A few days ago we got a vivid reminder of the danger our troops face in Afghanistan and Iraq.
A soldier from Bossier City, Michael J. Garcia, was killed by an I.E. D., an Improvised Explosive Device, while on duty in Afghanistan. He died on the Fourth of July.
Soldiers who served with him personally wrote and article about their fallen comrade and it was emailed to me. Here is some of what they had to say about Army Staff Sergeant Michael Garcia.
His commander, Capt. Aaron Teller said, "Staff Sgt. Garcia simply drove on to get the mission done." "Regardless of complexity or roadblocks, he never stopped until he had accomplished his mission," Teller added.
Sgt. First Class, Willis Fontenot of Mamou, Louisiana said, "Garcia was always known to look at the positive side of people and the positive side of things." "When something went wrong or didn't seem to work out, he never got rattled or lost his temper, he simply fixed it and moved on," Fontenot said.
Specialist Dwayne Rhymes of Conroe, Texas remembered his fallen comrade as, "A good friend who was a fun person to be around."
As the war in Iraq and Afghanistan winds down and troops are slowly brought home, those on the front lines remain in a life and death situation.
Sgt. Garcia of Bossier City is one of many from the Ark-La-Tex who have fought and died in service to our country. We must continue to honor and support them with the same vigor as we did when the War on Terror began after 9/11.
I'm James Smith.
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