newspaper's condemnation of Marines risking their lives in Iraq's then-volatile Al Anbar province.

"It's a My Lai acid flashback," she wrote on May 27, 2006. "The force that sacked Saddam to stop him from killing innocents is now accused of killing innocents. Under pressure from the president to restore law, but making little progress, marines from Camp Pendleton, many deployed in Iraq for the third time, reportedly resorted to lawlessness themselves."

More than six years after the battle, with seven U.S. Marines exonerated of murdering civilians and one still awaiting trial, the Times decided the day of the war in Iraq's official conclusion was a perfect time for a Haditha acid flashback. I don't use that term to dignify the hate-filled language Dowd used during a time of war, but to express my complete dismay at the Times' shameful attempt to throw battery acid on the honor of our brave troops coming home to their families after leaving Iraq's future in the hands of Iraqis. In the view of most Americans, today should mark a unifying moment.

File image courtesy: Senior Airman Chad Trujillo

In Thursday's Times story, "Junkyard Gives Up Secret Accounts of Massacre in Iraq," reporter Michael S. Schmidt trumpets his finding of about 400 pages of classified documents in a Baghdad junkyard. Schmidt proclaims that he's found the smoking gun, finally proving that Marines murdered innocent Iraqi civilians in cold blood.

"The documents — many marked secret — form part of the military’s internal investigation, and confirm much of what happened at Haditha, a Euphrates River town where Marines killed 24 Iraqis, including a 76-year-old man in a wheelchair, women and children, some just toddlers," Schmidt wrote.

The problem is that his story, which quotes repeatedly from the documents, absolutely does not prove that any U.S. Marines committed murder on Nov. 19, 2005. Instead of relying on facts, Schmidt relies on a provocative headline and loaded terms like "massacre" to make his newspaper's case against U.S. troops.

Instead of proving that Marines are murderers, the article actually proves what one Marine combat veteran who served in Al Anbar province told me this morning; that Marines under fire were repeatedly forced to make extraordinarily difficult, split-second decisions to complete their missions and preserve their lives. Not only would our enemies use civilians as human shields and leave their bodies in the streets for U.S. Marines to clean up, terrorists would specifically target Iraqi children and use the media to blame their deaths on Americans.

To put it mildly, Schmidt has a different viewpoint.

"Haditha became a defining moment of the war, helping cement an enduring Iraqi distrust of the United States and a resentment that not one Marine has been convicted," the New York Times reporter opines.

Haditha became a defining moment of the war because national media outlets repeatedly put the story on front pages and at the top of newscasts, convicting several Marines who were later exonerated. I spoke out against this trend while working at CNN, which subsequently failed to report on the exoneration of accused Marines with the same vigor it used to trumpet the allegations.

"In their own words, the report documents the dehumanizing nature of this war, where Marines came to view 20 dead civilians as not 'remarkable,' but as routine," Schmidt writes.

This war? Every war is dehumanizing, and civilians are unfortunately killed in every armed conflict. During World War II, which both my grandfathers served in, American troops killed thousands of civilians during hellish, confusing battles. If the national media treated the heroes who fought World War II like those who volunteered to fight the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, the Greatest Generation might be seen in a different light, despite the fact that they made impossible choices on the battlefield for the greater good of defeating forces of evil and ultimately ending the bloodiest conflict in human history.

The Times reporter, however, reflexively calls the deaths of 24 civilians a "massacre by Marines of Iraqi civilians in the town of Haditha." Schmidt makes this claim despite the absence of proof that these civilian deaths were calculated acts of murder, which courts have reaffirmed in seven cases. He portrays Marines as confused and hostile toward Iraqis, when in fact Marines like 1st Lt. Travis Manion, who died in Al Anbar province on Apr. 29, 2007, dedicated the last months of their lives to training Iraqi forces and protecting civilians.

