I don't have a day pass where I haven't thought about the morning God called you home. I only wish you were on this flight home with the team. Till we meet again.
This solemn message, written by one soldier to his fallen comrade, fills the margin next to a paratrooper's name in a book overflowing with memories.
Troops have passed through Bangor International Airport for years, either departing for or returning from deployment overseas. The welcome offered by the Maine Troop Greeters lifts the passing service members' spirits and temporarily distracts them from the realities of war.
But near the greeters' room on a small black stand draped with a red cloth, there is a book that will not let them forget the realities of war.
The black three-ring binder contains the names of all American troops who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan within the last year. Behind the stand is a painting of the battlefield cross, the fallen heroes memorial - boots, rifle, helmet and dog tags.
"It's a solemn process," said Bud Tower, the Navy veteran who once a month downloads the names of the fallen and enters them into the book. "Especially as the numbers mount up every month." |
