[Peace-discuss] Obama is a pig

[C. G. Estabrook]

   Mother's final duty to soldier son -- escort his body home

   Spc. Stephan Mace was one of eight who died in October 3 battle in Afghanistan
   Vanessa Adelson: "It was my responsibility as a mother to bring him home"
   Residents of Purcellville, Virginia, join Adelson in mourning loss of Mace
   Mace gave his St. Christopher medal to fellow soldiers before he died

   By Rachel Streitfeld CNN

PURCELLVILLE, Virginia (CNN) -- When the Army flew home the body of Spc. Stephan 
Mace from Afghanistan, his mother climbed aboard a small jet with the 
flag-draped coffin for the last leg of his trip.

Vanessa Adelson would not let her 21-year-old son make his final journey home alone.

"I brought him into this world, and he was my baby," she said. "I thought it was 
my responsibility as a mother to bring him home."

Mace and seven other soldiers were killed this month in a Taliban attack on 
their remote outpost in eastern Afghanistan, making it the deadliest battle for 
U.S. troops in Afghanistan since July 2008.

All eight were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade 
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Carson, Colorado.

The October 3 battle saw Taliban insurgents at one point surging past the outer 
perimeter of Forward Operating Base Keating in Afghanistan's Kamdesh District. 
The battle lasted about 12 hours, with the most ferocious fighting raging for 
about seven hours.

The base, in a valley, is surrounded by ridge lines where the insurgents were 
able to fire down at U.S. and Afghan troops. The facility had been scheduled to 
be closed within days, CNN later learned.

Three days after the deadly fight, Mace's mother attended the Dignified Transfer 
of her son, then returned home with him from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Since May, Mace had been on his first deployment in Afghanistan, following a 
childhood dream of joining the Army. He planned to continue his career in 
service after his Army stint by joining the Department of Homeland Security or 
the CIA, his mother said.

Instead, he will be buried Monday in Arlington National Cemetery.

Back in Mace's small, tight-knit community in Purcellville, Virginia, many found 
it hard to believe the solemn military procession through the center of town 
earlier this month was the last they would ever see of their friend.

"If I could describe Stephan, I would picture him flying through the air on a 
dirt bike living his life on the edge," said Sam Chapman, childhood friend and 
football buddy. "If more people in this country had the passion and the 
determination and the courage that Stephan had, it would without a doubt be a 
better place. He was just a great guy."

Mace, described as a Moto Cross champion, football player, hunter and all around 
fun-loving, loyal friend, was the kind of child that coaches and teachers 
remember. And when his body was brought back to Purcellville, the community 
turned out in support. Hundreds of people lined the streets, saluting and waving 
flags as Mace's family brought him home.

"It was great to the see the kids and the families stand there and when the 
motorcade crossed the crest of the hill [into town] it was just silence.... It 
was holy," said Purcellville Mayor Robert Lazaro. "I think we wanted to say to 
the Mace family, 'Thank you. We respect what your son has done for us.' "

Mace was awarded six medals for his service, including a Bronze Star and a 
Purple Heart. But for his mother, the most precious is the medal of St. 
Christopher, the patron saint of travelers, that her son wore into battle.

She gave him the medal when he was 15 and preparing for a trip to South Africa. 
Now, after speaking to one of Mace's friends who survived the outpost attack, 
Adelson knows her son reached for that medal in his last moments. She was told 
that in his last moments alive, Mace took off his medal and gave it to his 
fellow soldiers.

"That's how Stephan was," Adelson said. "Here this kid is dying, and he was more 
worried about the other soldiers that he took his St. Christopher off and gave 
it to them."

She has also learned her son lived for about half an hour after sustaining 
wounds to the chest and leg. Adelson finds this detail comforting.

"I'm glad Stephan didn't die right away because he was allowed to give that one 
gift to his unit and give them the St. Christopher and that he also was able to 
feel God come to him and take him away," she said. "That he was able to ponder 
and have a last chance, a last moment, to think about his family and have God 
take him."

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/10/18/mother.soldier.return/index.html