Note: This article was originally published on Nov. 11, 2004. We’re re-posting it now for our Colorado’s Fallen tribute.
Northglenn – Sherri Busch sat Wednesday in her living room,
surrounded by pictures of her son, fallen Marine Andrew Riedel, and
said it’s all too easy to forget about the actual people fighting
in Iraq.
The talk on the news these days is mostly about events, strategy,
right and wrong, good and bad.
“People get wrapped up in the news and the politics,” she said.
“And they forget about the men and women over there fighting, and
their families.”
But Busch and Richard Riedel, Andrew’s father, never had the luxury
to view the war in anything but human terms. Being parents of a
child in combat made them part of a family. That hasn’t changed
since Riedel, a 19-year-old lance corporal, died last week, killed
along with seven other Marines when a suicide car bomb went off
beside their convoy near Fallujah.
And so, as thousands of Marines just like Riedel fight to retake
Fallujah from insurgents, Riedel’s many family members and friends
continue to choose the only course they feel they’ve ever had: to
support the troops and pray for their safety.
“When you’re part of that family,” Busch said, “you don’t just
walk away.”
Since Andrew’s death, that family hasn’t walked away from them,
either. Busch and Riedel have received about 1,000 cards, they
said. People have left food and flowers at their doorstep. Letters
have come from around the world, including one from Iraq, Busch
said.
“We just want to say thank you,” Busch said.
Riedel said it’s a tribute to Andrew and what he was doing that
prompted such a response. But, the family said, it’s also a tribute
to the many other people who made the same decision Andrew did.
“He chose his way,” Riedel said. “He didn’t want to stay behind
and party. He wanted to go and make a difference.”
Busch said she hasn’t watched the evening news since Andrew died.
Before Andrew died, whenever the family saw reports of a soldier
killed, Busch said, they would pray for the soldier’s family and
the soldiers who remained. They plan to keep doing the same thing
now, to honor the people who have died and those who fight still.
“We’re very proud of our son,” Riedel said.
The family encourages people to make contributions in honor of
Lance Cpl. Andrew G. Riedel to to the Marine Corps Law Enforcement
Foundation, P.O. Box 37, Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046. The foundation’s
phone number is 877-606-1775.
