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FOREVER REMEMBER: 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF 9/11
F R I D A Y, S E P T E M B E R 1 0 , 2 0 2 1
Looking back at their service Veterans reflect on war and aid efforts as U.S. pulls out of Afghanistan By ANGELA PALERMO
OF THE TRIBUNE
Twenty years after the United States launched its longest war, military personnel withdrew from Afghanistan completely in August. President Joe Biden addressed the nation Aug. 31 after U.S. involvement in the region came to an end. He urged the American people to never forget the sacrifices made on foreign soil. “I don’t think enough people understand how much we’ve asked of the 1 percent of this country who put that uniform on,” Biden said. “They will carry the cost of war with them their whole lives.” The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan felt personal for many veterans and aid workers who served in the war and helped the country rebuild. Eric Lumley, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran living in Lewiston, is still processing the tumultuous end to a conflict he risked his life for. “Everything that’s going on in Afghanistan — it’s a tough deal,” he said. “It feels like the sacrifices we made, the time and everything else we spent over there has been wasted.” Lumley joined the U.S. Army in 2005 and deployed to Iraq from 2006-08 as part of a field artillery unit. When something, or someone, was under attack, his team would respond quickly with assistance. He also participated in humanitarian missions like building schools and bringing supplies to local villages. At the time, Lumley said, there was a big push to recruit new soldiers for the war. During the time away from his family, he missed birthdays and other milestones. “Our battalion at the time was losing a lot of people,” he said. “The feeling on that first deployment was that, at any moment, it could be the end for you.” Just weeks after al-Qaida attacked the World Trade
ABOVE: Eric Lumley stands for a photo at his home in Lewiston. Lumley served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. August Frank/Tribune
LEFT: Doug Welch is seen in a photo taken in Afghanistan.
Center and Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, President George W. Bush announced the U.S. would bring leaders of the terrorist group to justice. Al-Qaida had planned the attacks from bases inside Afghanistan, which was
governed primarily by the Taliban at the time. Once inside the country, it didn’t take long for American troops to topple the Taliban government and disperse its fighters. From there, the U.S. “War on Terrorism”
morphed into an effort to rebuild the region and establish a Western-style democracy with new schools, hospitals and public facilities. When Lumley deployed to Afghanistan in 2018, the mission involved expanding
military bases and helping train members of the country’s army. His tour was extended to 15 months. “Up until that point, it seemed like everything we tried to do kept failing,” he said. “There’s a reason we were in Afghanistan for so long. It never felt like the Afghan army would actually fight for their country.” Ahead of the planned withdrawal in August, the Taliban’s military captured significant territory, forcing widespread surrenders by Afghan forces. In many cases, Lumley noted, their troops seemed to give up without a fight. At the same time, civilian and military casualties in the country reached a record high this year,
