Troops who died on Xmas Day

[rainbow4321]

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/obituaries/stories/DN-prestonob_30met.ART.North.Edition1.3e47bc9.html

He was to be released from duty in eight months, his family said. But on Christmas Day, Spc. Preston died from wounds suffered when an improvised explosive detonated near his vehicle in Baghdad. He died just before midnight. "They must've caught him by surprise because that boy was smart," Mr. Coward said.

As the holidays neared, Mr. Coward said, Spc. Preston was working two missions each night, mostly on just a few hours of sleep. His unit was short-handed because of holiday leaves. According to Spc. Preston, everyone in his unit was fatigued. He shared his concerns with a commanding officer, saying, "We're going to slip up if we don't get sleep."

According to family members, Spc. Preston had worked three weeks without a day off before his death. "He was right; he was absolutely correct," said his brother-in-law. "What a waste, what an absolute utter waste of all these boys."

Two other members of Spc. Preston's company were also killed in Monday's blast: Sgt. John T. Bubeck, 25, of Collegeville, Pa., and Pfc. Andrew H. Nelson, 19, of St. Johns, Mich. They were assigned to the 9th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany.

[tblue]

1. And for what? So we could hang Saddam? Oh, that makes it all worthwhile, right?

[karlrschneider]

2. Mythological symbolism aside, dying for lies is no worse on 12/25 than

it is on 11/17 or any other day. Dead is dead and the bastards who facilitated it are just as guilty.

[otherlander]

3. Well, there's your war on Christmas...

I am so fucking pissed off. The president knows damn well that it doesn't make a difference how many troops there are or how long they stay there. The only thing that matters to him is that leaving makes it look like a mistake. So he wants the next president to be the one to have the mess of leaving associated with him. They're just playing politics and I really doubt that he even cares about stabilizing Iraq. None of our lives mean anything to these racketeering assholes. :rant: