MEMORIAL DAY, 2016
On this Memorial Day, a day for remembering those who gave their lives in service to our country, I remember Marine Corps Lance Corporal Andrew Kilpela.
Here’s why.
I never met Lance Corporal Andrew Kilpela. But on a beautiful Michigan morning in June 2005, I woke up to a story about a Marine from Fowlerville being killed in Iraq. Fowlerville is one of those small Michigan towns many know mainly from passing the highway sign. Lance Corporal Andrew Kilpela was the second Marine from this small town to die in Iraq.
By the spring of 2005, U.S. casualties were increasing. While the U.S. Armed Forces were combating the insurgents and terrorists, there was also an ongoing effort to create a stable political environment where a united government could take root. I had been in discussions to go to Iraq, as a civilian, and help with this process. During my consideration, I rationalized that if I could help create that government, then maybe peace could come sooner, and maybe one less soldier would have to go to Iraq to fight.
Andrew’s life, and his death, that June morning, moved me to act; to be part of the solution. I felt that I owed Andrew, and our country, everything that I could give to the effort. By the end of July 2005, I was in Iraq working as a civilian for a U.S. government-funded program to help create a democracy in Iraq.
While in Iraq, it was the remembrance of his sacrifice, and the sacrifice of others like him, that provided continued motivation against every obstacle we faced. As we prepared to go out to some meeting or location, the sights and sounds of war would invariably lead to moments of questioning. The sound of a round being racked into a machine gun; the tightness of my bullet proof vest; the squawk of a radio announcing our departure; the sight of a teenager on a corner holding a mobile phone. Was what I was about to go do worth a life?
Andrew Kilpela helped answer that question in those tense moments. He created a context and motivation for me, from start to finish, to be part of the solution. He had done his part, and I too owed my best.
I never met him, but I will always remember him.
Lance Corporal Andrew Kilpela died on June 10, 2005. He was 22.
With gratitude and remembrance to all the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.
