Silent eulogies whispered in stone
In Fort Logan Cemetery, amid the rows of perfectly aligned headstones, are those that mark the resting place of 17 men killed in the Iraq war. The simple inscriptions, the keepsakes that hug the grave
By James B. Meadow, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published March 23, 2008 at 9:47 p.m.
Updated March 24, 2008 at 6:50 p.m.
Photo by Javier Manzano © The Rocky
Avery Bolin, 3, looks at shoes displayed as part of the Colorado Eyes Wide Open exhibit near downtown Denver on Monday. The group scattered shoes, symbolizing the civilian deaths from the war in Iraq, as well as boots symbolizing Colorado soldiers who have died.
Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky
A gravestone for a soldier killed in Iraq is decorated with flowers.
Photo by Javier Manzano / The Rocky
The helmet of Maj. Andrew Olmsted rests atop his rifle inside Soldiers' Memorial Chapel at Fort Carson after his funeral in January. He was killed in Iraq on Jan. 3.
Within the cold, unblinking stare of the marble headstone, the soft toy Easter chick finds shelter. Plastic eggs in yellow, pink and iridescent green sit nearby, bright colors against the drab brown-beige ground. Blue is leaking out of the sky as the threat of another March snow looms colder and more certain.
A world away, dogs bark and traffic hums along city streets. Geese fly overhead, honking and wheeling over Memorial Lake. Beneath their wings all is still, as it always is. Nothing moves but the wind because stillness - motion and quiet - is the way of Fort Logan National Cemetery.
But in that stillness, 93,000 simple eulogies are whispered from the headstones. Especially the newer ones, the headstones that mark the final resting place of 17 men killed in the Iraq war - 17 who are part of the 4,000 men and women whose lives have been taken in combat. It is the latest milestone of staggering loss. Until another, sadder milestone replaces it. And it will. That is the way of war.
The short eulogies that waft through Fort Logan come from the headstones, from the flowers and the keepsakes that hug the graves. They rise from the ground that covers all the fallen, ground dampened by tears that will flow as long as there are mothers and fathers, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters left to mourn. Because there is no statute of limitations on a broken heart.
The name etched on one headstone reads GREGORY P RUND.
All capital letters. No punctuation. Simple, economic, final. This is the marker that guards the Easter chick. Perhaps it has since DEC 11 2004. Four Easters come and gone and so many more to be lost. The headstone says he was a lance corporal, US MARINE CORPS. That he was a little past 21 when he died and that the family he left behind believes with all its heart that HE CHANGED THE WORLD.
The grave belongs to THOMAS J SLOCUM.
He died MAR 23 2003. The grave doesn't say so, but he was the first Coloradan killed in the war, four days after it began. Time has passed, five years Sunday, but the words inscribed in stone are still stained dark with lithochrome. Rain, wind, snow and sun haven't yet bleached them to a ghostly white. The scar is still fresh. A bouquet of new artificial poinsettias says so.
Wreathing the headstone of BRETT L LUNDSTROM is a strand of blue beads with a Corona Light badge. It is a sweet and wonderfully silly memento that hints at something playful in the man who was a CPL in the US MARINE CORPS who earned a PURPLE HEART. Who was a BELOVED SON.
The ground between the graves is mottled with patches of dirty snow, precocious nubs of green grass and pine cones. All sound - geese honking, cars moving, earthmoving equipment sculpting the land into new burial ground - is gently absorbed by a calm that isn't so much vacuum as vessel. Periodically, the vessel tips and the sound is poured out.
Particularly one sound. A sound that has free rein.
Most days there is an average of 15 funerals at Fort Logan. Old warriors and young warriors. During those funerals, the saddest song in the world is played. And no matter where you are among the sprawling 214 acres, you can hear each trembling note. Some days only minutes separate the end of one taps and the start of another, as if the air is pausing to clear its throat before allowing a new ceremony of death with honor to commence.
The headstones fan out in all directions in strict military dress- right-dress formation. No matter which way you look, they are perfectly aligned. Marble carved from the earth. Shaped by hand. In rows of man-made precision.
Three pennies rest atop the headstone of JEREMY PAUL TAMBURELLO IRAQ KIA APR 3 1986 NOV 8 2005
There are different stories to explain placing coins atop a headstone. One is linked to the ancient belief that there was a charge involved before the dead could pass safely into the afterlife. Someone, maybe the parent of this BELOVED SON, put the pennies there. A last bit of allowance for the boy who grew up so fast.
