Community Chat

[riley1]

@KingstonsMom - Many of our bars & restaurants did this as well. It brings me to tears.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Porcelain wrote:

Over 800,000 American service members have served in Afghanistan since October 2001. And over 2,300 American service members have died in Afghanistan during our time there. I am interested in what this restaurant did to honor them. I assume and hope this is a normal thing they do for our many fallen troops every day.

Suicide terrorist bombings and IEDs have been common in Afghanistan the entire time. Maybe we just didn't want to think or hear about it.

I wish all of these 2,300 heroes (and those of our fallen service members located elsewhere across the globe) could be honored with the same intensity and care as this 13. But many of their sacrifices have been completely ignored by our society.

We didn't hear much about them in the news until now because very few people seemed to care. And that's not even mentioning all the civilian deaths and dangers that went relatively unnoticed right up until now, when we are finally leaving, having spent over 2 Trillion dollars.

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• I am guessing that since these are the first deaths in 18 months in Afghanistan, they caught peoples attention.  

[Anonymous032819]

This should be done for every  soldier that has died.

Where are their reserved tables and glasses of beer?

[Greeneyedlady21]

❤

[Jessa9]

😪😪😪😪🙏🙏🙏🙏. So sad

[Porcelain]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

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• I am guessing that since these are the first deaths in 18 months in Afghanistan, they caught peoples attention.  

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According to Stars and Stripes, what you have said here is completely misleading. It's yet more of the usual widely circulating misinformation intended to minimize the sacrifice of those who serve. In 2020 alone there were several deaths, including terrorist IEDs.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/afghanistan-remembering-the-fallen-of-2020-1.656849

Ian P. McLaughlin 

Army Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, died on Jan. 11, 2020 when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Kandahar province. He was on his first combat deployment and was killed alongside Army Pfc. Miguel Angel Villalon.

McLaughlin, of Newport News, Va., was assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

He joined the Army in 2012 as a horizontal construction engineer, before being reassigned four years later to the 82nd Airborne Division, where he became a squad leader.

“He wanted to serve,” said his cousin, Rachel Mathes. “He died doing what he wanted to do.”

McLaughlin’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

Miguel A. Villalon

Army Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, was killed on Jan. 11, 2020, when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb that also took the life of Army Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin and injured two other soldiers. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

Villalon was assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

An Illinois native, Villalon joined the Army in 2018 to become a combat engineer. He was on his first combat mission when he was killed.

“Miguel was a young soldier with dreams for the future and a desire to make a difference in the world today,” said Richard C. Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, Ill., where Villalon went to high school.

Villalon’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal.

He is survived by his mother, who lives in Chicago, and his father, who lives in Brownsville, Texas.

Javier J. Gutierrez

Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, died on Feb. 8, 2020, in an insider attack in Nangarhar province. Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez was also killed in the attack.

Gutierrez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

He was born in Jacksonville, N.C., but grew up in Texas. He enlisted in the Army in 2009 and, in 2015, graduated as a Special Forces communications sergeant and reported to 7th Group.

He had deployed once to Iraq as a paratrooper and was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when he died.

“Sgt. 1st Class Gutierrez was a warrior that exemplified selfless service and a commitment to the mission, both values that we embody here in the 7th Special Forces Group,” Col. John W. Sannes, 7th Group commander said in a statement.

Gutierrez was posthumously promoted to sergeant 1st class and awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medal.

He is survived by his parents, his wife Gabriela Elena and their four children.

Antonio R. Rodriguez

Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez, 28, was killed in an insider attack in eastern Nangarhar province on Feb. 8, 2020, alongside Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez.

Rodriguez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Born in Las Cruces, N.M., Rodriguez enlisted in the Army in October 2009 after graduating from high school that spring.

He was first assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, out of Fort Benning, Ga., and deployed eight times as a Ranger. In 2018, he reclassified as a cryptologic linguist with Spanish as his chosen language. He deployed twice with 7th Group.

“Sgt. 1st Class Rodriguez was selfless and served honorably; he was certainly among the best in our unit,” 7th Group commander Col. John W. Sannes said in a statement.

Rodriguez is survived by his parents and his wife Ronaleen.

[Greeneyedlady21]

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@CrazyDaisy wrote:

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@Porcelain wrote:

Over 800,000 American service members have served in Afghanistan since October 2001. And over 2,300 American service members have died in Afghanistan during our time there. I am interested in what this restaurant did to honor them. I assume and hope this is a normal thing they do for our many fallen troops every day.

Suicide terrorist bombings and IEDs have been common in Afghanistan the entire time. Maybe we just didn't want to think or hear about it.

