Four years ago today, I had the honor of standing in this narrow alleyway in Ramadi with Gold Star father John Wroblewski, USMC Major General John Kelly, and PSD Company to perform a memorial service for the 11 Marines and Navy Corpman who were killed here in an April 6, 2004 ambush. We must never forget the sacrifices that these volunteer warriors and their families made that April day. Freedom is not free! As long as I am alive, I will never forget these men and what they gave up that morning 12 years ago in Iraq.
Recently, John Wroblewski and I discussed collaborating on a book about our two trips to Iraq to honor these heroes and their families. The book will be titled, "A Father's Journey to Iraq." It will feature interviews with the Marines who participated in the March 6, 2008 memorial service, as well as details about the only successful trip ever made by a Gold Star parent to the actual site where they lost their child in combat, along with hundreds of photographs taken during the trips in 2007 and 2008. I am also reaching out to those Marines that served with John's son, USMC 2Lt. J.T. Wroblewski for their accounts of the actual combat that took place on April 6, 2004. Please send me a message if you would like your remembrances or photographs of these brave men to be included in the book.
Most of the proceeds from the book will be used to establish a scholarship fund for the surviving children of the men killed in action on April 6, 2004. We ask that you keep the survivors of J.T.'s unit, and the families of the fallen in prayer during this time.
