Fort Carson Quietly Mourns War Deaths

By Jeff Brady NPR

As the White House considers the country’s future role in Afghanistan, U.S. soldiers continue to fight and die there.

Eight soldiers, all from a single unit stationed at Fort Carson, died on Oct. 3 when their outpost in Afghanistan was attacked. The men ranged from 21 to 30 years old. The attack came just a few days shy of the eighth anniversary of the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan.

Outside Fort Carson’s main entrance near Colorado Springs, there are no flowers, candles or any other sign that this base recently suffered the largest number of deaths in a single battle since the Vietnam War.

But on Thursday, there was one guy holding a neon green sign that read simply, "Thank you." Fred Haddock of Pueblo, Colo., says he’s stood outside Fort Carson a couple of days each year since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

"Maybe sometime, somewhere, some guy in some hell-hole — and all hell’s breaking loose — will remember that there’s one son-of-a-bitch out here that still appreciates why he’s there," says Haddock.

Military wife Heather Gravens says her husband will be deployed to Afghanistan in about a month. She says when it comes to combat deaths military families don’t have the luxury of getting emotional over each individual passing anymore.

Read more at NPR