Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Kuwait, James Holtsnider said the US army has lost more than 7,000 soldiers since the events of September 11, 2001 in various regions such as Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas.
“It is a great honor to be here today,” he said, “to join my partners in Kuwait and my fellow military and diplomats from a number of coalition countries working with us here in the region, to honor those who lost their lives serving their country.
He said this during a ceremony held at Camp Arifjan on the occasion of Memorial Day which is an occasion to celebrate those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of serving their countries.The US Army has lost more than 7,000 soldiers since the events of September 11, 2001.
He added, “Since the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, we have lost nearly 300 members of the coalition in the region, and we are still losing soldiers in various wars around the world.”
He explained, “For example, in Operation Inherent Resolve, where we were helping in Syria to fight ISIS, we lost more than 300 members of the coalition over the past years, and today, we come together to honor the memory of the sacrifices made by these individuals.”
“We are doing this in partnership with our closest ally, Kuwait, and with our other allies, and we continue to work closely with them on all aspects of our military partnership,” Holtsnider said.
Regarding the relationship between his country and Kuwait, he said: “Our relationship with Kuwait is exceptional. We have a very strong relationship with the Kuwaiti people and with the Kuwaiti leadership, and we are working to consolidate our relations with the Kuwaiti military partners through multifaceted exercises. We also carry out exercises with our Canadian, British, Italian, Egyptian and many other partners;” other partners who today share our mission to keep the region safe.
On the occasion, Holtsnider said: “Remembrance Day is an occasion to remember and honor those who sacrificed their lives for the sake of duty during military service, pointing out that on this day they lay wreaths to celebrate those who answered the call of their nation, wore service uniforms, and we invite their families, who gave themselves to duty altruistically.”
He added that today, we honor all those who lost their lives while serving, especially this last generation that was lost during Operation Iraqi Liberation, Operation Enduring Freedom, and the Global War on Terror, as 219 American service members died during the liberation of Kuwait, and 7,057 American service members were killed in the process of war operations that followed September 11.
The US Chargé d’Affaires added: Let us never forget that our nation has paid a heavy price for the freedoms we enjoy, as the number of Americans killed in all conflicts since the American Revolution has reached more than 1.3 million people.
“When we gather around the world, we honor the bravery and sacrifices of our fallen soldiers in defense of our way of life,” he said, adding that we must remember not only our fallen sailors, airmen and marines, but also the more than 1.4 million active-duty men and women now in action. the whole world.
He concluded saying these conflicts occur all over the world, but the price is paid by their loved ones, parents, children, siblings, and spouses, and Remembrance Day gives us pause and time to focus and with grieving gratitude, remember those who died in service from the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, Navy and Space Forces.
For his part, the commander of the region’s support group and the supervisor of al-Qaeda’s operations in Beuring and Arifjan, Colonel Martin Wolgemut, said that “in 1991 during the Gulf War, 219 American soldiers were killed during the overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s regime, and more than 400 Kuwaiti soldiers and more than a thousand civilians were killed.” Adding that these numbers are important to remember, and for this reason, the United States and our allies in the coalition are here together to continue to defend Kuwait, pointing to the presence of more than 12,000 American soldiers, between Camp Arifjan, Ali Al-Salem Air Base, Kuwait Naval Base, Bureij Camp and Shuaiba Port as we continue to defend Kuwait.
On Remembrance Day, he added, many people back home try to commemorate or remember something they did not know or personally experience before. During the American Civil War, one in 50 Americans died during that war – a personal experience of loss shared by almost everyone. Since September 12, 2001, just over 7,000 US Department of Defense service members and civilians have been killed in foreign conflicts, less than one American in 50,000.
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