Shamefully, Schmidt's attack piece fails to mention the name of Lance Cpl. Miguel Terrazas, 20, of El Paso, Texas. Lance Cpl. Terrazas, who was known as "T.J." to many of his buddies, was killed by the roadside bomb planted by terrorists on Nov. 19, 2005, which ignited the chaotic battle in Haditha that followed. To write a front-page story smearing Terrazas' fellow Marines, without even having the decency to mention his name, is a perfect example of why almost every active duty service member, combat veteran, and military family member I speak with holds hostility toward this once-proud newspaper.

I have never been to Haditha, but on a day that politicians are calling the last in our country's second war in Iraq, I am proud of the men and women who fought there. As an American citizen, I am also proud that Haditha's streets now bustle with commerce, as pictured below, and that despite complex political and strategic realities, Iraq now has a chance to be a free country.

On Dec. 15, 2011, the military is one of America's most revered institutions. Journalism, which continues a sad, rapid decline to the dungeon of mistrust, is one of our nation's least respected professions. If you want to know why, all you have to do is read the front page of today's New York Times.

Image courtesy: Staff Sgt. Chad Simon

Ignorance Is Bliss

Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

While reading "news" on the CNN website Monday at lunchtime, a link to this People Magazine story appeared in the website's "top story" section. It is about Lindsay Lohan's purse being snatched during a vacation to Hawaii.

As if this hard-hitting journalism isn't enough, CNN's main competitors, Fox News and MSNBC, are also busy keeping us informed on Lohan's upcoming pictorial in Playboy. Yet when I searched for information on a Dec. 3 terrorist attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, I came up with zero results on all three websites.

On that terrible Saturday afternoon in Wardak province, three Fort Bliss-based American soldiers were killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Pentagon.

Sgt. 1st Class Clark Corley Jr., 35, Oxnard, California
Spc. Ryan Lumley, 21, Lakeland, Florida
Spc. Thomas Mayberry, 21, Springville, California

From Fort Bliss, Texas, to the cities and towns where these soldiers grew up and lived, all the way to eastern Afghanistan, where they died, Sgt. 1st Class Corley, Spc. Lumley, and Spc. Mayberry are being remembered.

Images courtesy: Maj. Terence Kelley

This story, written by Sgt. John Ortiz, is readily available to the public. Any news organization could have picked it up and relayed this important story from the front lines to the American public. Instead, some reporters and producers opted to talk about a troubled celebrity's missing purse and nude magazine shoot.

Still, the national media's ignorance does not trivialize the moving tributes to these brave soldiers, from Fort Bliss all the way to Afghanistan. As Sgt. Ortiz explains, "Action" Company, which all three soldiers were a part of, had already run 40 dangerous missions to escort elite explosive ordnance disposal technicians to disable bombs buried beneath the battlefield.

With another successful mission almost concluded, the soldiers were on their way back to a remote combat outpost when a roadside bomb detonated beneath their vehicle. At a subsequent Afghanistan memorial service, their company commander spoke directly to his soldiers' grieving loved ones.

"Mrs. Corley, Mrs. Mayberry, and Mrs. Lumley my thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult times," Capt. Adrian Koss said. "I know that no words of mine can replace your loss or ease your grief, but I hope that you can take some solace knowing that Clark, Thomas, and Ryan died as heroes, next to their brothers, and for a country they loved."

Clark Corley loved his family and talked constantly about his son. Thomas Mayberry was a hard-working weapons expert who distinguished himself on the battlefield. Ryan Lumley was planning a big barbeque for all his fellow soldiers and their families when they got home.

"Clark, Thomas, Ryan it was an honor to serve beside you," Capt. Koss said. "I know you’ll be watching over the men of second platoon and Action Company and I know they will continue to honor you through their service to our country and to each other."

