Tara Sonenshine made some very good points when she penned "We need a memorial to honor the dead in America's longest war" August 10 in The Hill.
In her oped, the former Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs wrote, "A total of 2,312 U.S. military personnel died in Afghanistan — almost a mirror image of the numbers lost on 9/11. More than 20,00 have been wounded since 2001. Add to that the number of civilian deaths in Afghanistan, ranging from 35,000 to 40,000, and you have a tremendous loss of life, which continues."
Ms. Sonenshine added, "With America withdrawing from Afghanistan, it is time to think about how we honor the brave men and women who fought there." Thus, her call for a memorial to honor those who paid the ultimate price.
I am okay with the former under secretary's call for a memorial, but I think the rationale behind it pales in comparison to the war on COVID and its death toll here at home. When you add the more than 618,000 Americans who have lost their lives to the deadly virus to the more than 35 million cases reported coast to coast, the numbers are, in a word, staggering.
Not that it is an either/or situation, but I believe we should begin planning a monument to those lost during the current pandemic before erecting another memorial. Of course the loss of one life in Afghanistan is one too many; however, the number of deaths Ms. Sonenshine cites basically isn't going to change moving forward. You simply can't say the same thing about the loss of life due to COVID. Given how quickly the Delta variant is spreading, I'm guessing the number of deaths in the U.S. could reach 750,000 or more by year's end.
I agree with Tara Sonenshine when she says, "Memorials are often built long beyond wars end — often too late for the survivors. Now is the time to put the plans in place before memories fade. The National Mall has limited space, but we should have unlimited love and appreciation for our troops and figure out where and how best to honor them beyond Arlington National Cemetery."
I'm guessing Ms. Sonenshine would agree those lost in the war on COVID deserve a monument of their own. The question is, which memorial should be built first? If you ask me, the numbers speak for themselves. It's time to start thinking about how to best honor the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives in the fight against this deadly enemy.
-DF