His name was Ian Muller

[cali]

He was a Kingdom boy.

He was 22 and he was, I believe, the 11th young man from this tiny area to die in these wars.

DANVILLE, Vt. -- Cpl. Ian Muller grew up in rural Danville, Vt. alongside five brothers and one sister. His family tells NewsChannel 5 that Ian was always the most outgoing; he was always the risk-taker.

"He was also very generous, he was strong, and he was smart," said his father, Clif Muller. "You know he was really a great marine."

Ian joined the Marine Corps in 2007 and deployed to Afghanistan in January. His brother says Ian knew the dangers.

"He said he was scared," said Ryan Muller. "He said he'd never been that scared before in his life. But he got over it. Bravery isn't the absence of fear, it's the overcoming of it, and Ian did that."

<snip>

http://www.wptz.com/news/27209283/detail.html

<snip>

Muller’s father, Clif, said his son was a “smart, strong young individual.”
He said his son joined the Marines about four years ago.

“A lot of that was because of the economy,” said Clif Muller, a Realtor. “He looked for work around here but couldn’t find consistent work.

<snip>

http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20110314/NEWS02/110314014/Vermont-Marine-killed-in-combat-in-Afghanistan

[MannyGoldstein]

1. A small sacrifice so that the Democrats can't be called wimps

I feel like I'm in Wonderland sometimes. "We must slaughter so that the Republicans can't slaughter."

Incredible.

[cali]

2. it makes my stomach churn

I live in such a small area that I knew (though only slightly) 2 of the young men killed. Another, a friend of my son's came back a changed kid with hideous PTSD.

Heartbreaking.

Endlessly heartbreaking.

[MannyGoldstein]

3. Are you from VT? nt

[cali]

4. yes, I'm from a small village near Danville, just outside Hardwick

[MannyGoldstein]

5. Yikes, even colder than Boston

But prettier, too.

I don't want to believe this, but sometimes I wonder if the lack of response by government to our recession/depression is in order to make military service more attractive to young men and women.

Such a bizarre world right now.

[sinkingfeeling]

6. The total between Iraq and Afghanistan is 5942.