Remember Our Heroes
Army Specialist Brock L. Bucklin, 28, of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Spc Bucklin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died May 31 of a non-combat related cause in Balad, Iraq.
Accident in Iraq kills Caledonia man
Dawn Bucklin was on the phone with one of her sons, a soldier stationed in Germany, when two Army officers approached her home with tragic news about her other son: Army Cpl. Brock Bucklin had been killed in an equipment accident in Iraq.
Bucklin died Wednesday in Balad, Iraq, "of a noncombat related cause," the Defense Department said.
The accident occurred when soldiers were lifting equipment and a chain hoist broke, striking Bucklin in the neck and fatally injuring him, said his father, Duane Bucklin, of Caledonia.
Brock Bucklin, 28, joined the Army in August 2004, about a year after his twin brother, Brad, did.
"Were they close? When one brother follows his brother into the Army a year later, I guess they are close," Duane Bucklin said.
Brock Bucklin, who graduated in 1997 from Forest Hills Central High School, thrived in the Army, Duane Bucklin said.
"He had worked at different jobs and never figured out what he wanted to do," his father said. "The Army really seemed to work for him."
Brock Bucklin entered Iraq in December and often was assigned to help set up and maintain communications, his father said.
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division in Fort Carson, Colo.
Dawn Bucklin said her sons had told her not to worry about them as long as the military didn't show up at her door.
"Oh, my gosh, the military is at the door," she recalled telling her son on the phone Wednesday when she saw the two officers approach.
Brad Bucklin plans to escort his brother's remains home from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
"He and Brock made a promise if anything ever happened, they would carry their brother off the plane," Dawn Bucklin said. "He did not want to break that promise."
Army Specialist Brock L. Bucklin died on 05/31/06 of non-combat related causes.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
Army Specialist Jeremy M. Loveless
Remember Our Heroes
Army Specialist Jeremy M. Loveless, 25, of Estacada, Ore.
Spc Loveless was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed May 29 when his Stryker came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.
The Oregonian
Oregon loses a soldier who dared himself to keep going higher
As an Army medic, Jeremy Loveless had figured out how best to help his country, colleagues and family
Few people have figured things out by age 25, but Army Spcl. Jeremy Loveless believed he was well on his way. Early on, he'd found a strong faith and established a happy family. But in the past three years he'd found something else he'd been looking for -- his footing on an ascending career path.
A stint in the Army as a field medic, treating injured Iraqis, wasn't supposed to be Loveless' final stop, but only an interim destination to help him land a job. On Memorial Day, however, Loveless was killed near Mosul, Iraq. He is the 58th soldier with ties to Oregon to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the second graduate of Gresham High School to die.
People who knew Loveless in high school never pictured him in the Army. In high school, he was one of those kids who makes an impression on his teachers, though, not because he was a star (although he did play varsity soccer) but because he didn't live in the cool zone most teenagers inhabit, or at least pretend to occupy. Loveless was open, warm and inclined to heart-to-hearts. "That's the hardest thing for me," counselor Scott Lipner said Wednesday. Jeremy "was someone who was genuinely here to help others."
Loveless helped to start a group at Gresham High for Christian athletes and considered becoming a youth minister. He tried many things, including window washing, which helped him conquer his fear of heights. Three years ago, his friend and mentor Joe Schwab encouraged Loveless to try volunteer firefighting in Estacada, and Loveless -- an avid outdoorsman and rock climber -- became hooked.
Joining the Army was a way to pay for paramedic training, and secure a future for his family. As hard as it was to be so far away from wife, Melissa, and 4-year-old daughter, Chloe, Loveless enjoyed sharpening his skills, with one caveat. "I'm learning a lot over here," he wrote on March 20. " . . . But . . . when I'm called to do my job, it means something went wrong and somebody got hurt."
On Monday, it was Jeremy Loveless. Daughter Chloe has been told her dad is gone, but thinks he may only be visiting heaven, just as he visited her last year in Estacada.
We wish, too, that he were coming home soon.
Army Specialist Jeremy M. Loveless was killed in action on 05/29/06.
Army Specialist Jeremy M. Loveless, 25, of Estacada, Ore.
Spc Loveless was assigned to the Army's 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, Fort Wainwright, Alaska; killed May 29 when his Stryker came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.
The Oregonian
Oregon loses a soldier who dared himself to keep going higher
As an Army medic, Jeremy Loveless had figured out how best to help his country, colleagues and family
Few people have figured things out by age 25, but Army Spcl. Jeremy Loveless believed he was well on his way. Early on, he'd found a strong faith and established a happy family. But in the past three years he'd found something else he'd been looking for -- his footing on an ascending career path.
A stint in the Army as a field medic, treating injured Iraqis, wasn't supposed to be Loveless' final stop, but only an interim destination to help him land a job. On Memorial Day, however, Loveless was killed near Mosul, Iraq. He is the 58th soldier with ties to Oregon to die in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the second graduate of Gresham High School to die.