Lindsay Lohan is not a hero. She is a celebrity troublemaker who was turned into a moneymaker by Manhattan and Hollywood media executives. Because of the continuing misconduct by a corrupt, ratings-driven press, the American public knows more about Lohan than three remarkable young men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Today, let's think about the pain being experienced by soldiers from Texas' Fort Bliss to Afghanistan's Wardak province. Let's think about the Corley, Lumley, and Mayberry families, who mourn their loved ones during this holiday season. And the next time CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC start talking about Lindsay Lohan, let's all turn the channel.

The War on Christmas

Image courtesy: Sgt. Thomas Duval

Is there a war on Christmas? Yes, and that's not just an opinion.

No, I'm not talking about the "war" that traditional and progressive cable news hosts are having over whether the word "Christmas" is "under attack." No, I'm also not talking about the annual post-Thanksgiving midnight shopping "battles" for the best discount deals. (This year, a California woman is accused of assaulting 20 fellow shoppers with pepper spray at a Walmart.)

I'm talking about the real wars being fought by thousands of men and women in uniform in Afghanistan and Iraq, with the latter conflict scheduled to formally end on Dec. 31. In war zones, fending off a crazed woman armed with pepper spray would probably constitute the easiest part of the day.

Thirteen days before Black Friday, a U.S. Army Ranger named 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, 24, of Crestline, Ohio, lost both his legs when a terrorist-planted improvised explosive device blew up beneath him. Despite nearly dying after the devastating attack, the valiant soldier, as of Dec. 7, was hospitalized in Bethesda, Md., where he is fighting for his life after having endured multiple surgeries. His parents have requested our prayers, and they certainly have them.

Two days later, the Pentagon said Army Spc. David Hickman, 23, died in Baghdad, Iraq, after also encountering an IED. The ambitious young warrior was reportedly days away from starting his journey home to Greensboro, N.C., where he was already well-known for his success as a high school football player.

On Nov. 16, two soldiers, Spc. James Burnett Jr., 21, of Wichita, Kan., and Pfc. Matthew Colin, 22, of Navarre, Fla., were killed in Afghanistan's Kandahar province when a bomb detonated near their patrol. According to the Pentagon, they were preceded in death just days earlier by Spc. Johnathan McCain, 38, of Apache Junction, Ariz., and Spc. Calvin Pereda, 21, of Fayetteville, N.C.

All four soldiers were stationed at Alaska's Fort Wainwright, the home of America's arctic warriors. At a memorial service held on post, a grieving fellow soldier told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner what made the departed heroes so extraordinary.

"It takes a certain type of individual to enlist in the infantry," Staff Sgt. Johnathan Hand told the newspaper. "You know that your job is a little bit more dangerous than everyone else's."

As some Americans ate leftover turkey and clogged mall parking lots, a Marine field radio operator named Cpl. Adam Buyes, 21, was making the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan on Nov. 26. The proud Marine left behind a long-lasting imprint, from Salem, Ore., where he lived, to Okinawa, Japan, where he was stationed, all the way to the violent sands of Helmand province, where he died in a combat incident that is under investigation.

"Cpl. Adam Buyes was a truly dedicated professional who cared for his Marines as if they were brothers from the beginning," 1st Sgt. Daniel Wilson said. "He was often emulated and adored by many of the Marines he came in contact with."

You can't buy that kind of legacy in a store. You have to earn it.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with giving a holiday gift to someone you care about. There is something wrong, however, with pundits wasting time arguing over the so-called war on Christmas and reporters hyping shopping battles at stores, especially while the overused words are being defined literally by brave Americans on post-9/11 battlefields.

Here's something for civilians like me to keep in mind this holiday season: Not only are our troops risking their lives in faraway lands; they are doing so while separated from their families.

One of those troops is a talented Marine journalist named Cpl. Reece Lodder, 22, whom you may have previously read about in this column. The Everson, Wash., native's wife is spending this holiday season in Hawaii, which is no vacation. She's worrying about her husband's safety.

For loved ones of the aforementioned fallen and wounded service members, there is grief, confusion, and devastation during this holiday season. Their brave sons died or lost limbs in battles that only 1 percent of Americans have volunteered to fight.

