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U.S.
Soldier Says He Wrote Friend's Name On Grenades
WASHINGTON,
March 12 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – An army lieutenant
who returned from his post in Afghanistan Sunday, said that his
mission was “vindictive”, a U.S. daily reported Monday.
Christopher
Blaha, a 24-year-old New Yorker, said that on every grenade he threw
at the Al-Qaeda fighters, he wrote the name of his best friend who
was killed in the September 11 attacks, reported the New York Post.
He said that while on duty, he also thought of another friend who
was firefighting that day.
Blaha
was involved in a fierce eight-day fight in remote mountains in
Afghanistan, and immediately spoke of his two lost friends, Andrew
Stergiopoulos, who worked for bond firm Cantor Fitzgerald, and FDNY
firefighter Jonathan Ielpi.
"There
was definitely a vindictive side to it - I can go back and tell
their families everything we did," Blaha said, as he rested at
the Bagram air base near Kandahar, the Post reported.
As
his fellow soldiers cheered the returning troops, Blaha, fighting
with the Army's 10th Mountain Division, based in upstate New York,
told how he had written Stergiopoulos' name on his grenades.
“Blaha's
mom, Cooky, said her son had formed a bond for life with
Stergiopoulos as the pair grew up in Great Neck, playing ice hockey
for a community team, the Great Neck Bruins,” the paper said.
Ielpi's
mom, Anne, said last night her family had been thinking of Blaha
during his Afghanistan mission and was hoping he returned safely.
"We've known the family for years and we think it's
great if he can get a little retaliation," she said. "It
means a lot to everyone."
Blaha
had told his mom before leaving for Uzbekistan in January that he
would dedicate his mission to his friends, the Post reported.
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