These days, Americans are not often confronted with the fact that the nation's longest war is still cutting short the lives of its soldiers. But our war in Afghanistan, in its 19th year, rages on, and it has ended the life of Marine Cpl. Robert A. Hendriks of Locust Valley, N.Y.
Hendriks, a 26-year-old reservist and infantry machine gun specialist, was killed Monday when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb near the U.S. base in Parwan Province. Also killed were Sgt. Christopher A. Slutman of Yonkers, a FDNY firefighter, and Sgt. Benjamin S. Hines of York, Pennsylvania.
It's not surprising that the war has mostly faded from the top headlines. More than 2,300 U.S. service members have died in the conflict, 13 last year and seven this year. The United States once had 100,000 service members there, but now has fewer than 14,000. And with then-President Barack Obama promising to end the war in his second term and President Donald Trump promising the same since his presidential campaign, many Americans likely have a sense that this war is largely past.
