Remembering Local Casualties of the Iraq War
The 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq began 10 years ago this week - on March 19, 2003 - and although officially 'over,' fighting continues with discouraging persistence.
Many are the ways to count the casualties in and from the Iraq War, which began 10 years ago this week.
By one count, the war is directly responsible for 189,000 deaths, not including those who died from hardship caused by the fighting. And that doesn't even begin to get into the injuries -- physical and/or mental -- that persist or the relationships forever altered. These are our scars, worn by the brave men and women who fought an unpopular war and the families still fighting for them.
In all, 4,802 Americans and allies have died in the war, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, including 77 from Massachusetts.
CNN has a stunning map of all casualties in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Among them, two people from nearby Bedford:
- PFC John Daniel Hart, 20, one of two soldiers killed when their patrol was ambushed with rocket-propelled grenades and small firearms in Qutash, Oct. 18, 2003
- Lance Cpl. Travis Reid Desiato, 19, died as a result of enemy action in Falluja, Nov. 15, 2004.
