One of the primary reasons our military exists is to provide security.\u00a0 That’s true whether you’re talking about the nation in general, or to specific individuals or facilities in a combat zone.<\/p>\n
Sometimes people die doing that job.\u00a0 And while that hurts – especially for the family and friends of those lost – it’s something that can’t always be prevented.\u00a0 It’s a risk inherent to the profession.<\/p>\n
Over time, memories of such sacrifices fade.\u00a0 The fact of such sacrifices, while not forgotten, dims in or is lost to society’s collective memory.<\/p>\n
In November 2004, two Kansas ARNG soldiers – SFC Clayton Wisdom<\/a> and SGT Don Clary <\/a>– were KIA in Iraq.\u00a0\u00a0 They died when a suicide bomber attacked a convoy transporting a group of staff members from the Iraq Survey Group and the Defense Intelligence Agency.<\/p>\n SFC Wisdom and SGT Clary were among those providing security for the convoy.\u00a0 During convoy operations they’d placed their vehicle between the convoy and another vehicle, preventing it from approaching the rest of the convoy.\u00a0 They were killed when the suicide bomber in that other vehicle detonated his bomb.<\/p>\n Their remains were repatriated.\u00a0 Their funerals were held.\u00a0 The matter, while not forgotten, faded from our memory.<\/p>\n That’s simply the norm.\u00a0 And that’s normally where the story would end.<\/p>\n Except this time, someone they were protecting thought their sacrifice should be publicly recognized – and the memory of that sacrifice preserved for posterity.<\/p>\n The Defense Intelligence Agency maintains a memorial for those Agency personnel who died in line of duty<\/a> at their Headquarters on Joint Base Anacosta-Bolling.\u00a0 DIA has announced it will\u00a0add SFC Wisdom’s and SGT Clary’s name to that memorial<\/a> to honor their sacrifice, as they were killed while defending DIA personnel.<\/p>\n Thanks for remembering, DIA.\u00a0 Many thanks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Note:\u00a0 the first two links show SFC Wisdom and SGT Clary as SSG Wisdom and SPC Clary; the last linked article indicates their ranks as SFC and SGT, respectively.\u00a0 Apparently both received posthumous promotions.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"