Today, May 25th, is my own personal Memorial Day. Only I call it "No Bad Wine Day". There's a good reason for both statements.
Three years ago, two of my friends and co-workers at the embassy in Baghdad were killed. Terry Barnich and Maged Hussein were part of a group visiting the massive Fallujah waste-water treatment plant. Their armored vehicle was destroyed by an IED and they, and Navy CDR Duane Wolfe, lost their lives in an instant.
I wrote a blog post about the incident that described Terry and Maged, as well as my thoughts on losing them. No need to reiterate that here. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who've made the ultimate sacrifice, and to me, May 25th will always be my own personal Memorial Day.
The "No Bad Wine" bit still needs an explanation, doesn't it? Well, blame it on Terry. Sometime previously, Terry had had a close call from a rocket attack. It made him stop and think about a number of important issues in life. One of the conclusions he came to was: "Life is short. I will never drink bad wine again."
So in honor of Terry and Maged, May 25th is "No Bad Wine" day. I normally tip a glass of fine wine (for Terry) and a glass of clean water (for Maged) in their memory. The wine is impossible for me this year, but the water isn't.
So pour your own in memory of two men who made one hell of a difference.
Three years ago, two of my friends and co-workers at the embassy in Baghdad were killed. Terry Barnich and Maged Hussein were part of a group visiting the massive Fallujah waste-water treatment plant. Their armored vehicle was destroyed by an IED and they, and Navy CDR Duane Wolfe, lost their lives in an instant.
I wrote a blog post about the incident that described Terry and Maged, as well as my thoughts on losing them. No need to reiterate that here. Memorial Day is a day to remember those who've made the ultimate sacrifice, and to me, May 25th will always be my own personal Memorial Day.
The "No Bad Wine" bit still needs an explanation, doesn't it? Well, blame it on Terry. Sometime previously, Terry had had a close call from a rocket attack. It made him stop and think about a number of important issues in life. One of the conclusions he came to was: "Life is short. I will never drink bad wine again."
So in honor of Terry and Maged, May 25th is "No Bad Wine" day. I normally tip a glass of fine wine (for Terry) and a glass of clean water (for Maged) in their memory. The wine is impossible for me this year, but the water isn't.
So pour your own in memory of two men who made one hell of a difference.
Stay safe over there Skip! We love you!
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