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I will always miss you my friend.
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<blockquote data-quote="DC" data-source="post: 1687908" data-attributes="member: 480"><p>This is the story that accompanied the article.....sl i can say is WOW...... if most folks only knew what it is like for a family member to get even a glimpse of the real story.</p><p>"It's like an outward expression of a burden carried deep inside," Jane says about an emblem Congress created after World War II for those who lost loved ones to war.</p><p></p><p>Except that no one today seems to know what it means.</p><p></p><p>PHOTOS: Remembering a fall soldier</p><p>INTERACTIVE: American casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan</p><p>"I've never been asked about it. Ever," she says.</p><p></p><p>As the 26-year-old widow of an Oklahoma National Guard soldier killed in combat, it is another reason Jane says she feels a world apart from other Americans.</p><p></p><p>She sensed it standing on an airport tarmac as her husband's body was unloaded from the belly of an aircraft. She could see the faces staring down from the jetway windows above, parents holding children and pointing.</p><p></p><p>"I definitely feel there's a disconnect," she says.</p><p></p><p>National leaders and advocacy groups say they see a widening rift between a military at war and a public at peace, distracted by a sputtering economy and weary of hearing about Iraq and Afghanistan.</p><p></p><p>"Not every American knows what a &#8230; Gold Star family is," first lady Michelle Obama said recently when she unveiled a Gold Star Christmas tree at the White House.</p><p></p><p>"Americans &#8230; often don't realize that these people are right here among us," says Ami Neiberger-Miller, a spokeswoman for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit that helps military families who lose loved ones.</p><p></p><p>Public displays of gratitude and generosity can be seen throughout the country: the lines that greet deploying troops at an airport in Bangor, Maine; initiatives to build specially adapted homes for the severely wounded; campaigns to encourage hiring veterans. Non-profit groups, such as the Wounded Warrior Project and Semper Fi Fund, that assist injured troops have sprung up.</p><p></p><p>But much of what the military endures is lost on the public, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now-retired admiral Michael Mullen told a West Point graduating class this year.</p><p></p><p>"I fear they do not know us," he said.</p><p></p><p>Fewer than 1% of Americans are in the military today, compared with 10% during World War II. "Things were so different then," says Marie Speer, 90, whose husband, Pvt. Edward "Eddie" Jordan, was killed fighting in Germany in 1944, when she was 23.</p><p></p><p>Gold Star banners hung from countless homes and Americans were keenly sensitive to the meaning, says Speer, who founded Gold Star Wives of America in April 1945. "Everybody was involved in the war and it was something uppermost in everyone's mind."</p><p></p><p>War syncopated the rhythm of life back then: victory gardens growing in backyards, scrap drives, gasoline rationing and celebrities selling war bonds.</p><p></p><p>Today, 83% of Americans say veterans and military families "have made a lot of sacrifices since 9/11" while 43% of Americans say the same of the public's sacrifices since the attacks, according to a recent Pew Research Survey.</p><p></p><p>However, the survey shows that fewer than half (47%) of Americans say the military has sacrificed more than the public, and of those 71% say the sacrifice of servicemembers is part of being in the military.</p><p></p><p>And while a majority of Americans say they have expressed their admiration for veterans directly, 84% of veterans say the public does not understand the problems faced by servicemembers or their families - and the public (71%) agrees.</p><p></p><p>To have a family member serve in the military, much less be wounded or killed in combat, is a growing rarity in American society. Pew Research found that among Americans ages 18 to 29, a third say they have an immediate family member in the military. Researchers attribute the trend to the nation's shrinking forces, as a smaller share of Americans currently serve in uniform than an any time since the peace-era between World Wars I and II.</p><p></p><p>Last month, when an intercollegiate legislature met at the Oklahoma state Capitol to honor Christopher Horton, delegate Philip Jackson noticed Jane's pin after it was pointed out to him.</p><p></p><p>"That's the Gold Star," he said. "I had no idea."</p><p></p><p>A shocking death with few details</p><p></p><p>From the moment there was a hard, double-rap on the door of Jane Horton's home in this Tulsa suburb the night of Sept. 9, her life roiled in ways that her civilian friends could not possibly comprehend. One instant she was churning brownie batter in a mixer and the next she was plunged into shock and bewilderment.</p><p></p><p>Christopher, Jane was told, died from a bullet wound to the head. But she wondered how this could be. He was the skilled sniper - how could he have been the target?</p><p></p><p>Christopher was so certain he would survive the war, and now he was gone.</p><p></p><p>When Jane entered a room at the Floral Haven Funeral Home in nearby Broken Arrow and caught sight of her husband's profile in a casket, she first recognized the eyelashes, and wept.</p><p></p><p>"He had the longest eyelashes I've ever seen and he had the most beautiful eyes."</p><p></p><p>He looked so tranquil it was unsettling, Jane recalls. She wanted very much to know how he could have been killed.</p><p></p><p>When average Americans experience a death in the family, answers about what happened are commonly quick. The Army told Jane it would take up to 60 days before she received an investigative report on her husband's death. She has yet to receive an official report.</p><p></p><p>Yet stories swirled within the Guard community about how he died.</p><p></p><p>"Everyone's calling home telling their wives," Jane recalls. "I just wanted to know what the heck happened to him."</p><p></p><p>She did what war widows do - piece together rumor, media reports, a mortician's observations and what soldiers who served with Christopher would confide, some by phone from Afghanistan.</p><p></p><p>A story emerged: Christopher, 26, was part of a nine-member squad that set up for hours in a mud-walled outpost near the Pakistan border. A small number of Taliban managed to sneak up, round a corner and open fire with automatic weapons. Christopher was shot through the left eye. He was not on watch and may have been dozing when it happened. Two other soldiers also died. Attackers were killed trying to flee.</p><p></p><p>After prodding the Army for more information, Jane received a copy last month of the autopsy report. She learned he had been shot four times in the attack, including a wound to the head.