This is an excerpt from an email from an American soldier serving in Afghanistan. Very interesting story.
IAM
today released the names of the rest of the victims of the Eye Clinic Massacre
in Afghanistan today. Unfortunately, another dear friend was among the
team members. Dan Terry (see photo left) and I spent hours in
stimulating conversation and meals together with his dear Finnish wife who
teaches nurses at a hospital in Afghanistan. Dan had been in Afghanistan
for over 40 years, literally grew up here as his father was a former director
of IAM. He himself was the director at one time and raised his own 3 daughters
here.
Dan
would "Go where no man had been before" - he told the story of how he
traveled to remote areas by himself before the Communist occupation. He
went on a trip by himself in his small truck with the intent of going as deep
into Afghanistan as it would take him. He found a small patch of road
that went off perpendicular to the tertiary road he was already on.
He took it back as far as it would go, arriving at the end of it where
the young men of the village were still working on it. The Villagers came
running out, jumped on the truck and started petting it. They had never
seen a motorized vehicle! They invited Dan in for a meal, and Dan stayed
as long as he could but wanted to get on the road again before dark. He
asked permission to leave, they escorted him to his vehicle. He was
shocked to see a huge mound of hay sitting in front of his vehicle. In
typical Afghan hospitality they figured they would feed his "Horse"
as well. - It's the best illustration of faith I have ever heard: They
were building a road before they'd ever seen a motorized vehicle.
Dan
was a "Man of Velvet and Steel" - he told me the story of how he was
riding into another village in a remote area of Afghanistan when the village
watchdog, a huge Mastiff, came running out ferociously, barking at him.
He stopped the motorcycle, got off and started running after the dog,
himself barking. The dog high-tailed it back to the village. Dan
said, "Bill, later I so regretted doing that. I shamed that poor dog
in front of his own village".
Dan
will be sorely missed by so many, not the least of which is his dear wife.
To
see a short tribute on the IAM page to the deceased you can follow this link
4 comments:
Dan Terry was man who touched many lives including mine. My wife, Lee who is a volunteer at Cure hospital works with his wife Seija at the same hospital. I had only known Dan since 2007, when I met him for the first time at the Kabul airport on the way to Delhi and later with Dan showing us some of his favourite Delhi spots.
Dan in his inimitable way gave us a much broader appreciation of Afghanistan through his amazing experiences, knowledge of Afghanistan, his love for this country and its people. He has lived through tough times here, but he never gave up on Afghanistan or this part of planet Earth, he was always thinking of ways to improve the lot of Afghanistan and especially the folk in remote areas.
Like many missed opportunities all us miss out from time to time, I never had or made the time to do some travelling with Dan, and I will always regret that. I know that Dan would have showed me some great places and people that only a few people are privileged to see and meet.
Dan, Lee and I will always miss you, but you will never be missed from our minds eye and our memory of our time with you. God bless you mate.
Darryl and Lee Thorburn
Dan Terry was man who touched many lives including mine. My wife, Lee who is a volunteer at Cure hospital works with his wife Seija.
I had only known Dan since 2007, when I met him for the first time at the Kabul airport on the way to Delhi and later with Dan showing us some of his favourite Delhi spots. Dan in his inimitable way gave us a much broader appreciation of Afghanistan through his amazing experiences, knowledge of Afghanistan, his love for this country and its people. He has lived through tough times here, but he never gave up on Afghanistan or this part of planet Earth, he was always thinking of ways to improve the lot of Afghanistan and especially the folk in remote areas.
Like many missed opportunities missed in our life journey I never made the time to travel with Dan to some of the backcountry areas he was familiar with, and I will always regret that. I know that Dan would have showed me some great places and people that only a few people are privileged to see and meet.
Dan, Lee and I will always miss you, miss your presence, your humility, honesty, love for life and the country Afghanistan, but you will never be missed from our minds eye and the memory of our time with you. We are privileged to have known you and walk along side of you.
God bless you Dan Terry, when God made you he lost the mould. I hope that he finds it and others can appreciate it
Darryl and Lee Thorburn
Dan Terry was man who touched many lives including mine. My wife, Lee who is a volunteer at Cure hospital works with his wife Seija.
I had only known Dan since 2007, when I met him for the first time at the Kabul airport on the way to Delhi and later with Dan showing us some of his favourite Delhi spots. Dan in his inimitable way gave us a much broader appreciation of Afghanistan through his amazing experiences, knowledge of Afghanistan, his love for this country and its people. He has lived through tough times here, but he never gave up on Afghanistan or this part of planet Earth, he was always thinking of ways to improve the lot of Afghanistan and especially the folk in remote areas.
Like many missed opportunities missed in our life journey I never made the time to travel with Dan to some of the backcountry areas he was familiar with, and I will always regret that. I know that Dan would have showed me some great places and people that only a few people are privileged to see and meet
Dan, Lee and I will always miss you, miss your presence, your humility, honesty, love for life and the country Afghanistan, but you will never be missed from our minds eye and the memory of our time with you. We are privileged to have known you and walk along side of you.
God bless you Dan Terry, when God made you he lost the mould. I hope that he finds it and others can appreciate it.
Darryl and Lee Thorburn
Dan Terry was a hero.
I spent a year with him and Seija as they took me in while I went to school in Kabul.
I can say with all sincerity that I have never in my life met a man I respect so deeply.
In all he did, he set an example to me.
He was gentle, passionate and wise.
He had a deep and gratifying sense of humour, a pure and righteous sense of honour and a crazy sense for adventure.
He dreamed of going tenting in the Kabul mountains... and had all the gear.
I regret that I didn't get, or use, that chance.
In in conclusion and almost as a climax of this paragraph I can say that to this day, I have not met a person knew Dan and did not respect him deeply.
His is a story of mercy and love... a modern fairy tale laced with the tragedy of reality.
Thankyou Dan for being you.
Jonas Thiessen
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