We Shall Keep the Faith
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.
We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.
And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.
by Moina Michael
Spc. Omar M. Albrak
From the Department of Defense:
Spc. Omar M. Albrak, 21, of Chicago, Ill., died May 9, in Baghdad, of injuries sustained during a motor vehicle accident. He was an Individual Ready Reserve soldier assigned to the Headquarters, Multi-National Forces Iraq.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
From the Chicago Tribune:
Twenty-one years after Army Spc. Omar M. Albrak's birth, his mother, aunt and uncle traveled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Tuesday to meet a flag-draped transfer case containing his body.
Albrak's mother, Susan Atooli of Escondido, Calif., said she attended the ceremony Tuesday to be close to her son.
"It was a lot harder than I thought just to see somebody come back," Atooli said. "You think you can handle it, but it hits you a lot harder than you think.
...
Albrak, who is of Yemeni ancestry, worked as a translator, she said. Some Iraqis gave him a tough time because he was of Middle Eastern descent and fighting for the United States, she said. But Atooli said he but didn't want to be an enemy to anyone despite his Yemeni ancestry.
Atooli's sister Helen, of Maui, Hawaii, brought a sign wishing Albrak a happy birthday. She said she wanted to show it to the media covering the ceremony.
"We wanted people to know that he came home in a casket on his birthday," Susan Atooli said.
From San Diego Union-Tribune:
Spc. Albrak's mother, Susan Atooli of Escondido, said her son was a translator/aide. She said she was told he was driving in the rain in the Red Zone near Camp Victory when his vehicle flipped.
Helen Atooli, Spc. Albrak's aunt, said she was close to her nephew and would often chat with him online or speak to him by phone. "He loved his job (in the Army). I remember when he told me he was going to extend his contract. He said 'Don't tell my mom.' He felt like he was accomplishing something. He was all about bettering himself," Helen Atooli said.
Susan Atooli said her son had been in Iraq since 2006 and had a goal of advancing in rank so that when he left the military, he could be hired for a U.S. Embassy security detail.
She said her son had gone through some troubled times after falling in with a bad crowd while living in Chicago with his father. A recruiter there told him the Army could use his Arabic translating skills and could change his life.
Legacy.com has a guest book for Spc. Albrak
Spc. Lukasz D. Saczek
From the Department of Defense:
Spc. Lukasz D. Saczek, 23, of Lake in the Hills, Ill., died May 10 in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 178th Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard, Woodstock, Ill.
From the Northwest Herad:
He died as a result of a non-combat-related injury that remains under investigation, said Maj. Brad Leighton, public affairs director of the Illinois National Guard.
Saczek had a 6-week-old child and was married to Kathryn Saczek, Leighton said. He also is survived by his mother and father, Ewa and Dariusz Saczek.
Saczek graduated from Steinmetz Academic Centre in Chicago in 2005 and enlisted in the Illinois Army National Guard in July 2006.
It was his first deployment...
"As we continue through this difficult deployment, each and every soldier is a vital family member to this National Guard force," said Maj. Gen. William Enyart, adjutant general of the Illinois National Guard. "Spc. Saczek, like all our soldiers, made the decision to volunteer to serve his country in a time of war and will be remembered."
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What You Can Do
There are a number of wonderful organizations out there which could use your help:
* Anysoldier.com
* Operation Helmet
* Fisher House
* Books for Soldiers
* Operation Ensuring Christmas
(big thanks to timroff for the beautiful logo)
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind.; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, JeNoCo, mediaprof, and me, a girl in MI. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them.
If you are interested in volunteering for the series please contact me, a girl in MI, at a_girl_in_mi_101 AT yahoo DOT com
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. We treat these diaries as a place to remember and reflect. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.