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| Damien Jackson 1986-2006 |
Today I go to work decked out in the red, white and blue. I wear the colors proudly not only for our beloved country as she has her 236th birthday, but because today, July 5th, one day after our the emancipation of country, a hero was taken from us. So today, I remember him and all of the others who have died in the name of freedom.
The fifh of July marks the 6th year anniversary of his death and for many it feels as if it was just yesterday he was taken from us. Not a day goes by that I don't think of our Damien, but time has changed me. Anger and sadness have turned to love and a sense of pride for having known such a courageous and loving person. Truly the end of his life had the inevitable impact of changing the rest of mine.
He is the living proof that God only takes the good ones with him. Private Damien Raymond Jackson was born on July 9th, 1986. A July baby just like me! He was a passionate being with a God-given purpose. He was energetic and athletic and so very patriotic. He was a PARA and part the 3rd Battalion in the Parachute Regiment. He had been deployed several times and was killed in his final tour in Afghanistan, just a few weeks before he was to come home.
He was a great friend of mine, and a huge part of my heart will forever be with him. We spent two years of our youth growing up together before he returned to his mother country of England. About five years had passed by before circumstances would allow our paths to cross once again and it was as if he had never left. We had kept in touch all of those years and time had not lessened that bond. Peace reaches my soul because I know that he was happy and loved throughout his time here on earth and he spoke of such.
His passing has forever changed me, in ways that are very evident and in some ways even I can't quite explain. I have found a certain amount of peace and patience with God that wasn't there before. I have learnt to trust in His plans as I have been promised that this seperation from Damien and all of my loved ones is strictly temporary. Damien has taught me to love life, and to never take one breath of each moment for granted. But mostly he has taught me sincerity, kindness and a complete sense of selflessness, because that is how he was to me. I know now that how you treat others has the potential to impact those around you for the rest of their lives.
His life has been the mold for mine, forming how I approach those around me as I devote my time to helping and giving to others. I want people to have what I did in knowing Damien. So today I bleed red, not just because of that rich oxygenated blood within me (here comes out the nurse in me), but I bleed red for England and for America, and for all of those who have gone before us in the name of freedom. So as we all put our thought and prayers together for us Americans, don't forget the British soldiers who have fought and died for our cause as well.
So in your own words,
Love you babes and I miss you like crazy.
xoxoxoxoxox :)
| Rank | War | Years | Deaths | Deaths per Day | US Population in First Year of War | Deaths per Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Civil War | 1861–1865 | 625,000 | 599 | 31,443,000 | 1.988% (1860) |
| 2 | World War II | 1941–1945 | 405,399 | 416 | 133,402,000 | 0.307% (1940) |
| 3 | World War I | 1917–1918 | 116,516 | 279 | 103,268,000 | 0.110% (1920) |
| 4 | Vietnam War | 1955–1975 | 58,209 | 26 | 0.03% (1970) | |
| 5 | Korean War | 1950–1953 | 36,516 | 45 | 151,325,000 | 0.02% (1950) |
| 6 | American Revolutionary War | 1775–1783 | 25,000 | 11 | 2,500,000 | 0.899% (1780) |
| 7 | War of 1812 | 1812–1815 | 20,000 | 31 | 8,000,000 | 0.345% (1810) |
| 8 | Mexican–American War | 1846–1848 | 13,283 | 29 | 21,406,000 | 0.057% (1850) |
| 9 | War on Terror | 2001–present | 6,280 | 1.72 | 294,043,000 | 0.002% (2010) |
| 10 | Philippine–American War | 1899–1913 | 4,196 | 1 | 72,129,000 | 0.006% (1900) |
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