Is there a war on Christmas? You bet there is.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

Image courtesy: Cpl. Katherine Keleher

7,000 Miles Away from Home

Video courtesy: Cpl. Brian Adam Jones

The moving music video above sings for itself. Written during a previous deployment to Iraq, the powerful Christmas song was later recorded in Afghanistan by Marine Master Sgt. Robert Allen, who is spending this holiday season in the war zone's volatile Helmand province.

This song is a remarkable achievement because it sums up -- with such raw emotion -- the sacrifices made by thousands of military families. It's difficult not to get a tear in your eye when thinking about the Marine's wife, Carla, who is spending this Christmas without her husband.

"She said she bawled her eyes out when she heard it," Master Sgt. Allen said. "My wife can’t stand it at all when I leave, but she understands what I do. She understands being a Marine is not just my job, it’s my passion."

Thank you, Carla Allen, for the sacrifices you make for our country. Thank you, Master Sgt. Robert Allen, for your valiant service. Thank you to the Marine's children, who are spending the holidays without their dad. And thank you to every man, woman, and child who is a part of this ongoing war effort. The rest of us are free because of you.

The Sharp Knife

Image courtesy: Department of Defense

With the 70th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor fast approaching, a U.S. soldier named Sgt. Ryan Sharp died at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, which was twice the epicenter of world wars. Before Thanksgiving, the American warrior was seriously wounded in Afghanistan when terrorists attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.

In If I Die Young and American Buffalo, this blog referenced a hit song by The Band Perry that has a striking place in our society, which is protected by young men and women who fight overseas for their brothers and sisters on the home front.

There's a boy here in town, says he'll love me forever
Who would have thought forever could be severed by
The sharp knife of a short life
Well I've had just enough time

While Sgt. Sharp, 28, patrolled southern Afghanistan, his two beautiful daughters, Sarah, 8, and Mia, 6, waited in Idaho Falls, Idaho, for their daddy to come home.

Image courtesy: KIFI-TV

After the IED exploded on Nov. 21, Sharp battled for an incredible 13 days in Afghanistan and Germany. According to Sven Berg of the Idaho Statesman, the soldier dad's will to live gave his parents, David and Lynnette Sharp, the chance to fly to Germany and say goodbye.

"He was a very loving, kind, tender-hearted man," Sharp's aunt, Lisa Pardonnet, told the newspaper.

The thought of Sarah and Mia growing up without their dad is crushing. But even though I didn't have the honor of meeting Sgt. Ryan Sharp, I believe that there was likely nothing more important to him than his daughters growing up in a land of peace and freedom.

After the terrorist atrocities of Sept. 11, 2001, which rocked America like no other day since the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago today, a long line of men and women have volunteered to serve their country in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world. They are absolutely a new Greatest Generation, and after more books about these remarkable men and women are written, I believe they will be held in the same regard as the valiant heroes who won World War II.

A penny for my thoughts, oh no, I'll sell 'em for a dollar
They're worth so much more after I'm a goner
And maybe then you'll hear the words I've been singing
Funny when you're dead how people start listening

Are we listening to the moving, patriotic songs of sacrifice that our fallen heroes are singing for all of us?

The national media certainly isn't, and many Americans remain disengaged with the ongoing war in Afghanistan and the conflict in Iraq, which is nearing its conclusion. If Americans had become complacent at any point during World War II, failing to see the impact that day-to-day events in Europe and the Pacific would have on our daily lives for years to come, it would have been even more difficult for the Allies to defeat the dark forces of evil.

During this time of war, while our enemies actively plot and plan against us, the lessons this nation learned on Dec. 7, 1941, and Sept. 11, 2001, could not be more relevant. Had brave generations of Americans not been willing to confront our enemies, our Republic would have fallen.

