August 6, 2016 marks the fifth year since the tragic shoot-down of the CH-47 Chinook helicopter, call sign EXTORTION 17, in Tangi Valley, Wardak Province, Afghanistan, killing all aboard as the helo attempted to land and insert a Quick Reaction Force to assist Army troops on the ground in contact with the enemy.  This remains the greatest single loss-of-life incident in the war in Afghanistan.  It is also significant because of the number of highly trained special operations personnel who were aboard the aircraft.

This year will be the fifth year that I will place the memorial to those 31 heroes in my front yard.  One of the SEALs on board was our neighbor across the street, and we will never forget when the news came to us on August 6, 2011 that our neighbor had been killed in action in this tragic incident.  This memorial is a way to honor our neighbor’s service and sacrifice and to honor all those who died with him on that day.  My family has visited Arlington National Cemetery, and we have paid our respects personally at his grave site, where he is buried along with a number of his fellow SEALs who were also killed in action that day.  He left behind a wife and two sons.  At the time of his death, his wife was in her sixth month of pregnancy with the daughter he never got to see.  This year in November, she will celebrate her fifth birthday.  His oldest son is now driving the truck that belonged to his dad.  As we often hear, life goes on, but the void this family feels, and the void the families of all the other heroes killed that day feel, can never be filled.  All we can do is help keep their memory alive, and we can do that by honoring and remembering them each year.

I am asking those of you who regularly frequent the American Thinker to help honor and remember these brave warriors and their sacrifice this and every August 6.  If you fly the flag in front of your home or business, please dress your flag for mourning as a sign of respect and remembrance for those KIA aboard EXTORTION 17.  The pictures below are examples of how to dress your flag for mourning, and they are in accordance with the Flag Code.  Encourage your friends and neighbors to do so as well.  You can even make and display a simple sign that says, “Remember the 31 Heroes of EXTORTION 17” or something to that effect.  I put the memorial up in my yard three days prior and leave it up until three days after the date of the shoot-down.  Each night I light a memorial flame that burns throughout the night in their memory.  It is important that their valor and sacrifice not be forgotten.

All three of these images above are in accordance with the Flag Code and are acceptable means of indicating mourning for the 31 heroes who were killed in action on August 6, 2011 aboard EXTORTION 17.  

Above is a picture of one of the signs that is placed as part of the annual memorial to honor and remember the 31 heroes killed in action August 6^th, 2001 aboard EXTORTION 17.  The sign was made at a local national print service, and it came with a metal stand for easy placement in the lawn.

Thank you for helping to keep the memory of these brave warriors alive in the minds of the American people.  Although much controversy still surrounds what happened and many people feel strongly that we still do not have all the answers as to the “how and why” surrounding the mission and its shoot-down, it is important that we focus on the people who lost their lives that fateful day so that they are not forgotten.

To learn more about those who were on board EXTORTION 17 that day, you can use this link to an article that appeared last year on the fourth anniversary of the shootdown.  You'll find a photo of the 30 U.S. personnel killed in action that day as the helo made its approach to its landing zone and came under rocket-propelled grenade attack.  The 31 hero is the military working dog that is not pictured in the article.

Looking at the pictures will give you a sense of who these brave warriors were and why we should honor and remember their sacrifice each year.  America is truly fortunate to have such people in our armed services.  America is the land of the free because of the brave.  These 31 heroes stand with distinction as some of America’s bravest.  Help to keep their memory alive.  

Thom Moriarty is a daily reader and contributor to the discussions at the American Thinker.  He served for 24 years in the military.  He now works as a contractor supporting military training.