Afghanistan War leaves deep impact on LI
Scott Germosen of Coram died Jan. 9, 2002 when he was among the seven Marines who died when their KC-130 cargo plane crashed into a mountain in Pakistan. Credit: Newsday / John H. Cornell Jr.
On Jan. 9, 2002, a four-engine air refueling tanker whose crew included Marine Staff Sgt. Scott Germosen of Coram flew a mission from a base near the Hindu Kush mountains of southwest Asia.
Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on the United States, had been traced to rugged Afghanistan terrain northeast of the airfield, and U.S. forces had begun hunting him.
But the KC-130 tanker never made it back. The squat-bodied aircraft clipped a mountain and burst into flames as it prepared to land, killing everyone aboard.
Germosen became the first Long Islander known to have perished in what on Friday became America's 10-year war in Afghanistan.
"He had such a zest for life and for the Marine Corps," said his widow, Jennifer Germosen. "Every day he woke up he would say, 'Yes . . . I get to go to work.' "
Tallying the toll on LI
In many respects, while the day-to-day impact of the long war in Afghanistan may show few obvious traces on Long Island, the toll exacted here by a decade of fighting has been substantial.
The war has drawn differing opinions from current and former Long Islanders. Some say it has been a costly mire. Others, including Germosen's mother, Myrna Washington, say it has been a worthy investment in America's security.
"I'm not angry about the war. Somebody has to defend our country," said Washington, who moved to Tucson, Ariz., to be closer to family members after her son died. "But it still hurts."
At least 17 military personnel from Long Island are known to have died in the war, which President George W. Bush announced on Oct. 7, 2001, to end the use of Afghanistan as a base for terrorism.
At least 3,800 U.S. troops from Long Island have served in Afghanistan since 2005 alone, according to the Pentagon. The heaviest concentrations have come from two ZIP codes -- 110 from the 11554 in Hempstead, and 106 from Bay Shore's 11706.
And Long Island is now home to scores of veterans of the war who have returned with serious wartime afflictions, including burns, amputations, lung ailments and psychological disorders.