The reason I greatly admire Sgt. Ryan Sharp is because regardless of how often he thought about Pearl Harbor or 9/11, he understood those lessons and personified the noble cause of defending freedom. While no child's heart should have to feel the sharp knife of a parent's short life, this soldier's daughters can grow up with enormous pride. Like a generation of valiant warriors before him, this father made sure his children would always be free.

Image courtesy: U.S. Army

A Sister's Request

Image courtesy: Facebook

Late Monday night, Olivia Hoffman, the sister of seriously wounded Army 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, posted an urgent status update on the "Family of Nick Vogt" Facebook page:

"If you are reading this please say a prayer for my brother."

The current condition of the wounded warrior, who lost both legs in Afghanistan on Nov. 12, is unknown. The Vogt family's privacy must be respected. Sensing urgency, though, more than 200 responses from all over the country 1st Lt. Vogt fought so hard to defend have poured in since his sister's request.

"Praying from Saginaw, Michigan...that God will continue his healing of Nick, guidance & wisdom for the medical staff, and that your entire family will feel God's presence in a might way!" Joan Cline posted.

"Praying for you Nick from Snohomish, WA," James Kellet wrote.

Several hours after the initial plea, the responses were coming in so fast that it was almost impossible to keep up.

"Praying in Colorado," Linda Shoemate wrote from the Rocky Mountains.

"Praying in Hawaii," Maureen Prather posted seconds later from the palm tree paradise.

Even as this weekend's Army-Navy football game approaches, the West Point and Naval Academy communities are united as one behind Vogt, who graduated from the former and was an academy exchange student at the latter.

"I am a parishioner at Most Holy Trinity at West Point," Nancy Belmont wrote. "The Military Council of Catholic Women meets tomorrow morning---we will be specifically praying for Nick and your entire family."

"Prayers from your USNA family in Philadelphia!" Carol McGowan wrote.

Before his sister's plea for prayers, the last public update had been from the soldier's mother, Sheila Vogt, on Sunday night.

"Quiet day for Nick today. He is resting up for another trip to surgery tomorrow morning," she wrote. "We met a soldier today that was with him in Kandahar. He mentioned how hard the medical staff worked there to keep him alive. We are so blessed to be with him now."

While I can't imagine what 1st Lt. Vogt and his family are going through right now in a Bethesda, Maryland, hospital room, I hope they know that tens of thousands of caring, loving, and praying Americans are there with them. Many of us -- including folks like me who have never served in the military or even met Nick -- say a prayer for him before we go to sleep and wonder how he's doing when we wake up.

Olivia Hoffman's request has been answered. Now we all have to hope that God hears our prayers, and that 1st Lt. Nick Vogt, who has fought so hard before and after his devastating injury, will continue down the bright, sunlit road to recovery.

"May God heal Nick physically and bless him beyond measure," Lisa Hadley-Kimbrell wrote. "Thank the Lord for courageous men and women like him."

Guitar Hero

Image courtesy: United States Forces-Iraq

Since making it home from the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" battle in Somalia, Keni Thomas has become a successful country music singer, motivational speaker and author.

"I came out of the military with a pretty good skill set, and there were jobs I could have taken," Thomas told the Unknown Soldiers. "But music is a disease. It's incurable."

Of all his endeavors, there is nothing more important to this ex-Army Ranger than visiting with wounded heroes of the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts. He thinks every day about his conversations with combat veterans at various hospitals, including a female military truck driver who lost her leg when her vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.

"I told her it was okay to be upset about what happened to her, and she started crying," Thomas said. "She said, 'I just don't know if anybody will ever love me.' It was so basic and human."

Thomas will never forget the chaotic battle he and his fellow troops fought on the war-torn streets of Mogadishu more than 18 years ago. One reason he's so touched by his encounters with wounded veterans is because he knows he could have easily ended up in a hospital bed, wheelchair or cemetery.

