They Have Names: Start of the Bounty for Murder Investigation

by gchaucer2

Community

(This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2020 Tuesday, Jun. 30, 2020 at 7:38:03am PDT

A member of the US military visits Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, May 24, 2019, ahead of the Memorial Day weekend. - Section 60 is the final resting place for US soldiers killed in America's most recent wars, especially Iraq and Afghanistan. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

The NYT posted a piece on what they believe is the start of the investigation of Russia’s paying the Taliban a bounty to murder not only American soldiers but those of our NATO allies who remain in country. The investigation into Russia’s suspected operation is said to focus in part on the killings of three Marines in a truck bombing last year, officials said. The article refers to an April 2019 incident. Nowhere in the article is there mention of who these Marines were. Just a brutal picture of what was left of their vehicle.

The Marines were

Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks

Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines

Staff Sgt. Christopher K.A. Slutman

and they died on April 8, 2019 to be exact.

How do I know these facts and the NYT either does not or find the individuals and exact date irrelevant? I know because IGTNT: Three Marines on Patrol informed me. For those who may not know, IGTNT stands for I Got the News Today and has been a tragically long term diary series since almost the outset of the interminable wars. A dedicated staff of DKossers has diligently researched who was killed and something about their lives. They are just really great folks who don’t work for the NYT.

Enough has been and will be written on the bounty for murder scandal. I’m just adding these young men’s names and if you read the beautiful IGTNT tribute, you will see their faces.