Michelle Malkin » #thankyouaaron: An update

#thankyouaaron: An update

By Michelle Malkin • July 6, 2009 02:34 PM

Some people said it was a hoax.

It was most certainly not.

The Seattle Times has a story on Army Private Aaron Fairbairn, who was killed by a jihadi suicide bomber on his base in eastern Afghanistan over the weekend. Read the whole account here:

David Masters and his wife, Shelley, laughed in relief Friday when they learned their son, an Army private in Afghanistan, was just fine, busy working out and watching videos his family had sent.

Then, on Saturday, Fourth of July morning, an Army chaplain and soldier showed up at their Aberdeen house and told him Pvt. Aaron Fairbairn, 21, had been fatally injured in a truck bombing. Based on news accounts, Masters believes Fairbairn was one of two soldiers fatally injured when a Taliban insurgent drove an explosives-filled truck through the gates of a U.S. base in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province.

The Department of Defense has yet to confirm the identities of the two killed.

The news was devastating for a family that had come together a decade ago in a union mirroring the “Brady Bunch” clan: The marriage was the second for both Masters and his wife, who each had three kids roughly the same age. Fairbairn was Masters’ stepson.

“If there’s any day when you’re going to make that kind of sacrifice … ” Masters said, his voice tearfully trailing away. Finally, he said: “I realize Aaron’s just one guy coming home not sitting in a seat. Lots of other guys have made that same sacrifice.”

Indeed. Just in today:

Bombs and bullets killed seven American troops throughout Afghanistan Monday, officials said, as thousands of U.S. Marines continued with their massive anti-Taliban offensive in the south.

A suicide car bomber also blew himself up outside the gate of the main NATO base in the region, killing two civilians and wounding 14 other people.

In an effort to protect Afghans, American troops also recently received new guidelines limiting use of airstrikes in order to minimize civilian casualties that threaten local support of foreign forces’ presence.

The seven American deaths came as thousands of U.S. Marines continued with their major offensive against the Taliban in Helmand province, a southern militant stronghold and hub of the vast Afghan drugs trade. It is the biggest U.S. military operation since the ouster of the Taliban from power in 2001.

Four U.S. soldiers died when their vehicles struck a roadside bomb in Kunduz province in the north, said Navy Chief Petty Officer Brian Naranjo, a U.S. military spokesman. The dead were training Afghan forces, Naranjo said.

In comparison to the country’s south and east, northern Afghanistan is relatively quiet. But roadside and other insurgent attacks have been increasing in the last few years, as the militant’s step up their operations.

In the south, meanwhile, another explosion killed two more American troops, Naranjo said, without providing details of the exact location of the blast.

Another American soldier died of wounds sustained during a firefight Monday with militants in the east of the country, a U.S. military spokesman said, without providing other details.

***
Fox News noted the Internet support for Pvt. Fairbairn’s family this morning.

Pvt. Fairbairn’s stepfather continues to keep his memory and legacy alive on Twitter.

#thankyouaaron.

***

Previous: Thank you, Aaron: A U.S. soldier’s sacrifice on Independence Day

Posted in: Afghanistan

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#738162

On July 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pm, no2pcbs1 said:

Private Aaron Fairbairn, I salute you. I can’t imagine what your parents must be going through, I will keep them in my prayers. And you young man, RIP.
#738166

On July 6th, 2009 at 2:52 pm, Ragspierre said:

The Collectivists couldn’t possibly count enough fallen Americans during the Bush years.

Now, are they calling news of the death of American troops under THE ONE a hoax?

How sick are these people?
#738177

On July 6th, 2009 at 3:07 pm, rjbjrirish said:

On July 6th, 2009 at 2:52 pm, Ragspierre said:
The Collectivists couldn’t possibly count enough fallen Americans during the Bush years.

Now, are they calling news of the death of American troops under THE ONE a hoax?

How sick are these people?

So sick that not event the Chosen One’s health care plan would cover them.
#738179

On July 6th, 2009 at 3:08 pm, purplepeep said:

I don’t “tweet”, but my love and deepest respect goes to Aaron, his family and to all the fine men & women who risk life and limb for me and you.
#738203

On July 6th, 2009 at 3:22 pm, tre said:

Soldier! Your duty here is done! Report to General George Washington at your new post in Heaven!

Rest in peace, Private Aaron Fairbairn. My prayers are with your family.
#738259

On July 6th, 2009 at 4:01 pm, Texhoma said:

Thank you, AAron.
#738365

On July 6th, 2009 at 5:31 pm, floridaobserver said:

God bless you and your family for your great sacrifice.
#738547

On July 6th, 2009 at 8:26 pm, KCK said:

Well, when I wore that same rank, I served in the NG in Aberdeen, WA. I am moved by the loss of this young soldier, and want to wish the family of PFC Fairbairn sad condolences.

Nothing will ever replace this great kid, but our love for him is better understood now that we know who he is and where he is from. I know the people in Grays Harbor will remember Aaron forever.
#738666

On July 6th, 2009 at 10:35 pm, Leatherneck said:

Sometimes, the enemy will kill a few Marines. However, the Marine Corp will destroy every enemy in it’s path to victory.

The enemy has no chance.
#738673

On July 6th, 2009 at 10:45 pm, travlinman said:

I joined Twitter just to add my Tweet for Aaron.

I apologize for erroneously concluding that his last name was Masters.

God Bless all of the family. RIP Aaron Fairbairn.
#738703

On July 6th, 2009 at 11:50 pm, sbw999 said:

We are fighting too surgical a war, and are dying from a thousand cuts. With this Country’s military might, there is no reason why we are in our 8th year in this backwards place. We are holding back, and our soldiers are dying because of it. Either fight to win, or let’s just get out.
#738747

On July 7th, 2009 at 2:16 am, Common Sense said:

RIP Aaron.

I read the book “The Afghan Campaign” by Steven Pressfield last year. If you didn’t know when it takes place, you would think it was today’s Afghanistan. It wasn’t, it’s Afghanistan in the time of Alexander the Great.

I fear we’re doomed to failure, regardless of how bravely our men fight to win. If Alexander the Great, a superior general with no rules of engagement to follow, couldn’t subdue the region and build a government out of disparate tribes and families, what makes us think we can? The Russians (and many others) failed as well and you can’t tell me they were fighting a “kinder gentler” war.

I couldn’t find the quote, but the main character in the book points out that the Afghan people have been living that way for 2000 years – killing each other as well as people from other lands, treating their women worse than their livestock, etc. And that was 2000 before his time of Alexander the Great. That’s 4000 years ago for us.

Can we really overcome 4000 years of tribal history and modernize the region, especially when we handicap our soldiers with strict rules of engagement? The people in this part of the world usually view kindness and generosity as weakness. They have said as much. Is it worth the lives of our soldiers?
#738851

On July 7th, 2009 at 8:24 am, radio relay said:

Finally, he said: “I realize Aaron’s just one guy coming home not sitting in a seat. Lots of other guys have made that same sacrifice.”

Sadly, that is so true!

It is why we who are their beneficiaries must live lives that honor their sacrifice.