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War in Iraq |
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Casualties of Iraq War
Hartley, Iowa
Shindand,Herat, Afghanistan
Feb. 9, 1980-Mar. 16, 2005
Pleasant View Cemetery
Obit
Hartley, Iowa
Kirkuk, Iraq
Jun. 21, 1980-Apr. 25, 2009
Pleasant View Cemetery
Obit
I am a Soldier, Never to be Forgotten
Here I sit ... Silent, watching, observing, thinking. I am far from home.
Far away from the ones that I love, and the ones who love me.
I want to go home. I miss my family, my friends. Yet I stay here.
I have been called here. My country needs me, my Lord needs me. I am here by his will.
I am here to protect. To protect my family, my friends. I am here to protect all those who believe in the Lord and our freedoms.
Sometimes I may sleep outside, in a tent, or in a vehicle.
Yet I will continue. I must continue. Continue to protect the freedoms to which I was born.
The freedoms that our forefathers fought and died to give us.
I will continue for the faith that I have had since childhood, and for the children of tomorrow.
I have chosen my path. I have chosen to help.
To help in the fight against those who threaten my family, my friends, and my country.
I shall do all that I can to protect all the freedoms in which so many take for granted.
For I am a Soldier.
I am a Soldier sent to protect our faith, freedoms, and our country.
I shall be a Soldier as long as I live ... and after.
For the Lord will not abandon me, or those who choose to believe in him.
And, I shall not abandon him. I am a Soldier.
I am a Soldier, never to be forgotten.
* Written by Sgt. LeRoy Webster for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Shane Koele,
a fellow Hartley soldier who died while serving overseas in Afghanistan.