"There's not a day that goes by that I don't think about it in some sort of way," Thomas said. "I don't mean it in a 'Rambo' flashback sort of way; I know by the grace of God is the only reason I'm still around."

Thomas has a special talent for bringing the 99 percent of Americans who have never experienced combat into the minds of the one percent who have.

"It took me a long time to figure it out, Tom, but when you make it home from something like that, there's this weird sense of guilt," he explained. "Why did I survive when other people deserved to live?"

The Army Ranger lost several friends in the brutal urban battle. Even though Thomas threw himself into his music career soon after coming home, feeling content during the past two decades has been difficult. Instead of enjoying his success, he has often agonized over his fallen buddies who didn't get the same opportunity.

"They had families. They had kids. They were twice the soldier I was," Thomas said. "Whenever something good happens in your life, it's like you don't let it happen, because that little voice reminds you of your friends who didn't make it.

"It sabotages everything that's good in your life," he concluded.

In his songs, Thomas sometimes sings directly to fellow combat veterans.

"It's what I do," the singer-songwriter said. "I love to tell stories."

Another challenge recently conquered by the guitar hero was writing a book. In "Get It On: What It Means to Lead the Way," Thomas recounts the chaos of "Black Hawk Down" while using the battle's painful lessons to convey principles of leadership.

Thomas candidly admits that at the Mogadishu battle's outset, when U.S. troops set out to confront a murderous warlord, the highly trained Ranger did not expect the bloodiest American firefight since Vietnam.

"When you set a goal, it always takes longer than you think it's going to take," he said. "It's a good lesson for us."

Whether it's in a book, song, or conversation with a wounded veteran, Thomas tries to convey the same powerful message. Without faith, Thomas believes, he wouldn't be in a position to help others.

"That's one of the beauties of putting some mileage on your life," he said. "You can see with clarity that there's no way you ended up where you ended up on your own accord."

Thomas still thinks about the weeping young amputee who thought she'd never find love.

"Hopefully, she'll find that if she doesn't let the guilt, the wounds and the anger consume her, she'll get back into life and she'll do just fine," he said. "I hope someone will love her, and I hope everybody finds a sense of purpose."

Keni Thomas thinks he's found his.

"When I can't sing anymore, I think my life is going to be dedicated to teaching Iraq and Afghanistan veterans that it's OK to be happy," he said.

COPYRIGHT 2011 CREATORS.COM

When You Wish

Images courtesy: HN Samantha Paulson

When I spoke with Hospitalman Samantha Paulson over the summer, she repeatedly made a wish. She wanted her husband, Hospital Corpsman Second Class Chris Paulson, a fellow Navy Corpsman, home from Afghanistan. At the time, he was in the middle of a very tough deployment that included the tragic loss of a brave Marine he was caring for on the battlefield.

Last week, I got an e-mail from HN Paulson. She got her wish -- her husband came home safely in September -- but she was actually e-mailing The Unknown Soldiers to relay another wish from U.S. troops on the front lines.

As a July column about the Paulsons explained, the first year of their wartime marriage has been filled with sacrifice and uncertainty, with one rarely knowing where the other will be ordered to go on a given day. But instead of asking for gifts during this holiday season, HN Paulson wants to give them, and is asking us to do the same.

"I'm sure that you are well aware of the (Wishbook) that the USO has created online for deployed troops," she wrote. "Of course it is a charity incredibly close to my heart along with Toys for Tots but I was hoping that you could mention to your readers that for as little as $15 they could make a service member overseas smile while they are away from their family during this holiday season."

I worked as Director of Story Development at the USO before joining the Travis Manion Foundation as Communications Director. The USO is a wonderful organization that does a stellar job of connecting deployed troops with family members, friends, and supporters on the home front. The USO Wishbook program is just the latest example of the forward-thinking organization's efforts to lift the spirits of our troops and their families.

