#MemorialDayWeekend is more than 3 days off – it’s a somber reminder of the true costs of war. Let's remember the fallen & reflect on living in a way that honors their sacrifices. I’ll be remembering my fellow IL Guardsmen like First Lt. Brian Slavenas & Staff Sgt. Bill Chaney.
I’ll be thinking about the CH-47 Chinook helicopter crew that was shot down in ‘03 near Fallujah. I’ll also be thinking about the sacrifices made by the 2 million women who’ve served in uniform during every period of conflict we’ve endured – whether or not they were recognized.
In the Vietnam War, we lost 8 women. Capt. Mary Therese Klinker was a flight nurse w/the 10th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. Her C-5A Galaxy crashed in Saigon while evacuating orphans. She was posthumously awarded the Airman’s Medal for Heroism & Meritorious Service Medal.
In the Persian Gulf War, 15 female servicemembers lost their lives in service, including Maj. Marie Rossi who was flying a CH-47D Chinook Cargo Helicopter in bad weather when it crashed into an unlit tower.
In Operation Enduring Freedom, 50 women died defending our country, including Sgt. Jeanette L. Winters from DuPage, IL, who was 25 when her plane crashed in Pakistan. She was the first Marine killed in a hostile fire zone.
Operation Iraqi Freedom took the lives of 110 female servicemembers like Rock Island native Sgt. Jessica M. Housby who died in Route Golden, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near her convoy. She was 25.
These are just a few of the many fallen servicemembers who have given everything in defense of our country. I hope our nation remembers their sacrifice and thanks the families who continue to send their sons and daughters to fight for us.
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