James John Regan
James John Regan was not as well known as the others in this list, neither in life nor after death. He was not a highly decorated soldier. He had limitless potential but was not granted the gift of years during which he might have achieved something historic or groundbreaking. He was not a powerful politician or illustrious general. He did not get to become a revolutionary scientist or inventor, nor a business tycoon or captain of industry and commerce.
He was not a prominent writer, musician, or leading figure in culture or the arts. He did not invent a national pastime here on earth, nor did he pioneer a path to space above. He was not a famous American icon in life, and unlike his comrades interred in the Tomb of the Unknowns, he will probably not become one in death. It is unlikely that his name will be recorded in history, or that best-selling biography will be written about his life.
A sergeant in the 75th Ranger Regiment, James Regan was one of the thousands of Americans who died in an unpopular war, and by the time he was killed by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in Iraq in 2007, such deaths had become routine for most of his fellow citizens. Other than the relatively small circle of comrades who knew him, and his loved one who will forever remember and grieve for their loss, his death went largely unnoticed by the rest of the country.
He was a patriotic man who volunteered to defend his nation, a good soldier who performed his job conscientiously and well, and one who gave his life while bravely serving his country. As with most of the hundreds of thousands who gave their lives over the centuries while fighting the country’s wars, his sacrifice was mostly unknown by the rest of America.
Sergeant Regan came back home in a coffin and was duly interred in Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where servicemen and servicewomen of the country’s recent wars are buried. There he rested, his sacrifice unknown and unnoticed by most. Until Memorial Day, 2007, when a photographer caught a haunting and gut-punching image of Mary McHugh, Sergeant Reagan’s fiance, grieving over his grave.
The widely published photograph viscerally reminded the country, at least for a time, of the immense price of each life lost in America’s service. That such deaths are more than brief news blurbs, and each and everyone is an individual tragedy resulting in ripples of indescribable suffering and sorrow.
Sources For Further Reading:
Smithsonian Magazine – A Brief History of Pierre L’Enfant and Washington, D.C.
Arlington National Cemetery – Pierre Charles L’Enfant
History Channel – Abner Doubleday
POLITICO – Dulles Warns Of Communist Menace, Sept. 23, 1953
Chicago Reader – The Art Of War And More From Bill Mauldin
Defense Media Network – When Willie and Joe’s Creator Bill Mauldin Met “Blood and Guts” Patton
St. Louis Post Dispatch – ‘Drawing Fire’ recounts cartooning career of ‘citizen soldier’ Mauldin
WTTW News – Military Museum Remembers the Master Cartoonist Who Was ‘Drawn to Combat’
Constitution Center – Thurgood Marshall’s unique Supreme Court legacy
Achieve Foundation – Justice Thurgood Marshall: First African American Supreme Court Justice
WVXU – John Glenn’s Big Disappointment: Running For President
The Washington Post – John Glenn: The Second Time Around
Politico – John Glenn, Hero and Political Cautionary Tale
Lead The Way Fund – Sgt. James J. Regan Memorial
News Day – Manhasset Street To Be Renamed For Fallen Sgt. James J. Regan
New York Times – A Loyalty That Extended to the Uniform, and Beyond