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A HS classmate of mine was killed in Afghanistan

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bigdaddy

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I didn't really know him, I don't think we ever really talked. All I know is he always wanted to serve his country and he did. Still the news really hits you like a ton of bricks. War is horrible, but you can't fully understand it until you know the person they are talking about. He served his country proud and now my he rest in peace.

LUDLOW MA - Marine Sgt. Joshua D. Desforges of Ludlow was killed Wednesday in the Helmand province of Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced on Thursday.

A Defense Department release said Desforges, 23, died while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, which is the southwest corner of Afghanistan, roughly 100 miles west of the city of Qandahar. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

He was one of two Marines killed Wednesday in the same area of Afghanistan during combat operations, the Defense Department announced.
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http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/marine_sgt_joshua_desforges_ki.html
 
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tkron said:
Wow...That would hit you! My sympathies to everybody who knew him.
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The thing is I haven't seen him in 6 years next week and never really talked to him in high school or middle school. But now you look back and go "Wow" and how it hits everyone who only knew him a little.

I'm glad he died doing what he loved, that's all you can do in life. Too bad it couldn't have been 80 years from now.
 
My condolences to you and your friends, bigdaddy.

About a year and a half ago, Tom Brown, a buddy from my college days was also killed in combat, in Iraq, I believe, and yes, you're absolutely right -- it hits you like a ton of bricks.
 
Luckily I haven't lost anyone in this thing yet, although As I am in the Army Reserve, I worry about some of my friends, and I wonder what happened to a lot of the people I've met over the last four years.

The one close call was a HS friend of mine who was shot last year in Afghanistan. He's fine though, and is currently serving stateside. He had some problems adjusting though, And I've met some people in service who had some serious issues as a result of the war.

Very sorry about your friend though, best wishes to all who knew him.
 
bigdaddy said:
I'm glad he died doing what he loved, that's all you can do in life. Too bad it couldn't have been 80 years from now.
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In the future 100+ year olds will be on active duty in the USMC?
 
MeanJoePhaser said:
bigdaddy said:
I'm glad he died doing what he loved, that's all you can do in life. Too bad it couldn't have been 80 years from now.
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In the future 100+ year olds will be on active duty in the USMC?
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Well, given projected medical advances, quite possibly :p.

Sympathies for your loss, bigdaddy. I'm glad your friend spent his time doing, as you say, a job he loved.
 
I work at Walter Reed, so I see the ravages of our current wars everyday. I am very much anti-war, but I have so much respect for our soldiers who serve. Some of them might be schmucks, but we have some true heroes here too.

My deepest condolences to anyone here who has lost someone to war.
 
bigdaddy said:
I didn't really know him, I don't think we ever really talked. All I know is he always wanted to serve his country and he did. Still the news really hits you like a ton of bricks. War is horrible, but you can't fully understand it until you know the person they are talking about. He served his country proud and now my he rest in peace.
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I salute him for his willing sacrifice. And you for remembering him to the rest of the world.
 
Neroon said:
bigdaddy said:
I didn't really know him, I don't think we ever really talked. All I know is he always wanted to serve his country and he did. Still the news really hits you like a ton of bricks. War is horrible, but you can't fully understand it until you know the person they are talking about. He served his country proud and now my he rest in peace.
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I salute him for his willing sacrifice. And you for remembering him to the rest of the world.
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Thousands and thousands have died and you think it's sad. Then you put a face that you know to it and it's just brings the wars to new heights.

I mean in 2001 when the Afghanistan War started we were sophomores in high school! That was 8.5 years ago and he was talking about joining the army then. We were always in the same history class so obviously things like that come up a little more naturally, more so after 9-11. He always wanted to serve, never back away from that dream even with terrorism and Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Wanted to serve even more after that.
 
When you put it that way, it has been a long time.

We've could won a World War twice in that time.

And we'd have less whiney Green Day albums to show for it.
 
This is so sad. I hate hearing about service members killed in that hellhole. I guy I worked with for two years died last Sept when his Stryker Combat vehicle ran over an IED. His funeral was sad.
 
The worst thing is that his actions and death down there are totally pointless because his country's strategy is totally fucked up. Serving your country is nothing to be proud of if your country lets you get killed in a war that has no foreseeable end at all. This makes it even more sad.
 
It wasn't pointless to him. From the little I know of him the last several years he was still proud to fight for what he believed in and believed in what he fought for.
 
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