“Don’t Ever Think That You Are Defending Me……”
"……by slamming the Global War on Terrorism or the U.S. goals in that war," Jeffrey Toczylowski wrote. "As far as I am concerned, we can send guys like me to go after them or we can wait for them to come back to us again. I died doing something I believed in and have no regrets except that I couldn't do more."
Shortly after Jeffrey Toczylowski died in Iraq a year ago this month, his friends received an email. And an invitation to a party in Las Vegas.
"If you are getting this e-mail, it means that I have passed away," the missive said. "No, it's not a sick Toz joke, but a letter I wanted to write in case this happened."
The Army Special Forces captain, 30, said he would like family and friends to attend his burial at Arlington National Cemetery, "but understand if you can't make it."
The message, distributed by a fellow Green Beret after Toczylowski's family had been notified of his death, added: "There will also be a party in Vegas with a 100k to help pay for travel, room and a party."
Last Saturday, Toczylowski's mother, Peggy, hustled about Las Vegas' Palms Hotel and Casino, making final arrangements for a bash that drew family and childhood friends from her son's hometown in Upper Moreland, Pa., near Philadelphia, men and women from his days at Texas A&M University, and comrades in arms who had bonded with "Toz" on missions they could not discuss with civilians.
By 7 p.m., the last of 120 or so guests were offering hotel bouncers the password and trooping into the Palm's 10,000-square-foot Hardwood entertainment suite.
Two women in skimpy outfits poured liquor from the fully stocked bar. Disc jockeys blasted rock and rap from a loft decked out with a pool table, a wide-screen video-game console and a circular loveseat with remote controls that rotated it out of view.
At 9 p.m., six Green Berets swarmed an unsuspecting colleague on the suite's attached basketball court. A few feet from where one chef carved rare prime rib and a sushi chef sliced young yellowtail and spicy tuna rolls, the men wrestled their thrashing comrade onto an 8-foot stepladder, secured him from chin to shoes with a few hundred feet of duct tape, covered him with whipped cream and strategically placed cherries, spray-painted his hair red, poured whiskey down his throat and then hoisted the ladder into a vertical position and stuck a microphone to his face.
"The first time this happened we were in Bosnia," said detachment leader Ryan Armstrong, 31, spitting booze and dessert toppings. "Jeff was a sniper-team leader. I was the assault-team leader. … That time they left me taped to a dolly for a couple of hours. … Toz was the one who cut me loose."
The article is a must read. Where do we get these soldiers? Why do we deserve them?
Via Hot Air, H/T Larwyn.
By crosspatch, November 19, 2006 @ 11:26 pm
“Where do we get these soldiers? Why do we deserve them?”
We grow them, Gius. That’s where we get them. They are a reflection of our own dedication to our country and our freedom. Sad thing is there probably isn’t a Kerry or a Heiz among them. To those people, a unit like that is where one might get “stuck”.
The more I live the more I am convinced that the two major parties are a reflection of our society in that one side is the producer and the other side the consumer. One side would represent the production of wealth and the maintenance of freedom and the other side consumes the fruits of it.
Hearing of soldiers like this can make me extremely proud and extremely angry at the same time.
By sarge, November 20, 2006 @ 2:19 am
Reason #4,765 why you should fear the U.S. Special Forces: they can party hard as much as a year after death.
A fitting sendoff for a true hero.
By Guy, November 20, 2006 @ 7:52 am
“Where do we get these soldiers?”…Gaius, these soldiers come from the same farms and towns as those that landed at Tarawa and Iwo Jimas did. They traveled the same roads as those that fought at the Battle of thr Bulge. They walk the same streets that those who died in the rice paddies of Viet Nam did. In short…they are Americans. God grant that we will always have those that love their country more than life itself.
By Guy, November 20, 2006 @ 7:54 am
Spelling correction:that would be Iwo Jima