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November 11, 2005
Remember.
I never know what to say on Veteran's Day, because it happens on the same day every year, and I'm not terribly good at writing things that aren't spontaneous. But that doesn't change the fact that today is an important day to remember all U.S. veterans -- whether deceased or living. Regarding the living, there are fewer and fewer. Today's Philadelphia Inquirer supplies some statistics: U.S. War VeteransI have always disliked the way anti-war activists dwell on the Iraq War dead (a tactic also used during the Vietnam War), because it undercuts the fact that these veterans gave their lives for something they believed in. That activists would use their deaths to oppose the very cause they died for strikes me as worse than disingenuous. The bright side, though, is that the fact of their very deaths being used this way is a graphic illustration that the freedom they died for is alive and well. Anyway, one such veteran -- Special Forces Capt. Jeffrey P. Toczylowski -- from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (which happens to be my county), anticipated that his death might be used as fodder for the anti-war effort. So, taking advantage of a medium which he knew would survive him, he composed an email to his family (the full text of which is here): If you are getting this email, it means that I have passed away. No, it's not a sick Toz joke, but a letter I wanted to write in case this happened. Please don't be sad for me. It was an honor to serve my country, and I wouldn't change a thing. It was just my time.Captain Toczylowski died in Iraq on November 3, and it wasn't in vain at all. I think it should be remembered that the enemy he died fighting would have much preferred to pull off this week's triple hotel bombing in the United States, but they had to settle for Amman, Jordan. For that we should thank him, and others like him. Captain Toczylowski's regret that he couldn't do more only makes me wish I could do more. So remember the veterans.  posted by Eric on 11.11.05 at 07:23 AM
Comments
Any idea how the email was sent after his death? Darren · November 11, 2005 02:05 PM According to the Inquirer web site (which ran the email): This is an e-mail that Special Forces Capt. Jeffrey P. Toczylowski, 30, prepared in the event of his death. Toczylowski died during a combat mission in Iraq on Nov. 3. His father, Philip M. Toczylowski, shared the e-mail. He and his wife, Margaret, live in Ambler. Eric Scheie · November 11, 2005 04:02 PM |
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I salute every one of the heroic men and women who had lain his or her life on the line or stood ready to do so.
To all of our brave warriors I can only say: THANK YOU!!!!