Thank you JK. This personal story is both sad and heartwarming at the same time. Sad that he died, yes, but also because he did so by going into a hornet's nest of anarchy and thuggery to defeat the guilty while protecting the innocent. American soldiers do this, not because they are "following orders" from some "chicken hawks" back in Washington, not because they value the lives of innocent Iraqis more than their own or their loved ones, but because they value an IDEA. That idea is justice. Justice for all, founded on individual liberty. It would be far easier and personally safer to deal with these jihadists the same way that Syria did - by bombing entire cities into oblivion - but that's not the American way. If it were, we'd have to bomb entire American cities as well for the enemies of liberty and justice reside there as well.

Finally, I have always been uncomfortable with the phrase "thanks to all who serve." I think it should instead be, "thanks to all who serve with honor." Otherwise we are giving equal thanks to people who bring us shame as those who give us pride. (See my blog above: 'Seventeen Ugly Americans')

Thank you. I really do hope everybody reads this.
The depth of commitment shown by both Chase and Strobl is astounding. How fortunate I am to share a country with the people mentioned in this article

I appreciated the line, "About an hour into the reception, I had the impression that every man in Wyoming had, at one time or another, been in the service."

Wyoming is definitely a red state. There's something about knowing how to earn a living in the rough country of the "Equality State" that teaches Wyomingites the best way to deal with people who want to kill you: Kill them first.