The funeral for Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Rodriguez, U.S.M.C., is taking place today down the street from me in Fairhaven, MA.
The Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical High School graduate was just 19 years old when he was killed in action in Afghanistan on December 11.
DC politicians and pundits scratch their heads at polls showing Americans have no interest in getting our troops involved in new battles in places like Syria and Iran. But Americans are remembering their sons and daughters lost to war in Iraq and Afghanistan - the 6,786 killed and the 51,763 wounded in action, along with the silent toll of the hundreds who've taken their own lives after returning home.
While the Washington Post's front page remains fixated on the Obamacare website yet again today, the news about Lance Cpl. Rodriguez has dominated the front page of the local Standard-Times almost daily since his death - nearly two weeks now.
Let's finish honoring the dead from our last two wars before we go volunteering to start any new ones.
Cross-posted from Blue Mass Group