N.C.-based Marine spoke to mother the day he died

[rainbow4321]

;( ;( ;(

http://www.herald-sun.com/state/6-721856.html

The morning of the day he died, Marine Pfc. Chase A. Edwards told his mother in a telephone call that his area of Iraq had become more dangerous.

Edwards, 19, who was killed Thursday while on patrol in Ramadi, west of Baghdad in Anbar province, said his unit had lost four men Friday and Sunday. Some of his friends were worried, he said.

<snip>
"He said Mom, 'I'm very at peace,'" she said. Then he described how he said prayers and listened to a CD before going out on patrol. He repeated the ceremony when he returned to camp. "When he said that he was at peace, I could hear in his voice that he really meant it, that he really was," Hartwell said.

She said her son died when an improvised bomb exploded near the Humvee he was driving.

[snappyturtle]

1. So sad.

:cry: :cry: :cry:

[babylonsister]

2. 26 soldiers died last week, per ABC's This Week.

I'm stunned this isn't brought up more often, along with the Iraqi deaths and all the injured.:cry:

[Burried News]

6. I had no idea and I watch pretty carefully.

[me b zola]

7. They're just making sure that we hear all of the "good news" in Iraq

By not telling us the truth they are really just looking out for our best interest

:sarcasm:

[JohnKleeb]

3. 19 years old

God that hit hard to home, I am only a year younger than this guy.

[YDogg]

5. I have family members about that age.

I cannot imagine what a loss like this means to this soldier's family, or to the families of others lost in this criminal invasion. Just so tragic.

[rockymountaindem]

8. I'm not a year younger than that guy

Coulda been me. War seems a lot less cool when its not something that older people do anymore, eh Kleeb?

[rainbow4321]

9. My daughter will be 19 this summer...

so articles like this really break my heart..I'm nervous enough with her living away from home (in a college dorm), I cannot even imagine having her in a war zone! I read that Dallas-Ft Worth airport is one of 2 airports that overseas soldiers fly into when they return to the US. I was walking thru it one day to meet my daughter and found myself seeing groups of kids her age returning home. So, so young looking. There's always a large group of families and local military supporters greeting them at the international gate.

Here's something I just found about teens and the reserves:


http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/04/09/news/top_stories/22_41_274_8_06.txt
Wagner, who has recently been deployed to Iraq, said members of the National Guard often fight side by side with the Army's soldiers in wartime, while Army reservists are responsible for support services. Reservists provide medical care, transportation of food and ammunition, intelligence gathering, even mail delivery.

These days, those support jobs can be some of the more dangerous positions in Iraq because they involve regular travel on Iraq's roadways where insurgent-planted explosive devices lurk.

Nationally, recruiters with the Reserves and the National Guard have reported that their jobs have gotten tougher as the war has dragged on. A recruiter working the Oceanside region last summer said that convincing parents to let their children join is the toughest part of his job.

In order to join the Reserve, a 17-year-old must have a parent's permission. At 18, they can make the decision themselves. While some reservists are teenagers, others enter after serving in the regular Army for years.

[niyad]

4. how many more of our people, and theirs, are going to die before we

can stop this insanity?