A View from Main Street: Another loss brings gratitude

Certainly you read the sad news, first in the Daily Press and now in the Hesperia Star. Sgt. James K. Healy, a member of the Hesperia High School class of 2000, was killed while serving our country in Afghanistan.

Healy is the third former Scorpion to be killed in action during the Post-9/11 era. Two others, both from the same graduating class, the Class of 2000, were killed in 2004 while serving in Iraq. Lance Cpl. William J. Wiscowiche, who graduated from another high school after leaving HHS during his junior year, died in April of that year. Spc. Armando Hernandez died in August of 2004.

The sacrifices of the trio is a concrete reminder that freedom doesn’t come free. The cost, especially to the Healy, Wiscowiche and Hernandez families, is immense. We are grateful to the families for raising young men willing to put their lives on the line. They were men of honor and courage.

We are so sorry for their families’ losses but immensely grateful to those young brave men for their service to our great country, the United States of America.