A Gold Star Mother Writes about the Forgotten Men and Women
by Susan Price, TLB Contributing Writer/Analyst
[This article originally appeared in the Georgia Weekly Post]
This is the Experience of the Forgotten Men and Women and Their Children
His name was Aaron Michael, meaning “Rod of Truth and Warrior Angel” carried vibrations of a symbolic measure as he grew into an American hero at the age of thirty. “Mama, if it happens and you’re confronted by two Marines at the door, you will know I’m with God”. These were words echoed by my beloved son during conversations throughout his twelve years as a United State Marine. No amount of time could prepare a parent for this nightmare. That confrontational moment unleashed sounds and screams of despair, unrecognizable to even me, as these two Marines called my name while sinking to my knees I heard, “On behalf of the United States Marine Corps, we regret to inform you that your son was killed in action during a complex ambush in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan, in the village of Ganjgal”.
Throughout history it’s been said, during time of peace, sons bury their fathers, and times of war, fathers bury sons. What my family witnessed unfolding from the battlefield nearly a decade ago, was a microcosm of what has transpired through the years and lineages of American Gold Star families. Generational, my great grandmother, lost a son to war.
Gold Star families will never be defined by the loss of our heroes, rather redefined by the honor and valor in which they served.
Members of the inclusive fate club, recruited by destiny, we represent the bleak and obtuse side of war, where absence, despair and chaos intersect with the consequences and complexities of tragedy.
My son swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; bear true faith and allegiance to the same; obey orders of the President of the United States and officers appointed over him, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help him God.”
Unbeknownst to him, he would find himself ambushed by not only the enemy, yet through negligence, abandonment and dereliction of duties. A mother, the giver of life, my heartbreak nearly debilitated me on the spot, I remember reading the investigation report, the 15-6, which dropped me to my knees for a second time in months. This insidious cataclysm was a blatant disregard of life against our own. Men of God were strung out to die as they became forgotten souls on the battlefield.
Their lives were devalued and redacted like an enemy narrative would have you read with obfuscation of the truth. Where is the justice for parents whose sons were denied air and artillery support by coalition forces? My son and his men begged for their lives, but radio calls to the air conditioned tactical operations command changed frequencies so their voices could not be heard and when they were, they were met with a barrage of twenty questions such as “is this support for Marines or Army” and “who is on your roster”?
This was the day the most powerful nation on earth became powerless as American sons were slain by enemies both foreign and domestic.
Two hours later the calls for air support were finally met, yet as pilots descended for rescue, a nameless, faceless voice ordere air support relief clear the airfield, leaving four Marines and twelve Afghan soldiers to die in the Afghanistan horseshoe valley of death known as Ganjgal. Such an egregious time in my family history knowing that 1% of Americans serve our great nation in uniform to protect the other 99% of Americans who have a louder voice and platform in life than my son had on the battlefield.
We recognized crimes of Treason and Sedition stemmed from elite contradictions in uniform who traded God and country for their hidden agenda. People ask where is your justice and I answer back, I believe there is a special place in heaven for the men of valor as mentioned in the Bible, they will never be forgotten, as for Justice, we are reminded that all mortal man will stand before the creator on judgement day.
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About (TLB) Contributing Writer Susan Price
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