Tuesday, December 21, 2004

Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason

Remember Our Heroes

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason, 20, of King George, Virginia.

Spc. Mason died in Mosul, Iraq, when a suicide bomber entered his dining facility and detonated an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the Army National Guard's 276th Engineer Battalion, West Point, Virginia.

Spc. Mason, a 2002 graduate of King George High School, signed up for the military in 2001 while he was still in school. He attended National Guard training once a month while completing his freshman year at Virginia Tech, and planned to resume his studies after returning from Iraq in February or March.

Spc. Mason was one of two members of the Virginia Guard’s 229th Engineer Battalion killed in the Dec. 21 attack. They had deployed to Iraq last December with the 276th Engineer Battalion, based in Richmond.

Maj. Gen. Claude Williams, the Virginia Guard’s adjutant general, knelt between Mason’s flag-draped coffin and his family, and presented a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal and the Virginia Legion of Merit.

Fellow firefighters also honored Mason, a member of the King George Volunteer Fire Department. They stood and saluted as his father received his helmet. A series of symbolic rings tolled on a silver fireman’s bell, signifying Mason’s death and that his job was complete.

Army Specialist Nicholas C. Mason was killed in action 12/21/04.

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs, 37, of Angelina, Texas.

Sgt Gibbs died in Khalidiyah, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated while his unit was on a dismounted patrol. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, Camp Greaves, Korea.

Gibbs, who had been in the Army for 13 years, was deployed to Iraq in August as part of the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, based at Camp Greaves, South Korea, his brother said.

“Todd was the kind of guy that would give you the shirt off his back,” Bret Gibbs said. He said friends of his brother have been calling him saying the same words.

Bret Gibbs said that his brother grew up in Lufkin, graduating from high school in 1986. He went on to earn a criminal justice degree from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville.

“After college he had a change of heart in the direction he wanted to take,” Bret Gibbs said. “He decided to enlist in the Army.”

Todd Gibbs’ wife, Melissa Gibbs, their 1-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter live in Killeen, where he had been stationed at Fort Hood prior to being sent for a year to Korea.

Army Sgt 1st Class Todd C. Gibbs was killed in action on 12/07/04.

Friday, December 03, 2004

Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock

Remember Our Heroes

Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock, 20, of Maple Shade, New Jersey.

Spc. Mahlenbrock died in Kirkuk, Iraq, when he was clearing a route and an improvised explosive device detonated. He was assigned to the 65th Engineer Battalion, 25th Infantry Division (Light), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Died on December 3, 2004.

Spc. David Mahlenbrock was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetary. In honor of his final request, here are the lyrics to his favorite song. God bless him and his family.

Toby Keith - American Soldier

I'm just trying to be a father,
Raise a daughter and a son,
Be a lover to their mother,
Everything to everyone.
Up and at 'em bright and early,
I'm all in my business suit,
Yeah, I'm dressed for success from my head down to my boots,
I don't do it for money, there's still bills that I can't pay,
I don't do it for the glory, I just do it anyway,
Providing for our future's my responsibility,
Yeah I'm real good under pressure, being all that I can be,
And I can't call in sick on Mondays when the weekends been to strong,
I just work straight through the holidays,
And sometimes all night long.
You can bet that I stand ready when the wolf growls at the door,
Hey, I'm solid, hey I'm steady, hey I'm true down to the core,
And I will always do my duty, no matter what the price,
I've counted up the cost, I know the sacrafice,
Oh, and I don't want to die for you,
But if dyin's asked of me,
I'll bear that cross with an honor,
'Cause freedom don't come free.
I'm an american soldier, an american,
Beside my brothers and my sisters I will proudly take a stand,
When liberty's in jeopardy I will always do what's right,
I'm out here on the front lines, sleep in peace tonight.
American soldier, I'm an American,
An American,
An American Soldier

Army Specialist David P. Mahlenbrock was killed in action on 12/03/04.