On many gravestones the eulogy is written partly in shorthand. The families of the deceased are given latitude about what can go - and fit - on the headstone. To inscribe more information, to chisel out one more footnote to a life suddenly gone, they use acronyms. LOM means Legion of Merit. MSM is a Meritorious Service Medal. BSM is a Bronze Star Medal. OLC is an Oak Leaf Cluster. PH is a Purple Heart. This makes the eulogy more efficient but, oddly, no less searing.
The life of CHARLES LUKE MILAM HMZ US NAVY MAY 14 1981
SEP 25 2007 was short but as fulfilled as a 25-year-old life could be. His headstone tells of a BSM, a PH & OLC. It tells of a hospital corpsman remembered as SON BROTHER DOC.
It tells of a man who LIVED HIS DREAM.
A snowman peeks out of a Christmastide floral arrangement. Next to it, a small Teddy bear shares a basket with a Hersey's chocolate bar. The seasons are all the same now for
THEODORE SAMUEL HOLDER II SSGT US MARINE CORPS IRAQ KIA JUN 7 1977 NOV 11 2004 SILVER STAR PURPLE HEART
The seasons are unchanging and so is a family's heart, the one that tells a fallen warrior WE LOVE YOU.
Today, there are no decorations around the grave of SCOTT A M OSWELL
He was a soldier who won a BRONZE STAR. He was also a BELOVED HUSBAND AND FATHER
He was a man who lived to be 33, dying on JUL 4 2007, the day this country celebrates its birth.
A blue plastic Easter egg is stuck in the ground in front of the headstone belonging to DOUGLAS E BASCOM
He lived to be 25, a man who was a LOVING HUSBAND. A man whose final message to the living is LOVE & LAUGH.
Sooner or later, if you keep listening to the marble, if you keep wandering, you will come to a grave adorned with a small bouquet of artificial flowers. Where orange zinnias and purple irises contrast with the solid white headstone. You will look at the flowers and then the inscription.
HENRY C RISNER SPC US ARMY IRAQI FREEDOM SEP 17 1977 AUG 18 2004 BSM & PH LOVE EMMY
The silent eulogy tells you all this. It tells you that a soldier died one month shy of his 27th birthday. It tells you that Emmy loved him. And then on the back of the headstone, the eulogy tells you something else.
KATELYNN DAUGHTER SEP 14 2004
The daughter who would have been a wonderful birthday present for a soldier, the daughter whose life didn't span a day, lies next to him. The daughter and father who never saw each other in life now get to meet and spend eternity together.
There are four saplings and a stunted pine tree on the ridge of Section 29. Five trees for five graves. Four of the graves are so fresh the headstones haven't arrived. But the oldest grave contains the most recent casualty of the war to arrive at Fort Logan.
The headstone doesn't bear a cross or a star of David. Instead, it shows the trumpeting form of the Angel Moroni, signifying that DUNCAN C CROOKSTON CPL
US ARMY was a Mormon. He died JAN 25 2008, the day before his 20th birthday, his last day as a teenager. Below the dates of his birth and death the stone is inscribed with BRONZE STAR PURPLE HEART
Below this is written:
REMEMBER ME AND NOT MY FATE.
In front of these last words, on the grave's brown dirt, rests a single artificial rose, blood-red in the sun. The wind hurls itself against the petals, making them shiver. Then it swirls around the headstone and is gone, blowing across the cemetery's stillness, carrying another silent eulogy into the arms of forever.
meadowj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2606
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March 24, 2008
12:24 a.m.
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mtnsrfer writes:
Thank you Tommy. I Thank your team as well. Thank you to all veterans. Because of you all, we are free to say anything we want. I like to use my voice to praise the people who keep the U.S. free, and try with the rest of the world. Thank you, all!
March 24, 2008
6:48 a.m.
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Michael writes:
Very nice article and especially nice post from Tommy. I am glad that his was the first post on this to set the tone from someone who has been there and because of that has a unique and special "right" to speak on this matter. I am sure we will see the inevitable posts about "what a waste" and "illegal war" and "Bush lied". God bless you Tommy and all your brothers in arms who have fought this fight for 5 years, and may have to continue to do so. The words of JFK from his 1961 inaugural speech ring very loud and clear today on the matter of liberty and we should all heed them again: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge—and more."
March 24, 2008
8:05 a.m.
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kathyM writes:
Tommy, Thank you so much for your service. For each person who derides your work, there are millions who appreciate it. You rock, and so does your team!
March 24, 2008
8:33 a.m.
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Scott writes:
Mr. Meadow,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this story. I had to wipe my eyes a number of times while reading it.
Thank you a gain.
Tommy,
Than you and may God bless you and all of your fellow servicemen. I have a vague understanding of your feeling towards the "anti-war nuts". I served shortly after Vietnam (I turned 18 in 1974) and still remember the hate towards us.