I wish all of these 2,300 heroes (and those of our fallen service members located elsewhere across the globe) could be honored with the same intensity and care as this 13. But many of their sacrifices have been completely ignored by our society.

We didn't hear much about them in the news until now because very few people seemed to care. And that's not even mentioning all the civilian deaths and dangers that went relatively unnoticed right up until now, when we are finally leaving, having spent over 2 Trillion dollars.

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• I am guessing that since these are the first deaths in 18 months in Afghanistan, they caught peoples attention.  

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That's actually not true

Factcheck.org August 25 2021

In fact, 11 U.S. service members were killed in Afghanistan last year, including four in combat, according to the Defense Casualty Analysis System. Twenty-three service members were killed in Afghanistan in 2019, including 17 in combat.

[goldensrbest]

War is a   tough thing,  we should remember all that died, and really examine the  fact of going to war.

[Patriot3]

What a nice tribute!  All of the pics are great, with that first pic being just beautiful!  May the families of all our military who have been taken away, find peace and comfort.  I can't imagine what they are going thru. One of them was from near where I live.  What a waste!

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Porcelain wrote:

---

@CrazyDaisy wrote:

---

---

• I am guessing that since these are the first deaths in 18 months in Afghanistan, they caught peoples attention.  

---

According to Stars and Stripes, what you have said here is completely misleading. It's yet more of the usual widely circulating misinformation intended to minimize the sacrifice of those who serve. In 2020 alone there were several deaths, including terrorist IEDs.

https://www.stripes.com/theaters/middle_east/afghanistan-remembering-the-fallen-of-2020-1.656849

Ian P. McLaughlin 

Army Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin, 29, died on Jan. 11, 2020 when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Kandahar province. He was on his first combat deployment and was killed alongside Army Pfc. Miguel Angel Villalon.

McLaughlin, of Newport News, Va., was assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

He joined the Army in 2012 as a horizontal construction engineer, before being reassigned four years later to the 82nd Airborne Division, where he became a squad leader.

“He wanted to serve,” said his cousin, Rachel Mathes. “He died doing what he wanted to do.”

McLaughlin’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

Miguel A. Villalon

Army Pfc. Miguel A. Villalon, 21, was killed on Jan. 11, 2020, when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb that also took the life of Army Staff Sgt. Ian P. McLaughlin and injured two other soldiers. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast.

Villalon was assigned to the 307th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

An Illinois native, Villalon joined the Army in 2018 to become a combat engineer. He was on his first combat mission when he was killed.

“Miguel was a young soldier with dreams for the future and a desire to make a difference in the world today,” said Richard C. Irvin, the mayor of Aurora, Ill., where Villalon went to high school.

Villalon’s awards and decorations include the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal.

He is survived by his mother, who lives in Chicago, and his father, who lives in Brownsville, Texas.

Javier J. Gutierrez

Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez, 28, died on Feb. 8, 2020, in an insider attack in Nangarhar province. Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez was also killed in the attack.

Gutierrez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

He was born in Jacksonville, N.C., but grew up in Texas. He enlisted in the Army in 2009 and, in 2015, graduated as a Special Forces communications sergeant and reported to 7th Group.

He had deployed once to Iraq as a paratrooper and was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when he died.

“Sgt. 1st Class Gutierrez was a warrior that exemplified selfless service and a commitment to the mission, both values that we embody here in the 7th Special Forces Group,” Col. John W. Sannes, 7th Group commander said in a statement.

Gutierrez was posthumously promoted to sergeant 1st class and awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star medal.

He is survived by his parents, his wife Gabriela Elena and their four children.

Antonio R. Rodriguez

Army Sgt. 1st Class Antonio R. Rodriguez, 28, was killed in an insider attack in eastern Nangarhar province on Feb. 8, 2020, alongside Army Sgt. 1st Class Javier J. Gutierrez.

Rodriguez was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, out of Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

Born in Las Cruces, N.M., Rodriguez enlisted in the Army in October 2009 after graduating from high school that spring.

He was first assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, out of Fort Benning, Ga., and deployed eight times as a Ranger. In 2018, he reclassified as a cryptologic linguist with Spanish as his chosen language. He deployed twice with 7th Group.

“Sgt. 1st Class Rodriguez was selfless and served honorably; he was certainly among the best in our unit,” 7th Group commander Col. John W. Sannes said in a statement.

Rodriguez is survived by his parents and his wife Ronaleen.

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Guess to be more specific......from March 1, 2020 to August 2021 is 18 months.