Traverse City Record-Eagle

Our Views

EDITORIAL

The issue: A Traverse City native dies in Afghanistan

Our view: He's the fourth war death from the city

MORE ON SCHWARTZ

January 18, 2012

Traverse City, region have lost 13 native sons in wars

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Wars look different when a town puts a name and a face to combat death. Such was the case with U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Matthew Schwartz, who was killed Jan. 5 in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device blew up, killing Schwartz and two comrades.

The 34-year-old Schwartz was a Traverse City native who graduated from Traverse City Central High School in 1996. He left behind his wife, Jennifer, also formerly of Traverse City, and three daughters -- Aliza, Emily and Morgan.

It was his sixth tour of duty in a war zone, a significant sacrifice even for a career military man. Schwartz earned numerous military decorations for his war zone service, including three Bronze Stars, a Purple Heart (meaning he was injured) and a Meritorious Service Medal.

Schwartz was not the first Traverse City native son killed in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but he was the latest.

Now that U.S. troops have pulled out of Iraq and it appears the war in Afghanistan may be cycling down, every loss carries an even more poignant "what if."

Hundreds of friends and family crowded Christ the King Catholic Church in Acme for Schwartz's funeral, and more lined Traverse City streets holding American flags as the community said goodbye.

More than a dozen people from his Explosive Ordnance Disposal team based at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyo., attended. The Grand Traverse Resort & Spa provided free rooms, and the local VFW and Enterprise Rent-A-Car provided the group with cars.

Losing a native son or daughter makes the sacrifices made by those in the military all the more real. For a moment, we understand a little more.

Three other Traverse City residents also have died in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan:

• Army Sgt. Spencer Akers, 35, of Traverse City, died Dec. 8, 2005, at Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas. He was injured Nov. 21 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device went off near his vehicle in Habbaniyah.

• Marine Cpl. Paul Miller, 22, of Traverse City, died July 19, 2010, in Afghanistan while on foot patrol after an improvised explosive device detonated in Helmand province.

• Army Sgt. Dillon B. Foxx, 22, of Traverse City, died Feb. 5, 2010, in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.

Nine other soldiers with ties to northern Lower Michigan have also died in the two wars.

It's time for all the nation's sons and daughters to come home.

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