You and your comrades will ALWAYS have my gratitude and my prayers.
Thank you again,
Scott E. Farleigh
Formerly PR2 USNR
March 24, 2008
9:25 a.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Thank you, Tommy,
Seems to me you don't mind that Bush and his cronies sent you guys over there with lies and nonsense about weapons of mass destruction. So, now you're policing a country that has descended into mindless violence. If you don't have a problem with that then I'll vote for McCain and support Bush now. I'm sure that McCain and his likely running mate will be happy to keep you there indefinitely.
I certainly don't want to have anything to do with any more kids being drowned or set on fire. So, if you want the job of controlling some 24 millions of difficult and even bloodthirsty Iraqis then far be it from me to hold you back. At this point, I wouldn't dare question your desire to continue with your mission. Good luck.
I hear Tehran has a large number of a-holes who also hate us. When you get sick and tired of Iraq, Iran is waiting and then I'm sure we can find more work for you in North Korea, Darfur, Congo, Burma, Syria, Columbia, Cuba, Venezuela...any excuse will do.
March 24, 2008
9:59 a.m.
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Scott writes:
I took seven honorable stories and comments to get to the political garbage for this one. This must be a record for garbage hold off!
HolierThanThou: Take a look at the tenor of the article and the posts that preceded your garbage. For once, try to honor the men and women that protect you so that you can excrete your "substance" and keep the politics out of this type of article.
Scott
March 24, 2008
10:45 a.m.
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Seabreezes writes:
While I have never supported the war or the joker in the White House that started it, my support for the soldiers has never faltered. I grew up right outside a military base, and have seen how a soldier not coming home devastates his family, his friends, and in some instances, his entire town/city. Tommy is right, if we aren't there, people die. Yes, it would have been nice for us to be told the truth, but we're dealing with politicians...we knew better. All that said, I hope every soldier we have gets to come home...and actually know where they are.
March 24, 2008
10:59 a.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Quotes by Tommy:
<<We resent the Iraq veterans that return to speak against the war, those guys are the guys that never got along with anybody in their units. The teams I meet would love to have five minutes with ‘just one of those ba**ards.”>>
<<The reasons why Bush attacked Iraq is moot.>>
Now, of course, only some dirty low-down SOB who actually reads this stuff would construe these statements as being political. Tommy simply forgot to add the disclaimer that his remarks must be strictly interpreted as being non-political.
By God! I agree with Scott and MarineGrunt! There is no such thing as a political war! These things just happen! It isn't our fault! Our politicians and government have nothing to do with it! So everyone should just STFU with their frigging politics!
Let's all honor the dead soldiers and sailors for now. Don't think about how they got so dead in the first place. That would dishonor them. After all, if we waste time bickering over all the little reasons why fighting men are sent to die then how are we going to get more fighting men to go fight so that we can honor them when they get dead, too? That might make a war seem rather futile. Wouldn't it? It would certainly take all the fun out of building a huge military machine, getting guys to sign up, and going to some foreign land to blast the living be-Jesus out of people who piss us off.
March 24, 2008
11:14 a.m.
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jay writes:
It really baffles me why, after 5 year of war, some of the folks on the far right still can't separate support for our troops and support for the war. BAFFLES ME. I really don' think that these folks are stupid. They're smart enough to operate a computer and bang out reasonably decipherable posts. This leaves willful ignorance and blind political demagoguery as the only reasonable explanations for their consistently ridiculous views of those who support our troops enough not to needlessly send them to die in Iraq.
March 24, 2008
11:15 a.m.
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Michael writes:
Many people just do not seem to grasp that there is a time and a place for everything. There are places and blogs where viscious political venom can (and should) be spewed. There are places and blogs where civil discourse is a luxury and rarely encountered, but there are also places where respect for the topic at hand (dead US Iraq War military personnel) is the most important thing and all else is secondary or unwanted at all. Unfortunately there are far too many who cannot put aside their selfish desires and their love of their own imagined self importance for a moment and allow others to become the focus of the moment through their ultimate sacrifice.
March 24, 2008
12:05 p.m.
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MrPeabody writes:
Right on, Michael. Couldn't have said it better. Leave your political venom to a different thread and stick to the subject.
The agenda that baghdadguy mentioned is obvious across the media of this country - especially the headline writers. To focus on the number 4,000 makes it rather obvious. The 4,000th soldier to die in service of this country is no more significant (or tragic) than the 3,999th or the 4,001st.
Thanks to Tommy and all those who have served this country.