People who knew Loveless in high school never pictured him in the Army. In high school, he was one of those kids who makes an impression on his teachers, though, not because he was a star (although he did play varsity soccer) but because he didn't live in the cool zone most teenagers inhabit, or at least pretend to occupy. Loveless was open, warm and inclined to heart-to-hearts. "That's the hardest thing for me," counselor Scott Lipner said Wednesday. Jeremy "was someone who was genuinely here to help others."
Loveless helped to start a group at Gresham High for Christian athletes and considered becoming a youth minister. He tried many things, including window washing, which helped him conquer his fear of heights. Three years ago, his friend and mentor Joe Schwab encouraged Loveless to try volunteer firefighting in Estacada, and Loveless -- an avid outdoorsman and rock climber -- became hooked.
Joining the Army was a way to pay for paramedic training, and secure a future for his family. As hard as it was to be so far away from wife, Melissa, and 4-year-old daughter, Chloe, Loveless enjoyed sharpening his skills, with one caveat. "I'm learning a lot over here," he wrote on March 20. " . . . But . . . when I'm called to do my job, it means something went wrong and somebody got hurt."
On Monday, it was Jeremy Loveless. Daughter Chloe has been told her dad is gone, but thinks he may only be visiting heaven, just as he visited her last year in Estacada.
We wish, too, that he were coming home soon.
Army Specialist Jeremy M. Loveless was killed in action on 05/29/06.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Army Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo
Remember Our Heroes
Army Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo, 30, of Plymouth, N.H.
Capt. Dicenzo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; killed May 25 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed was Spc. Robert E. Blair.
Interview For NHPR News, by Shannon Mullen.
Plymouth is a pretty small town.
There aren’t too many people here who haven’t heard of Doug Dicenzo.
Downtown on Main Street, a few days after his death, it was obvious, talking to the people who live here, that Doug made a lasting impression.
Axa: people that knew him said he was a great kid, very intelligent, a polite person, respectful, so it’s very sad, you know?
At Plymouth high school, former teachers and coaches remember him as Douggie.
"He stood out as a gentleman, even when he was 8, 9 years old. He was one of those kids. And he did it just so naturally, so gracefully, you knew he was going places, that he was going to have high hopes and aspirations."
That’s guidance councilor Norm Leblanc.
He was Doug’s little league baseball coach and watched him grow up to become a model high school student.
"I picture a kid that never stopped smiling, bundle of energy, not a big kid, probably 5’7, i don’t even think he knew he was small. Everyone loved Doug. He had a lot of poise, character, humility. He had all those great characteristics that make people great, and he had ‘em at a young age. This is so tragic."
Dicenzo was senior class president, captain of his football and wrestling teams, and a strong student who took mostly Advanced Placement classes.
When he graduated in 1995, his classmates voted him teacher’s pet and most likely to succeed.
Dicenzo’s stepfather, Mark Burzynski, says after high school, Doug went on to become an even better man.
"Everything they knew just got better, a lot better, each and every year. So what you hear here in town, it’s just the beginning."
Doug’s mom, Cathy Crane, says West Point was her older son’s first choice when they were looking at colleges.
"He liked Annapolis, but when we got to West Point, he was like, 'this is it' and he was hooked, would not apply to one other school, even though we tried, just apply to a few, then you’ll have a choice. December first he got this beautiful big package in the mail, saying I’m accepted, and he was very happy, and it never went any further, he never went anyplace else."
Dicenzo graduated from west point in 1999, and he rose up the ranks quickly.
When he got married, his mom says the couple came home to New Hampshire for their wedding.
For their honeymoon, Doug took his new wife Nicole, hiking in the presidential mountain range.
"He said, Nic, it’s not hard, and he goes, it’s just hoppin on rocks. That’s when she started swearing, i’ve never seen so many freskin’ big boulders in my whole life. He said it was going to be a walk in the park, kind of walk in the ridge!"
Doug’s military career took him from a brief stint in Alaska, to Germany, where he became company commander in the first armored division.
One of his mom’s favorite stories about Doug comes from a recent trip to Germany to meet her new grandson Dakin.
"We went to visit, and he says we’re going to walk to dinner, it’s just over the hill, we were in downtown Heidelberg, little bit of snow on the ground, we trapsed three miles at least, up side of mountain, over fields to this farmhouse that was this unbelievable restaurant. It was off the charts. That was so Doug, and we just laughed about that. Gee Doug, let’s go out to dinner. It’s just a little hike…"
That was one of the last visits Cathy and Mark had with Doug.
They saw him again last August, before he shipped out to the Middle East… where they waited on ready reserve for three months.
Cathy says Doug was anxious to get to Iraq, where he was in charge of about 130 enlisted men.
When he called home, he only talked about the positive things he was seeing and doing.
"He’d say we’re doing so much good over here, he goes, you should see it, what’s been built, and he felt they were making a difference with the kids, that the kids are the future of Iraq."
Mark: "And he said most of Iraq is not what you see in the news. He says that’s Baghdad, the slums of Baghdad. Most people are supportive, they like the troops."
"The only thing he didn’t like about being in Iraq was being away from son/wife… it was being away from them."
Cathy says Doug thought of himself as a professional, who did his job no matter what.
He didn’t say a lot about his personal politics.
And regardless of their beliefs, his family stood behind him.
