I woke this morning in a grouchy sort of mood -- interrupted sleep and a cold made for a restless sort of night. But the news I received drove that mood out the window. I learned, via a friend that a young man, William Stacey, age 23, had been killed in Afghanistan. Will was a Marine on his fourth deployment and was just weeks away from returning home, to finish his last three years as an Instructor before going on to college. But Will was much more than that. He was the only son of Robert and Robin Stacey, Professors of History at the University of Washington. I studied Medieval and Celtic history with them many years ago and I remember babysitting Will when he was about my own son's age, 10. Will at 10 was a serious but kind young man. He was very good with his little sister, Anna, and very serious in assisting me in getting the two of them fed and to bed. He had that lovely, bright smile that intelligent and well loved children have and, from what his father told me, was always involved in something. I lost touch with the Staceys over the years as sometimes happens when life takes over but I remember them and I remember Will. His loss ... is a large one. And it brings home, as only such events can, the terrible cost that people are paying for the continuing conflicts abroad.
Rest in peace, Sargent William Stacey. You are, and will be, missed.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/02/a-flag-drapped-casket-containing-the-remains-of-sgt-william-stacey-a-marine-from-camp-pendleton-killed-this-week-in-afghani.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+lanowblog+%28L.A.+Now%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher
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