While the USO Wishbook is billed as "an alternative giving catalog," it is much more valuable than the dozens of catalogs filling your mailbox from department stores this holiday season. This catalog sells dreams that money usually can't buy, like a phone call home for a deployed service member, bedtime stories for children who will spend the holidays without a mom or dad to read to them at night, or sports equipment for forward operating bases, so troops can play football together while the NFL playoffs and college bowl games are going on back home.

HN Samantha Paulson is trained to care for the sick, injured, and wounded. This holiday season, as she feels thankful for her husband being home but worries about troops still deployed overseas, she is unfortunately facing some serious health challenges of her own.

"On a lighter note, I had a wonderful Thanksgiving with my husband, our roommate (whose husband is deployed to Afghanistan), as well as some co-workers who did not have anywhere else to go," she wrote. "I hope that your Thanksgiving was as equally as wonderful and full of family and good food!"

My wish is that this Navy Hospital Corpsman feels better, and that her New Year is just as happy as last week's holiday. To demonstrate that, I plan to support the cause that is so close to her heart: sending happiness to troops serving overseas.

As my family celebrates Christmas, we will send our wishes to men and women in uniform serving in Afghanistan and around the world through the USO Wishbook program. I hope you will join The Unknown Soldiers -- and HN Samantha Paulson -- in supporting this noble endeavor.

Hanging Tough

Images courtesy: Facebook

Two recent posts about wounded Army 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt -- Why We Pray and In the Name of Love -- received an overwhelming response. During another holiday season at war, it is clear that the bravery, tenacity, and faith displayed by 2nd Lt. Vogt and his family in the two-plus weeks since the soldier lost his legs in Afghanistan is inspiring thousands around the world.

While every comment, e-mail, Facebook message, and tweet is appreciated, it was most meaningful to hear from some of the soldier's relatives and friends, who are still praying hard for their loved one.

"I have always felt that I have been blessed to have the family that I do - both immediate and relatives," a female cousin of the soldier wrote to The Unknown Soldiers. "But seeing the love and support that has surrounded Nick this past week has been like nothing I have seen before. There is no love quite like that of your family and I am fairly certain that is what helped him fight to live."

Ever since the Vogt family asked for our prayers, they have been echoing from Afghanistan all the way to Crestline, Ohio, where the family lives. As you can see in the below picture, originally posted on the Nick Vogt family Facebook page, prayers have also been said at New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral, just a few miles from where America was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001. Inside the historic Manhattan church, an unidentified supporter lit a candle for the wounded warrior.

On Wednesday, the soldier's mom, Sheila Vogt, updated Facebook followers on the condition of her son, who is being cared for in Bethesda, Maryland.

"Thanks to everyone for your kind words of support and prayers. These updates are not only for you but they help Steve & I too. It is a nice way to get a 'hug' from all of Nick and our friends," the post began. "Nick was in a long surgery again today. More work on his wounds. The General Surgeon gave us a very good report after the surgery was done. He was smiling a lot during this report."

A previous post made clear just how serious the soldier's condition has been since the terrorist attack in Afghanistan took both of his legs. The amount of donated blood that's purportedly been needed to save the soldier's life is startling.

"Before he was even sent from Afghanistan he received over 400 units of blood (the average body has 15), although not needing blood ever day he is approaching 500 units now," the post said. "For everyone who doesn't give blood because they think it just sits in a warehouse and goes bad, that may be true every once and a while but in many cases you could be saving a life like Nick's."

In addition to donating blood to help wounded troops and hospital patients in your communities, there is something else you can do to lift the spirits of this wounded warrior and his family. You can send him a card for his 25th birthday, which is Dec. 13, for Christmas, or both.

According to the family Facebook page, cards and messages of support can be sent to:

The Fisher House
Attn: Steve & Sheila Vogt
24 Stokes Road
Bethesda, MD 20814-5078

As 2nd Lt. Nick Vogt and fellow wounded troops in hospital beds all around him fight for their lives, we must keep sending cards, lighting candles, thinking, and praying. As this devastating, yet also inspiring post-9/11 saga has revealed, showing our troops that they have our undying support really does make a difference.

