SFC James E. Thode

[happyone]

I appreciate all the thoughts expressed. CS presented another mode for me to be able to verbalize and express what I was keeping inside otherwise. It helped.

Wuap, I appreciate your honest and articulated thoughts. Let me give you just one soldier's point of view. It's not something we talk about to each other much, so I couldn't tell you what the average soldier thinks. I do get thanked quite often when I'm out in public in uniform. I don't remember people doing this very often before 9/11. It took a little getting used to at first. It was a little awkward at first, but people seem sincere, so I appreciate what they're trying to express. Actually, if I can tell they're a veteran from say WWII, I feel more awkward about it. I mean those guys are the rock stars of all veterans. Perhaps a little more awkward for me is when someone pays for my meal. I do appreciate the gesture, but my pride gets to me a little.

I didn't know how to respond at first, but I've come up with three responses that I choose from. It's an honor to serve. It's a privilege to serve. Thank you for your support. And then if I happen to be out with my wife I'll deflect the expression somewhat by pointing to my wife and saying that she's the real hero. So I'd be interested to hear from others how they'd respond to any of those three responses if they were to get that from me.

Bo -

Thank you for your service. It's been 30 yrs since I got out and I never got the chance to play army "for real", but I did lose a close friend in the Newfoundland crash. It still hurts. Plus growing up as an Army brat at the height of Viet Nam, the family lost more than one "adopted" son. They also still hurt in many ways

Again Thnx for serving

[Bo Diddley]

Bo -

Thank you for your service. It's been 30 yrs since I got out and I never got the chance to play army "for real", but I did lose a close friend in the Newfoundland crash. It still hurts. Plus growing up as an Army brat at the height of Viet Nam, the family lost more than one "adopted" son. They also still hurt in many ways

Again Thnx for serving

Likewise.

I remember sometime in the summer of 2001 thinking that it would be great to put in 20 years and retire, never having gone to war. I got right after the first Gulf War. That would mean that we were living in relative peace. Of course 9/11 changed all that, and it really is a different world.

I suppose in a way I'm fortunate not to have lost more friends in war. But we did sacrifice our very best in Jim Thode.

[Bo Diddley]

Five years ago, a good friend of mine, Sergeant First Class James Thode (Doc) was killed in Khost, Afghanistan. His unit had the unenviable task of route clearance. Their job was to find and remove any threats along the routes like improvised explosive devices. On December 2, 2010, Doc was killed by one of the IEDs they found.

My world was rocked when I got the phone call from Sapper J. The next several days were and remain a fog to me. The funeral was in Farmington, New Mexico. The flag draped casket seemed to me to be slightly undersized, as if, because of the heavy damage from the IED, he didn’t need a regular sized casket, thus underscoring his violent end. I haven’t been able to fully wrap my head around the whole thing.

Anguish. Anger. Hate.

I’ve spent the morning reviewing emails and pictures he sent back from Afghanistan, and just generally contemplating what his sacrifice meant in real tangible terms. I have to say that there are no easy answers to that question.

Ten years. As I think back on it, it still seems like yesterday, but with less anger, hate and anguish. Time has helped the healing.

The timing is interesting as we continue to draw down and anticipate ending the mission in Afghanistan. I have hoped against hope that the people there could move forward in a meaningful way so that his sacrifice would have more meaning.

Thode.jpg

[Eddie]

The History Channel had a Band of Brothers marathon the day after Thanksgiving that I ended up watching nearly all of while doing some projects I could do in the same room.

Your comments today, Bo - specifically related to giving more meaning to those who were lost - reminded me of the "Last Patrol" episode. Where a group is sent across the river to take prisoners for interrogation. After the success of the first mission, the Lt. Col. is bragging about how well they did and orders a second patrol for the next night.

At one point in the conversation, the question is asked "He knows we lost a man?" To the response "Yes."

There's an element of weighing cost against benefit that just isn't the same when you look at casualties as numbers - minimal as they may seem at times - and not as individuals, like your friend. War is a horrible thing. It's horrible that it is sometimes necessary. The losses and consequences are horrible as well. I hope we are always weighing the cost by looking at individuals and not numbers in making decisions. And I hope, like you, that there is meaning for those who have lost anyone dear to them in places like Afghanistan. God bless.

[Katy Lied]

Bo, sorry for your (and our nation's) loss.

[Bo Diddley]

Really well said, Eddie.

Bo, sorry for your (and our nation's) loss.

Thanks, KL.

[Bo Diddley]

Just really missing this guy today.

[Pelado]

Just really missing this guy today.

Sorry, Bo.

[Joe Public]

[Bo Diddley]

Happy Birthday, Doc! You would have turned 57 today. It's true time has a way of healing wounds. These tears are less tears of sadness and more of gratitude for the time we shared together.

[Bo Diddley]

It was 14 years ago I got the call that rocked my world. It's a bitter pill to swallow considering how the mission in Afghanistan came and went, following much of the same script as Vietnam. We just can't learn from our mistakes, and what a cost!

[Goatnapper'96]

It was 14 years ago I got the call that rocked my world. It's a bitter pill to swallow considering how the mission in Afghanistan came and went, following much of the same script as Vietnam. We just can't learn from our mistakes, and what a cost!

But what a life he lived. He willingly accepted the call to protect others. Along the way he earned the trust of those appointed over him and the trust of those he led. He had something he believed in so deeply that he valued it more than his own life. That alone is a great blessing. Along the way he participated in a brotherhood that most will never experience and was able to put his life in others hands and they requited that love and trust. Citizens of his nation will mourn his loss and celebrate his life as long as our Republic stands but my guess if and when you get to meet him again in the eternal world he will still lucidly recognize all he got out of the deal and honestly claim his sacrifice blessed him with more than it took.

[Bo Diddley]

But what a life he lived. He willingly accepted the call to protect others. Along the way he earned the trust of those appointed over him and the trust of those he led. He had something he believed in so deeply that he valued it more than his own life. That alone is a great blessing. Along the way he participated in a brotherhood that most will never experience and was able to put his life in others hands and they requited that love and trust. Citizens of his nation will mourn his loss and celebrate his life as long as our Republic stands but my guess if and when you get to meet him again in the eternal world he will still lucidly recognize all he got out of the deal and honestly claim his sacrifice blessed him with more than it took.

Well said, Brother Napper!