Iraq War Anniversary Painful for Casco Mother
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Her son, 29-year-old Dean Opicka, was killed by an IED in Iraq back in 2008. Video by nbc26.com
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CASCO, Wis.--The 10-year anniversary of the Iraq War is a somber one for a Casco family who still struggles with the loss of their loved one killed in the war almost five years ago.
"God needed an angel. A special one, and he took Dean," Donna Opicka said.
Opicka reflects on the pain she faces daily in her living room.
"When you have someone in the service, it isn't just that person in service who sacrifices, but when they don't come back it's the whole family that really suffers because his presence is no longer here," Opicka said.
Her son 29-year-old Dean Opicka was killed by an IED in Iraq back in 2008.
"In my opinion, I didn't feel we should be there in the first place, but I did support the troops and will continue to do so," Opicka said.
Ten years after we went to war in Iraq, more than 4400 Americans were killed in an effort to bring down Saddam Hussein. Some say the fight was worth it.
"If you've left Saddam in charge of Iraq, you'd have had carnage on an even worse scale than Syria and no end in sight," Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said.
Over 30,000 wounded troops have come home over the past decade. While Opicka is left with memories.
"I don't want anyone else to have to have go through what our family has gone through because its taken its toll on the whole family," Opicka said.
In a new Gallup Poll about 53% of people called the Iraq War a mistake.
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