Episode 0: Ghosts of Arlington Podcast Introduction

In this episode, I mentioned the two service members I personally knew who are buried in Arlington. 

Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark E. Stratton II was the commander of a provincial reconstruction team in Afghanistan when he was killed in an IED attack on May 26, 2009. He is buried at Arlington in Section 60, Site 8840. He was 39 years-old. Two other service members were killed that day Army Master Sergeant Blue Rowe, 33, and Senior Airman Ashton Goodman, 21. Also killed that day was the teams Afghan legal advisor, Abdul Samad. MSG Rowe is buried at Rose Hill Memorial Park in Whittier, CA, in the Garden of Commemoration II, Lot 7943, Grave 3. SrA Goodman lies Washington Park East Cemetery in Indianapolis, IN, Garden of Freedom, Lot6A, Space 1.  

LtCol Mark E. Stratton II

MSG Blue Rowe

SrA Ashton Goodman

Sen Tom Cotton left a challenge coin, Memorial Day 2018

MSG Rowe is buried in Southern California

SrA Ashton is buried in Indiana

I was Army Staff Sergeant Darrell Adams's Company Commander during our deployment with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division from early 2011 - early 2012. After the deployment we each went our separate ways. About three years later I found out that he had been killed in a motorcycle accident in Oklahoma on June 21, 2015. He was 48 years-old. He is buried at Arlington in Section 55, Site 1369.

SSG Darrell Adams in southern Afghanistan in 2011

Ghosts of Arlington Podcast is Launching

I have been thinking about hosting this podcast for some time now and figured that Memorial Day weekend was as good a time as any for my official launch. For many people, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer and a day to kick back, bar-b-que, and relax. For many that have served in the military - especially those who have served during a time of war - Memorial Day is a painful reminder of friends and loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice in service of the country.

If I am being honest with myself, I probably fall somewhere in between those two categories. While I did serve two tours in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, I did not lose anyone killed in action under my command or even in my battalion as a whole. Yes, I had Soldiers close to me wounded, but I was lucky and came through my time in uniform relatively unscathed - both physically and psychologically. I do know two people interred in Arlington and I talk a little about them in this introductory podcast.

I do want to share the story of my cousin, who is not buried at Arlington, but was lost in Afghanistan. Corporal Brett Land was killed on October 30, 2010 in southern Afghanistan while serving with the 101st Airborne Division. He died 5 months before my brigade relieved his. His daughter, who he never got to meet, was born 15 days before his death, which occurred two weeks before he was supposed to come home on R&R. I moved away from this side of my family when I was in my early-teens and honestly, I don't know if I even met Brett. I do know that I will never forget him. Corporal Land was laid to rest in Hillcrest Cemetery in Porterville, CA.

Please enjoy Memorial Day, enjoy your day off, but please take a moment to honor those whom this day memorializes in some small way.