Our Take: Never forget the lives sacrificed in the Afghanistan war

Last Sunday, our nation’s longest war ended as the Taliban swept into the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan.

It was in the wake of 9/11 that the United States had entered that country in pursuit of al-Qaeda. Afghanistan was a breeding ground for such terrorist groups, harbored by the governing Taliban. Two decades later, al-Qaeda is gone, at least for now, but the Taliban is stronger than ever.

There has been and will be a lot of discussion about how this all played out, from who is to blame for the chaotic evacuation of Americans and Afghan helpers to whether the Taliban will return fully to Sharia law and trample women’s and humanitarian rights. 

There will continue to be debates about the Afghan president and forces’ commitment, nation building and whether 20 years of the U.S.’ presence in Afghanistan simply was enough. 

We personally think it was, but that is not what this editorial is about.

It is about remembering the countless lives lost in Afghanistan during the past two decades, and three in particular. 

• Fort Atkinson’s Lance Cpl. Jacob Meinert died Jan. 10, 2010, when he stepped on a land mine while patrolling the streets of the Helmand Province in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

His family had last seen him in a selfie taken standing in front of a mirror, a note written in one hand and a digital camera in the other.

“I love you all and I will miss you all,” it read.

The camera was a Christmas present for his brother, and Jake sent it, with the picture, and the rest of his personal belongings back home to his family in Fort Atkinson, just before shipping out to Afghanistan.

It would be his final goodbye.

The 20-year-old Marine already was a decorated combat veteran when he left for Afghanistan. He joined the Marine Corps in July 2007 after graduating a semester early from Fort Atkinson High School and had served an eight-month tour of duty in Iraq before being deployed to Afghanistan in November 2009.

Serving in the military had been his dream since childhood. In his fifth-grade yearbook from Racine’s Red Apple Elementary School, he wrote that, in 20 years, he hoped “to move to Pearl City in Hawaii and join the Navy. If that doesn’t work out for me, I hope to become a college teacher.”

Instead of the Navy, Jake followed in his grandfather’s footsteps and joined the Marines, and was stationed 20 miles east of Pearl City at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, in Oahu. He worked as a telephone operator with the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force.

Friends and family remember Jake as a determined young man with a positive attitude. Called “Slim” by his fellow Marines, he had a big heart, goofy grin and great sense of humor. Having moved to Fort Atkinson at age 15, Jake was a respectful and good student in high school, where he was active in the Blackhawk, jazz and pep bands.

He loved music and sailing, and had strong values and a belief in being of service to others. In fact, we’re told that Jake always was the first to raise his hand to volunteer for any task, no matter the risk. 

Rest in peace, Jake.

• It was May 18, 2010, that Army Lt. Col. Paul Bartz of Waterloo died at the hand of a suicide car bomber in Kabul, Afghanistan. He and four other U.S. soldiers were among 18 people killed in their convoy.

A 1985 graduate of Waterloo High School, Paul played on the Pirate football team for four years, was a member of the homecoming court his sophomore year and was elected prom king as a junior.

Returning to his alma mater in 2006, he told the students that his initial goals after high school were to buy a car, get a job and drink. But those plans quickly changed after his father talked him into going to college. He graduated in 1989 from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, where he was in Army ROTC, and began a successful military career.

We’re told that Paul just happened to be away from his office in the Pentagon on 9/11. He later sat in on a meeting that included him, President George W. Bush, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and one other person before the official decision was made to start the war in Iraq. 

Paul apparently had been planning to retire in two years, but was determined to advance in rank before hanging up his uniform.

Rest in peace, Paul.

• U.S. Army 1^st Lt. David Johnson, a 24-year-old Mayville High School alumnus, was killed Jan. 25, 2012, by an IED roadside bomb while on foot patrol in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan. Having deployed there on Dec. 14, he was the nephew of the Rev. Dr. Kenneth and Cindy Comstock of Lake Mills.

The 2006 Mayville High School graduate had excelled in high school. He was very active in football, FFA and many other extracurricular activities, and ascended the ranks of Boy Scouts, earning Eagle Scout.

A 2011 graduate of Evangel University in Springfield, Mo., David was an assistant director of CROSSwalk campus ministries and an ROTC cadet, serving as the commander of the Bear Battalion his senior year.

Those who knew David best say he was a man of great faith, brave, likable, a hard worker and a team player. A high achiever, he was fun loving, never complained and lived life to the fullest. And, David had no fear of adversity.

At his death, David was a platoon leader of the Army’s 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington State. 

This marked his first tour overseas, yet the Army gave him command of a firebase, an encampment that provides artillery and other support to other units. In fact, David was promoted in December at the time of the deployment, and he was highest-ranking officer at the camp.

We’re told David was very excited about leading a platoon of men he called “great soldiers.” He was looking forward to meeting Afghan villagers and working with the Afghan army, and he hoped to help set up village-run checkpoints to make the area safer.

Rest in peace, David.

While loved ones of the fallen carry their memory with them daily, we who are fortunate enough not to have suffered such a personal loss must do the same. The gesture is not an endorsement of any national policy or president or political persuasion. It simply is thanking all who have protected our country and that for which it stands.

In fact, the true memorial for America’s fallen is the nation and society we create from their sacrifice. It is the way we treat each other daily, the respect we give our neighbors and tolerance we show those unlike us. It is not only knowing that all men and women are created equal, but also actually treating them that way. 

It is appreciating our untethered life, the opportunities and freedoms afforded us, and then teaching that appreciation to the generations that follow.

That is the very least we can do to honor the memories of Jake, Paul, David and the 2,440 other U.S. servicepersons in Afghanistan who sacrificed their lives fighting for Enduring Freedom.