Following a Leader

Image courtesy: Dept. of Defense

"Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet."

This striking quote -- offered as advice to Marines fighting during one of the Iraq war's deadliest chapters -- was attributed to Gen. James Mattis. So as I prepared to meet this consummate American warrior Tuesday night at The Union League of Philadelphia, I was quite nervous, to say the least.

When we were introduced, the four-star general couldn't have been more friendly, warm, and genuine. As he spoke later in the evening to an annual Naval War College Foundation gathering, it was clear that he is also an intensely focused, resolute, patriotic, and unflappable individual. There is a reason he's the Commander of U.S. Central Command during one of the most dangerous chapters in the Middle East's long history of turbulence. It's because his leadership is truly fearless.

While I will not quote from the general's off-the-record speech, the thing that struck me most about this tough-as-nails, battle-hardened Marine is his overt compassion for wounded troops and families of the fallen. During a crowded meet-and-greet before dinner, I followed Gen. Mattis for a few minutes to watch him work the room.

During that time frame, he repeatedly went out of his way to visit with combat veterans, including a triple amputee and another young hero who was blinded while fighting in Afghanistan last year. While Gen. Mattis has met with countless world leaders and undoubtedly has a 24-hour hotline to the Oval Office, he treated these wounded warriors like a group of presidents and kings.

Based on accounts from the ground in Afghanistan, Iraq, and around the world, Gen. Mattis has displayed similar admiration for deployed troops during his countless visits to remote forward operating bases in America's post-9/11 war zones. While he is clearly an unyielding general who expects his orders to be followed, many of the men and women under his command feel a special connection to their leader. That's because they know that no matter how difficult, he will always have their back.

Images courtesy: Senior Airman Ronifel Yasay

Mattis, who graduated from Central Washington State University in 1972 before becoming a distinguished military leader and scholar, has America in his blood. Through intense study and access to intelligence, he believes with every bone in his body that if America ceases to be proactive in the Middle East, terrorist attacks on par or even worse than 9/11 will inevitably result in the homeland and around the world. As evidenced in his confirmation hearing to succeed Gen. David Petraeus at CENTCOM, the serious threat posed by Iran continues to keep Mattis up at night.

"The task of Central Command will be to counter the Iranian regime's destabilizing activities, to deter the regime from aggression, and to work in concert with our partners in the region to advance our shared security interests," the general said last year on Capitol Hill.

Mattis is also a master negotiator. He is constantly on the phone or meeting in person with Arab leaders, using his military experience and vast historical expertise to improve life for citizens of the Middle East while also preserving American interests. While hundreds of enemy fighters are dead because of the general, there is no doubt in my mind that because of his leadership, many innocent civilians around the world are still alive.

I learned more about the Middle East, as well as America's crucial role in that region and the world, from the general's speech and subsequent question-and-answer session than any college course I ever sat through. It was also fitting that as Gen. Mattis spoke, a stunning, majestic portrait of President Abraham Lincoln loomed above him. That's not because this leader would compare himself to Lincoln, but because like America's greatest wartime leader, this accomplished, wordly man believes we live in a noble nation.

Putting politics aside, it bothers me how easily some media pundits and journalists carelessly throw around statements like "Afghanistan is a mess," "Iraq is a disaster," and "America is on the decline." With honorable leaders like Gen. James Mattis protecting our country, it is abundantly clear to this blog that America is still a strong, unparalleled beacon of freedom, justice and peace, even during a time of war. While there is no question that our country faces difficult challenges, every single one of us should be proud of the U.S. military. Our men and women in uniform are part of the solution.

"Marines don't know how to spell defeat," the general once said. After spending a late fall evening just a few steps from the Liberty Bell, hearing freedom ring as this remarkable military leader spoke, my belief that America can never be defeated is stronger than ever.