Our Latest American Hero #154

Marine Lance Cpl. Maung P. Htaik, 20, of Hagerstown, Md.; assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Lance Cpl. Htaik is the first casualty in the U.S. Military in 2011. And so this intractable war continues into yet another year. There are promises and timetables for ending our presence; 2011 for Iraq, 2014 for Afghanistan, but what does any of that mean to the dead? We avoid the truly difficult things, negligent of the price, for the easy ones. It is not difficult to isolate a nation or region compared to occupying one. The real problem is neither Afghanistan nor Iraq, BUT Pakistan. And until we neutralize their nuclear arsenal, all of this "War on Terrorism" theatre is about what the hell to do with them? They are our Frankenstein in so many ways, and every day that they do not go off the reservation is a gift to the entire world.

But I digress. Let us remember the first soldier to die in each of the years of our War on Terrorism.

2001

Air Force Master Sgt. Evander E. Andrews, 36, of Solon, Maine; assigned to the 366th Civil Engineering Squad, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; killed Oct. 10, 2001, in a heavy equipment accident in Qatar.







2002

Army Sgt. 1st Class Nathan R. Chapman, 31, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed in action while fighting against Taliban and al Qaida forces, on Jan. 4, 2002 in Khost, Afghanistan.






2003

Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thomas J. Gibbons, 31, of Prince Frederick, Md.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed in a MH-60 Black Hawk crash during training on Jan. 30, 2003, in Afghanistan.





2004

Army Sgt. Dennis A. Corral, 33, of Kearney, Neb.; assigned to the 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; killed while riding in a convoy going to Baghdad International Airport Jan. 1, when his vehicle went out of control and rolled over in Baghdad.





2005

Marine Lance Cpl. Brian P. Parrello, 19, of West Milford, N.J.; assigned to Small Craft Company, Headquarters Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; killed Jan. 1 by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.






2006

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jason L. Bishop, 31, of Williamstown, Ky.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Jan. 1 when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during patrol operations in As Siniyah, Iraq.




2007

Army Sgt. Thomas E. Vandling Jr., 26, of Pittsburgh; assigned to the 303rd Psychological Operations Company, Oakdale, Pa., a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Jan. 1 of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle while on combat patrol in Baghdad.


2008

Army Sgt. Shawn F. Hill, 37, of Wellford, S.C.; assigned to the 178th Engineer Battalion, 218th Infantry Brigade, South Carolina Army National Guard, Rock Hill, S.C.; died Jan. 2 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.




2009

Marine Lance Cpl. Alberto Francesconi, 21, of Bronx, N.Y.; was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Jan. 1 while supporting combat operations in Now Zad, Afghanistan.





2010

Army Spc. Brushaun X. Anderson, 20, of Columbus, Ga.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Jan. 1 in Baghdad of wounds sustained from a non-combat-related incident.