By Corina Curry / Rockford Register Star
Former U.S. Marine Kurt Thingvold, home after a tour in Iraq, did something unexpected his first Fourth of July back stateside: He took cover under the kitchen table.
As fireworks banged and crashed outside his parents’ Rockford home, the 23-year-old dived under the table, yelling “incoming fire.”
At first his mother, Fran Thingvold, tried reasoning with him.
“It’s cherry bombs,” she said. “It’s just kids.”
It was no use. Her son wouldn’t come out from under the table.
So Thingvold did what any mother would do. She crawled under the table and wrapped her arms around her only child as he shook and cried.
Thursday marks the sixth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 4,260 members of the U.S. military have been killed in the war.
Eleven Rock River Valley families are among those whose loved ones were killed as part of war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many died as the result of roadside bombings, or improvised explosive devices as the military calls them, used by insurgents to wage war against U.S. military convoys.
Thousands more, like Thingvold, have returned to their homes and families physically injured or suffering psychological scars that affect them to this day.
They bring home stories, too. Stories of violence and fear, and those of pride and hope.
Worries about withdrawal
President Barack Obama announced Feb. 27 that all military troops would be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The plan is to pull most combat forces out of the country by August 2010. Between 35,000 and 50,000 troops will remain, mainly providing advice and support to the Iraqi government. The U.S. then will refocus its efforts on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Forces in Afghanistan will increase from about 30,000 to 55,000.
It’s news that worries Emily McKiski, the sister of 21-year-old Adam McKiski of Rockford, who died Aug. 7, 2008, in Iraq. He was on his second tour of duty as a Marine.
Emily McKiski, 27, said it’s sad to think of the war reaching its six-year mark, but equally troubling to think of what’s to come in Afghanistan.
“It’s scary that Afghanistan is getting worse,” McKiski said. “It could be back to ground zero with Afghanistan.”
She worries about troops leaving Iraq before the time is right.
“The impression I get is that the Marines want to complete their mission,” McKiski said. “If we’re not going to finish what we started, I don’t think my brother would appreciate that. ... If it comes too soon, then what was the point? What did my brother die for?”
Former U.S. Marine Kurt Thingvold, home after a tour in Iraq, did something unexpected his first Fourth of July back stateside: He took cover under the kitchen table.
As fireworks banged and crashed outside his parents’ Rockford home, the 23-year-old dived under the table, yelling “incoming fire.”
At first his mother, Fran Thingvold, tried reasoning with him.
“It’s cherry bombs,” she said. “It’s just kids.”
It was no use. Her son wouldn’t come out from under the table.
So Thingvold did what any mother would do. She crawled under the table and wrapped her arms around her only child as he shook and cried.
Thursday marks the sixth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 4,260 members of the U.S. military have been killed in the war.
Eleven Rock River Valley families are among those whose loved ones were killed as part of war efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many died as the result of roadside bombings, or improvised explosive devices as the military calls them, used by insurgents to wage war against U.S. military convoys.
Thousands more, like Thingvold, have returned to their homes and families physically injured or suffering psychological scars that affect them to this day.
They bring home stories, too. Stories of violence and fear, and those of pride and hope.
Worries about withdrawal
President Barack Obama announced Feb. 27 that all military troops would be removed from Iraq by the end of 2011.
The plan is to pull most combat forces out of the country by August 2010. Between 35,000 and 50,000 troops will remain, mainly providing advice and support to the Iraqi government. The U.S. then will refocus its efforts on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Forces in Afghanistan will increase from about 30,000 to 55,000.
It’s news that worries Emily McKiski, the sister of 21-year-old Adam McKiski of Rockford, who died Aug. 7, 2008, in Iraq. He was on his second tour of duty as a Marine.
Emily McKiski, 27, said it’s sad to think of the war reaching its six-year mark, but equally troubling to think of what’s to come in Afghanistan.
“It’s scary that Afghanistan is getting worse,” McKiski said. “It could be back to ground zero with Afghanistan.”
She worries about troops leaving Iraq before the time is right.
“The impression I get is that the Marines want to complete their mission,” McKiski said. “If we’re not going to finish what we started, I don’t think my brother would appreciate that. ... If it comes too soon, then what was the point? What did my brother die for?”
2 comments:
This is why Bushco must be held accountable. To do otherwise is completely unAmerican and opposite of what the reason this country was founded. Happy Anniversary Bushies:(
Six years. Six long years, and what a mess.
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