Two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan took 14 American lives earlier today.

In Colorado Springs today, Staff Sgt. Glen Hale Stivison Jr. was laid to rest. He was killed on Oct. 15 when a roadside bomb exploded, killing him and three other soldiers:

Six-year-old Andrew Stivison stood tall to receive the folded flag, returned the general’s salute, and then hugged the flag to his chest, a reminder of a fallen father who was known for his bear hugs.

Staff Sgt. Glen Hale Stivison Jr. loved the Pittsburgh Steelers, John Wayne, karaoke, Johnny Cash, and Oreo cookies. But most of all the gentle giant loved his wife, Eryn, and sons William Blaze, 8, and Andrew, friends recalled at his funeral and burial on Monday.

Staff Sgt. Glen Hale Stivison Jr. loved the Pittsburgh Steelers, John Wayne, karaoke, Johnny Cash, and Oreo cookies. But most of all the gentle giant loved his wife, Eryn, and sons William Blaze, 8, and Andrew, friends recalled at his funeral and burial on Monday.

…Stivison’s uncle, Cody Leaver, said that instead of saying “hello,” Stivison’s standard greeting was “What can I do for you?”

他是认真的。

记住 Combat Outpost Keating Relief Fund that so many of you contributed to earlier this month? The 美国军团 raised a total of $50,000 from generous donors like you — which was matched by Target:

A national veterans group has stepped in to help dozens of Fort Carson GIs who lost all of their personal gear in heavy fighting during an attack earlier this month in Afghanistan that left eight dead.

The American Legion had raised $50,000 to assist the more than 70 soldiers who lost items from iPods to socks when they were forced to call in bombs and artillery on their own positions during the Oct. 3 attack that targeted soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team at Combat Outpost Keating.

That money was backed up by a $50,000 matching grant from retailer Target Corp.

All that generosity, pouring in from several states, was driven by the hopelessness one soldier described in an e-mail, said Mark Seavey. The soldier wrote to Seavey, who writes a blog for the Legion, that he believed Americans don’t know about the war in Afghanistan and don’t care about the soldiers sent to fight there.

Seavey said the generosity sends a message to American servicemen and women: “We all care and we want to do the best for them.”

And there’s always more to do.

For several years, I’ve 参加 in the blogosphere fundraiser spearheaded by Soldiers Angels called “Project Valour-IT.”

Project Valour-IT helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Items supplied include:

It’s time again for the charity drive and I’m asking for your help in supporting Team Marines. 在这里捐款

Remember: We are the land of the free because of the brave. Support the men and women who support America.