Editorial: The right message
This past Independence Day, over the objections of some local parents, the city of Littleton, Colo., dedicated a statue to a local Navy SEAL killed in combat in Afghanistan. The critics had argued that the memorial glorified violence and was inappropriate in a park only a few miles from the site of the Columbine High School massacre.
After thoughtful consideration, city leaders made the right choice, appropriately choosing July 4 as the day to honor the fallen hero.
The statue depicts Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Danny Dietz crouching and holding an M4 carbine, a pose inspired by one of the last-known photographs of him, taken before his final fateful mission in Afghanistan.
Dietz and three fellow SEALS were ambushed July 28, 2005, by Taliban forces near the top of a mountain in eastern Afghanistan.
The four sailors were the leading edge of Operation Red Wing, aimed at capturing or killing Ahmad Shah, a Taliban leader in Kunar province whose attacks had taken a heavy toll on Marines operating in the area. After a vicious, hours-long gun battle, only one SEAL survived — former Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marcus Luttrell. Dietz, Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class Matthew Axelson and SEAL team commander Lt. Michael Murphy were all killed in action. All four men were awarded the Navy Cross for heroism.
Littleton residents raised more than $42,000 in private donations to pay for the memorial. Opponents not only objected to its location, but argued that seeing Dietz with his rifle posed a psychological danger to children.
Thankfully, more rational heads prevailed. To argue that Dietz and his M4 are somehow akin to the tragic Columbine murderers is preposterous. On the contrary, it is men like Dietz who willingly risk their lives to protect the rest of us from such evil.
Whether it’s a Civil War cannon located at City Hall, a statue of a Revolutionary War soldier astride a horse in a national park, or a statue of a gunner’s mate posed with his weapon in a park in Colorado, there is nothing inappropriate about respectfully representing the grit and sacrifice of war. |