</p><p></p><p>The information was strangely comforting. "He was instantly gone and didn't have a chance to respond," Jane says. "I'm very thankful he had no chance to think about what happened to him."</p><p></p><p>Artifacts of an Army life</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DC, post: 1687908, member: 480"] This is the story that accompanied the article.....sl i can say is WOW...... if most folks only knew what it is like for a family member to get even a glimpse of the real story. "It's like an outward expression of a burden carried deep inside," Jane says about an emblem Congress created after World War II for those who lost loved ones to war. Except that no one today seems to know what it means. PHOTOS: Remembering a fall soldier INTERACTIVE: American casualties in Iraq, Afghanistan "I've never been asked about it. Ever," she says. As the 26-year-old widow of an Oklahoma National Guard soldier killed in combat, it is another reason Jane says she feels a world apart from other Americans. She sensed it standing on an airport tarmac as her husband's body was unloaded from the belly of an aircraft. She could see the faces staring down from the jetway windows above, parents holding children and pointing. "I definitely feel there's a disconnect," she says. National leaders and advocacy groups say they see a widening rift between a military at war and a public at peace, distracted by a sputtering economy and weary of hearing about Iraq and Afghanistan. "Not every American knows what a … Gold Star family is," first lady Michelle Obama said recently when she unveiled a Gold Star Christmas tree at the White House. "Americans … often don't realize that these people are right here among us," says Ami Neiberger-Miller, a spokeswoman for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), a non-profit that helps military families who lose loved ones. Public displays of gratitude and generosity can be seen throughout the country: the lines that greet deploying troops at an airport in Bangor, Maine; initiatives to build specially adapted homes for the severely wounded; campaigns to encourage hiring veterans. Non-profit groups, such as the Wounded Warrior Project and Semper Fi Fund, that assist injured troops have sprung up. But much of what the military endures is lost on the public, then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and now-retired admiral Michael Mullen told a West Point graduating class this year. "I fear they do not know us," he said. Fewer than 1% of Americans are in the military today, compared with 10% during World War II. "Things were so different then," says Marie Speer, 90, whose husband, Pvt. Edward "Eddie" Jordan, was killed fighting in Germany in 1944, when she was 23. Gold Star banners hung from countless homes and Americans were keenly sensitive to the meaning, says Speer, who founded Gold Star Wives of America in April 1945. "Everybody was involved in the war and it was something uppermost in everyone's mind." War syncopated the rhythm of life back then: victory gardens growing in backyards, scrap drives, gasoline rationing and celebrities selling war bonds. Today, 83% of Americans say veterans and military families "have made a lot of sacrifices since 9/11" while 43% of Americans say the same of the public's sacrifices since the attacks, according to a recent Pew Research Survey. However, the survey shows that fewer than half (47%) of Americans say the military has sacrificed more than the public, and of those 71% say the sacrifice of servicemembers is part of being in the military. And while a majority of Americans say they have expressed their admiration for veterans directly, 84% of veterans say the public does not understand the problems faced by servicemembers or their families - and the public (71%) agrees. To have a family member serve in the military, much less be wounded or killed in combat, is a growing rarity in American society. Pew Research found that among Americans ages 18 to 29, a third say they have an immediate family member in the military. Researchers attribute the trend to the nation's shrinking forces, as a smaller share of Americans currently serve in uniform than an any time since the peace-era between World Wars I and II. Last month, when an intercollegiate legislature met at the Oklahoma state Capitol to honor Christopher Horton, delegate Philip Jackson noticed Jane's pin after it was pointed out to him. "That's the Gold Star," he said. "I had no idea." A shocking death with few details From the moment there was a hard, double-rap on the door of Jane Horton's home in this Tulsa suburb the night of Sept. 9, her life roiled in ways that her civilian friends could not possibly comprehend. One instant she was churning brownie batter in a mixer and the next she was plunged into shock and bewilderment. Christopher, Jane was told, died from a bullet wound to the head. But she wondered how this could be. He was the skilled sniper - how could he have been the target? Christopher was so certain he would survive the war, and now he was gone. When Jane entered a room at the Floral Haven Funeral Home in nearby Broken Arrow and caught sight of her husband's profile in a casket, she first recognized the eyelashes, and wept. "He had the longest eyelashes I've ever seen and he had the most beautiful eyes." He looked so tranquil it was unsettling, Jane recalls. She wanted very much to know how he could have been killed. When average Americans experience a death in the family, answers about what happened are commonly quick. The Army told Jane it would take up to 60 days before she received an investigative report on her husband's death. She has yet to receive an official report. Yet stories swirled within the Guard community about how he died. "Everyone's calling home telling their wives," Jane recalls. "I just wanted to know what the heck happened to him." She did what war widows do - piece together rumor, media reports, a mortician's observations and what soldiers who served with Christopher would confide, some by phone from Afghanistan. A story emerged: Christopher, 26, was part of a nine-member squad that set up for hours in a mud-walled outpost near the Pakistan border. A small number of Taliban managed to sneak up, round a corner and open fire with automatic weapons. Christopher was shot through the left eye. He was not on watch and may have been dozing when it happened. Two other soldiers also died. Attackers were killed trying to flee. After prodding the Army for more information, Jane received a copy last month of the autopsy report. She learned he had been shot four times in the attack, including a wound to the head. The information was strangely comforting. "He was instantly gone and didn't have a chance to respond," Jane says. "I'm very thankful he had no chance to think about what happened to him." Artifacts of an Army life [/QUOTE]
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