KABUL, Afghanistan – U.S. Marine Sgt. William Stacey was killed earlier this year by ahomemade bomb in southern Afghanistan, a tragedy for which heprepared by writing a letter to his family explaining why he wasfighting that was to be read in the event of his death. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Marine Gen.
John Allen, readthe 23-year-old's letter during a Memorial Day service Monday inKabul in memory of all the troops who have died in the countrysince the war started in 2001. "Today we remember his life and his words, for they speakresoundingly and timelessly for our fallen brothers and sisters inarms," said Allen, who also leads the NATO coalition inAfghanistan. Stacey was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan when he waskilled on January 31 in Helmand province. The young Marine fromRedding, California, told his family that he was motivated to fightin Afghanistan to protect the country's children and provide themthe opportunity to go to school and live out their dreams.
"There will be a child who will live because men left the securitythey enjoyed in their home to come to his," Stacey wrote in hisletter. "He will have the gift of freedom which I have enjoyed forso long myself, and if my life brings the safety of a child whowill one day change the world, then I know that it was all worthit." Stacey deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines,1st Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton, California. At least 1,851 members of the U.S. military have died inAfghanistan as a result of the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, accordingto the latest Associated Press count. Since Allen took over command in Afghanistan in July 2011, at least251 American troops, 76 NATO coalition members and 1,296 members ofthe Afghan security forces have been killed in the country, hesaid.
During Monday's ceremony at NATO coalition headquarters, Allenhelped lay a large wreath at the base of a pedestal holding abattlefield cross — the traditional memorial to a fallensoldier, constructed using the troop's boots, rifle, helmet and dogtags. Allen stepped back and crisply saluted as Taps played over aspeaker. Support for the Afghan war has waned in the U.S. and othercountries in the coalition as casualties have mounted and progresshas seemed elusive. The U.S.
plans to transfer securityresponsibilities to Afghan forces by the middle of 2013 andwithdraw most of its combat troops by the end of the followingyear. Despite the human cost of the war, Allen said the soldiers who havefallen did not die in vain. "While our brothers and sisters fell in a place far from home, farfrom their families, the values for which they stood and for whichthey lived and for which they died occupy an enduring place in ourhearts," said Allen. "Those values: freedom, duty, selflessness andsacrifice.". I am Printing Inks writer, reports some information about tie dye wholesale , laser cut fabric.
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