Lo! sweeten’d with the summer light,
The full-juiced apple, waxing over-mellow,
Drops in a silent autumn night.
All its allotted length of days.
The flower ripens in its place,
Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil,
Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil.
~ Alfred Lord Tennyson, The Lotus-Eaters
Tonight we remember and honor a young Marine whose allotted length of days was much too short. Please join us in remembering and honoring Lance Cpl. Anthony Rosa of Swanton, Vermont
Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Rosa, 20, of Swanton, Vermont
Lance Cpl. Rosa died Sept. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The sugar maples are just beginning to turn in Swanton, Vermont. In bright sunlight, wisps of crimson and sear are visible. At night, all you can see are the outlines.
On Sunday night, the outlines of those trees were illuminated by what a local television station described as “a sea of candlelight,” lit in honor of Lance Cpl. Anthony “Chuckie” Rosa, who died last Thursday while serving his country in Afghanistan.
More than 100 people attended the event, which was organized by friends of the family. They decorated the park with pictures, yellow ribbons and a truck dedicated to Rosa.
(snip)
"I still have a hard time believing it happened in the first place," family friend Bill Rowell says.
Rowell was best friends with Rosa's grandfather. He says Rosa was like a son.
(snip)
"You know one of the worst things is, I hoped to have his kids on my knee but we won't have that opportunity," Rowell says.
Source ~ Fox 44
The village of Swanton – which sits in the northwest of Vermont, near Lake Champlain, was home to about 650 families at the time of the last census. Tonight, it is, communally, in shock.
"I heard about it this morning. I was like no way. I was really shocked. I actually made another phone call to confirm because I didn't want to believe it," said Chris Ste. Marie of Ste. Marie's Deli & Quick Stop.
(snip)
Everyone called Rosa "Chuckie" around his hometown of Swanton. In high school he worked at Ste. Marie's Deli and Quick Stop in the heart of the downtown.
"Chuckie was the type of kid even before he joined the service it was yes sir or yes ma'am, very polite kid, down to earth, really well liked by everybody. A lot of friends, one of the popular kids in school, well known throughout the community," Ste. Marie said.
Ste. Marie says the Corporal's mother stopped in the other night. She had just heard from her son. He had reportedly been in remote areas of the war-torn country and was unable to talk to his family at home.
(snip)
Cpl. Rosa had asked his mom for some care packages.
"One of his requests was some of the guys in his platoon-- their families had never sent them anything; no letters, no care packages. So she was buying stuff for them to honor Chuckie's wish, he felt bad for them," Ste. Marie said.
(snip)
Rosa graduated from Missisquoi Valley Union High School in 2008. He was a member of the golf team. His classmates honored him his senior year in the yearbook, declaring his smile and laugh the best amongst his classmates. His sister still attends the school.
(snip)
"Amazing smile, true gentleman, amazing personality, truly a hero, will be remembered forever, one person said the sweetest person I have ever known," Franklin Northwest Supervisory Union Superintendent Jack McCarthy said.
Source ~ WCAX
Video ~ WCAX
"In a small state like ours, we Vermonters are all hit hard by this news. Marcelle and I offer his family and friends our deepest sympathies,” U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt, said in a statement Friday afternoon.
"Another Vermonter has paid the ultimate sacrifice in our country's longest war,” said Bernie Sanders, Vermont’s junior U.S. senator. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends here in Vermont and with the brave men and women he served with in Afghanistan."
"It is with great sadness and shock that Vermont learns of the loss of yet another young soldier who gave his life for his country,” Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt, said. “By all accounts, Lance Corporal Rosa loved life, loved Vermont and loved his country. His loss is a heartbreaking blow -- to the town of Swanton, to the state of Vermont and, most devastatingly, to his family. My thoughts and prayers are with them."
Source ~ St Albans Messenger
For his family and friends, the loss of Lance Cpl. Rosa is incalculable.
Bill Rowell, a close friend of Rosa’s family, said he went by the name Chuckie, a nickname given to him by his grandfather.
“The kid grew up on my knee,’’ he told the Burlington Free Press.
Source ~ Boston Globe
Lance Cpl. Rosa is survived by his parents and his sister. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Thank you, Lance Cpl. Rosa. Godspeed. Your mission is done.
* * * * *
Remember them. Honor their sacrifice.
To date, 4424 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. The death toll thus far in 2010 is 54.
To date, 1305 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. The death toll thus far for 2010 is 358. 804 members of the military from other countries have also lost their lives.
Assisting our military: Supporting our troops is the RIGHT THING to do.
You can contribute:
You can send a care package. Please consider brightening the day of a soldier with a care package.
You can write letters.
You can send a cup of organic coffee.
You can find other ways to give at anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, please see Fisher House’s Hero Miles program.
You can help the left-behind animal companions of our troops. See how here.
And don’t forget them when they get home! Read welcomebackveterans.org to learn what you can do. Visit VoteVets and IAVA.
Were you or someone you know stop-lossed? Compensation is available. Read about it, here. The deadline for this program is October 21. The compensation is also available to survivors.
About the IGTNT series:
(Our beautiful logo was created by kossack Timroff. Thank you, Timroff.)
The purpose of the I Got the News Today series is to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. It is one of the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, Proud Mom and Grandma, CalNM, Wide Awake in KY, maggiejean, racheltracks, JaxDem and me, noweasels.
If you would like to contribute to the series, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal, or me, noweasels.
To see what these tributes mean to those who have lost a loved one in Iraq or Afghanistan, please read Sandy on Signal’s story about meeting the father of a soldier at NN10.
As you read this diary, please consider that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it and that many members of our community have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or have loved ones currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. As the very proud daughter of a Navy pilot, and the granddaughter of a Marine pilot and a submariner ~ all of whom rest beneath our nation‘s flag ~ I hope that the comments tonight will demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families. Please reserve political and other comments for appropriate diaries; this is not one of them.