March 24, 2008
3:49 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Send your dollars to http://www.projectboresnake.com/. In spite of spending over $600 billions, our military doesn't have enough funding to buy rifle cleaning kits for our troops. There's no way it could have been Halliburton or Blackwater that walked away with any of those 9 billion missing dollars discovered by a 2005 audit of the Iraq war. That's just a conspiracy made up by communist auditors in the federal government.
How could anyone possibly believe the subversive liberal suggestion that spending billions on high tech gadgets in the sky might take away funding for basic combat equipment?
If you really want to stick to the peaceniks then also donate money to:
http://www.buy-new-underwear-for-the-...
http://www.they-need-socks-too.com
http://www.stopem-from-driving-unarmo...
http://www.yeah-put-lid-on-that-thing...
http://www.adopt-a-soldier-so-he-dont...
http://www.donate-to-impoverished-def...
We swear by God these aren't scams! We salute the flag every day while weeping for our patriotic heroes.
March 24, 2008
3:56 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
The above web sites are, of course, recommended by bropous and GWM. Now great upstanding American patriots like these wouldn't lie to you. Would they?
March 24, 2008
6:59 p.m.
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jay writes:
gwb....anyone who can't separate support for our troops and support for this unnecessary war IS "far right"...which is why I used the phrase to describe those folks...you included apparently. You may not like to acknowledge that your stances put you in that place on the political spectrum, but refusing to come to terms with politically inconvenient facts is another character trait of the "far right". You've got two strikes against you already...care to try for a third?
March 24, 2008
8:26 p.m.
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kirbysfriend22 writes:
whale manure & cat excrement
this is the wild west
March 24, 2008
9:48 p.m.
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timeandagain writes:
Even though he is a card carrying member of the CU faculty, I do sort of agree with HolierThanThou's premise. If these "boresnake" things are so important to the safety of our military, then why aren't they being provided to the soldiers on our tax dollars rather than our "non-profit" donations?
Tommy - thanks for your post. You and all of the men overseas are truly heros!
March 24, 2008
10:13 p.m.
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hikingartist writes:
Believe what you want Tommy. Everyone knows the US has slaughtered, maimed and wounded thousands of innocent men, women and children in Iraq.
March 24, 2008
10:33 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Warmongers talk big how they "honor" the troops while wasting their lives cheaply for a bottomless pack of dishonorable lies and for selfish profiteering.
Sure does upset a warmonger to see his crap lined out for what it is.
Honor comes from respect. Respect is not when you lie to a man and his country to get him to fight your war. Respect is not when veterans come home wounded and must argue for their medicine or a decent place to live. Respect is not when the families of soldiers face destitution and must leave their homes because of poverty. Respect is not when you send them so ill-equipped for battle that their families and neighbors must hold a sale to buy the panoply for them. That only makes fools of our troops. And it makes fools of every American. That is disrespect, the kind of disrespect that deserves every ounce of derision, mockery, and insult that we can muster from the deep outrage that awareness calls forth.
Respect is when you tell us the truth from the beginning. Respect and honor only exist when the warriors' lives are counted as precious, so precious that their leaders will insist upon accurate intelligence and a just and honest cause before committing them to battle. The cause must be stated honestly and proven with facts. If you honor the lives of our warriors and reckon them dear then war is never a choice because it is always the last resort.
Honor is when leaders are accountable for their errors, resigning when they have dishonored our country with blundering and proven dishonesty, resigning when they have besmirched the honor of our fighters and embarrassed our allies with the unwarranted tortures and murders of prisoners. Honor does not belong to any one nation. It is a part of our humanity.
Honor is restored when we hold such dishonorable warmongers accountable for robbing our nation of its good name in the world. Until then, we Americans all live in disgrace whether we admit it or not. All the killing in the world will not restore our honor. The only thing that will restore us to honor is the same thing that has restored the honor of beguiled nations throughout history, and that is a brave reckoning applied to the warmongers who brought dishonor to us in the first place.
March 24, 2008
11:53 p.m.
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kathyM writes:
Holier, Exactly how many wars did we enter based on 100% truth? There have been arguments made that FDR and his advisers knew about Pearl Harbor before the attack but did nothing to stop it. Why? Because they could not win a vote to declare war due to strong isolationist sentiment. So waiting for an attack was the next best thing.
Now before you all go spouting off, I'm not saying that theory is supportable or true. I'm saying all war is political, full of deceit and greed--even the "good" wars, and even when there are noble ideals intended.
March 25, 2008
1:59 p.m.
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Zeal writes:
All your bickering detracts from a beautifully written and powerful story that stays completely neutral. "Because there is no statute of limitations on a broken heart." Any of us who have lost know this all too well. Kudos to Mr. Meadow, it made me weep I hope they give you an Pulitzer.
Zeal