He stood up against evil: Saluting a fallen hero
What kind of people set off roadside bombs in Afghanistan to kill U.S. soldiers?
While mourning the death of Spc. Norman Cain III, the 22-year-old Mount Morris man whose funeral in Freeport and burial in northern Ogle County will be Friday, it’s important to remember the evil that his killers represent.
Most people know part of the drill. The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in the 1990s and then provided a safe haven for Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida fighters. From there the terrorists could plot strikes and train to carry them out, culminating with the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Other Afghans, along with U.S. help, ousted the Taliban from power in late 2001. They’ve been trying to get it back ever since.
But what do the Taliban do when in power? An ugly reminder is taking place right now in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. A weakened Pakistani government was forced to allow these killers free rein in Swat, after their bloody attacks crippled law and order.
The Taliban quickly imposed Sharia law. Masked Taliban thugs seize and flog offenders in the streets. Women are banned from market places. Girls’ education after age 13 has ceased to exist. That’s just for starters.
What kind of people are willing to risk their lives to stand up against such tyranny?
People like Spc. Norman Cain III of Mount Morris.
Born in Wisconsin, Cain, 22, graduated from Freeport High School in 2006. A year later he enlisted in the Illinois National Guard. He married his wife, Brigette, of Oregon, in 2008. He had a son and stepdaughter.
A self-proclaimed redneck, Cain was devoted to his family. He liked being outdoors, working on cars, and bowhunting.
When his Guard unit was sent to Afghanistan last year to train local police and the Afghan army, Cain was proud to go. It was about 6 months into his deployment when a Taliban roadside bomb exploded on March 15, killing Cain and two other Illinois Guardsmen, Sgt. Christopher Abeyta and Sgt. Robert Weinger, in eastern Afghanistan.
Brigette Cain knew the kind of man her husband was. “Norman was a wonderful man. He was strong, firm when he needed to be, and loving always. He put his family first, no matter what. ... He died serving his country and providing for his family. He will always be loved. He will live on in our memories and our hearts.”
Cain’s death brought the war in Afghanistan home to the Sauk Valley. While residents should not forget what the forces of evil and oppression have done, and continue to do, in that distant land, they must never, ever forget what a brave young man from Mount Morris did there.
