IN SERVICE TO THEIR NATION
AFTERMATHS
We secured the last Afghan national and prepared for our movement back to our extraction point . Unfortunately , evaluation of the alternative landing zone wouldn ' t allow the Chinooks to land . We ’ d have to return to our point of entry at the western mouth of the canyon .
First platoon brought up the rear security with the exception of one squad to help rotate carrying the aid litters . Second platoon had three squads carrying litters with the Fourth squad as vanguard . Our movement back through the ravine was slow but steady . The mid-afternoon sun was now directly in our faces as we traversed the ravine . My Garmin GPS had shut down an hour earlier due to overheating , and we all identified with that .
Although mostly contained in the body bags , the faint smell of death wafted between us . Bodily fluids sloshed audibly with each measured step we took . To ease muscle fatigue , we would rotate carrying positions alternating hands . Bodies were stacked two to a litter , except for two sleds that were carried and dragged along the dry riverbed .
Our eyes stung with salty sweat as we squinted into the blazing sun breathing the fine Afghan moon dust we kicked up that just hung suspended in the air , refusing to fall back to the earth . Our mouths were parched , our canteens just as dry . Finally , physically drained , we emerged from the gorge back onto the same field of dust and dirt where we had first entered . The Chinooks were fifteen minutes out so we took the opportunity to stretch our arms and upper backs . A few guys sank down and seemingly instantly fell asleep .
I watched those guys , but didn ' t see them . Instead , I saw my buddies of Delta Co . First Platoon , 3rd US Infantry Regiment ( The Old Guard ) resting during an hour break just outside of the collapsed portion of the Pentagon .
Three years and 7,000 miles separated these two missions . My brain , however , still can ’ t seem to distinguish between them .
Ft . Myer , Virginia . Weekend of Veterans Day 2001 . I ’ m overwhelmed with sadness . I want to die . I stay in my bed the entire four-day weekend .
Irrational fears have started creeping into my head and I close my eyes . Now I ’ m smelling the Pentagon – the dead , decaying bodies . The freshly mixed cement , electrical fires , burn pit , ashes , and kerosene . All of it churning together in memory . Yes , that ’ s the smell . Will it stay with me forever ? Or will it maybe just slowly … go away ?
PENSACOLA , FLORIDA . JULY 2021 It is 20 years now . Even so , a question still goes round in my head .
Were some of the many full-honor funerals I helped conduct in Arlington that fall for any of those individuals I pulled from the rubble ?
IT ’ S 2021 . I KNOW IT ’ S 2021 . BUT SOME DAYS , IT IS STILL 2001 . I CANNOT FORGET .
MY HOPE AND PRAYER IS THAT WE ALL REMEMBER .
“ I ’ LL TAKE IT FROM HERE ”
AHERO writer and editorial assistant Jeremy Clarke found the powerful depiction of the passage of the call to duty from America ’ s First Responders to her Armed Forces after the September 11 , 2001 attacks . We instantly knew it belonged in our magazine . U . S . Army SSGT Dereck Burchill ( Ret .) of Ramsey , Minnesota , had spotted the artwork on a wall in Iraq while deployed there and had photographed it to keep as a remembrance . The photo was picked up by some publications some time ago but Burchill was not often credited for it . Clarke managed to trace it back to him , and a connection again was forged between AHERO and another thoughtful and dedicated American Veteran . ~ the editors
12 AHERO MAGAZINE SUMMER 2021