Cathy: "You bring your kids up to make their own choices and you support them in what they do, no matter what they choose. And along the way you might disagree with them, and you might not think it’s the best choice at the time, but you support them 120 percent."
Cathy says the support her family has received from the community has been overwhelming.
"It’s just unbelievable, people have been at our doors for 3 days, the phone’s been ringing off hook. Governor Lynch called, Judd Gregg called, giving home phone numbers, so it is overwhelming, I guess the sad part is, couldn’t we feel that support while the soldiers are over there doing their jobs every day versus after the fact. I mean, it’s making us feel wonderful, it’s just one of those things you say, ‘I hope they felt that.'”
Cathy says Doug wanted to be a career soldier.
But he was also a home-body, and he eventually hoped to move his family back to New Hampshire.
"He said i’m going to do twenty years, then probably come home and teach, that was going to be his next life."
"Teach what?"
"Probably would have been high school history, think of this, he’s been all over world, he’s been gone from here ten years, and where does he want to come back to? Here."
Doug’s family got the call about his death last week.
They’re planning services for Sunday in Plymouth, according to what Doug said requested.
"He wanted a military sendoff, rifle salute, taps, then he wanted a celebration of his life, wanted people to get together and have a party. So we’re celebrating him through a memorial. We’re having diff people speak from diff points of his life."
Doug liked to brew beer, so after his service, he wanted everyone to meet someplace fun, have drinks, and share memories.
Doug Dicenzo was 30 years old.
He is survived by his father Larry.
His mother Cathy and step father Mark.
His brother Dan…
His wife Nicole, and their 16 month old son Dakin.
Before he died, Doug also videotaped himself reading stories, so his son will always be able to see him, and hear his voice.
Army Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo was killed in action on 05/25/06.
Army Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo, 30, of Plymouth, N.H.
Capt. Dicenzo was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry, 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division, Baumholder, Germany; killed May 25 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed was Spc. Robert E. Blair.
Interview For NHPR News, by Shannon Mullen.
Plymouth is a pretty small town.
There aren’t too many people here who haven’t heard of Doug Dicenzo.
Downtown on Main Street, a few days after his death, it was obvious, talking to the people who live here, that Doug made a lasting impression.
Axa: people that knew him said he was a great kid, very intelligent, a polite person, respectful, so it’s very sad, you know?
At Plymouth high school, former teachers and coaches remember him as Douggie.
"He stood out as a gentleman, even when he was 8, 9 years old. He was one of those kids. And he did it just so naturally, so gracefully, you knew he was going places, that he was going to have high hopes and aspirations."
That’s guidance councilor Norm Leblanc.
He was Doug’s little league baseball coach and watched him grow up to become a model high school student.
"I picture a kid that never stopped smiling, bundle of energy, not a big kid, probably 5’7, i don’t even think he knew he was small. Everyone loved Doug. He had a lot of poise, character, humility. He had all those great characteristics that make people great, and he had ‘em at a young age. This is so tragic."
Dicenzo was senior class president, captain of his football and wrestling teams, and a strong student who took mostly Advanced Placement classes.
When he graduated in 1995, his classmates voted him teacher’s pet and most likely to succeed.
Dicenzo’s stepfather, Mark Burzynski, says after high school, Doug went on to become an even better man.
"Everything they knew just got better, a lot better, each and every year. So what you hear here in town, it’s just the beginning."
Doug’s mom, Cathy Crane, says West Point was her older son’s first choice when they were looking at colleges.
"He liked Annapolis, but when we got to West Point, he was like, 'this is it' and he was hooked, would not apply to one other school, even though we tried, just apply to a few, then you’ll have a choice. December first he got this beautiful big package in the mail, saying I’m accepted, and he was very happy, and it never went any further, he never went anyplace else."
Dicenzo graduated from west point in 1999, and he rose up the ranks quickly.
When he got married, his mom says the couple came home to New Hampshire for their wedding.
For their honeymoon, Doug took his new wife Nicole, hiking in the presidential mountain range.
"He said, Nic, it’s not hard, and he goes, it’s just hoppin on rocks. That’s when she started swearing, i’ve never seen so many freskin’ big boulders in my whole life. He said it was going to be a walk in the park, kind of walk in the ridge!"
Doug’s military career took him from a brief stint in Alaska, to Germany, where he became company commander in the first armored division.
One of his mom’s favorite stories about Doug comes from a recent trip to Germany to meet her new grandson Dakin.
"We went to visit, and he says we’re going to walk to dinner, it’s just over the hill, we were in downtown Heidelberg, little bit of snow on the ground, we trapsed three miles at least, up side of mountain, over fields to this farmhouse that was this unbelievable restaurant. It was off the charts. That was so Doug, and we just laughed about that. Gee Doug, let’s go out to dinner. It’s just a little hike…"
That was one of the last visits Cathy and Mark had with Doug.
They saw him again last August, before he shipped out to the Middle East… where they waited on ready reserve for three months.
Cathy says Doug was anxious to get to Iraq, where he was in charge of about 130 enlisted men.
When he called home, he only talked about the positive things he was seeing and doing.
"He’d say we’re doing so much good over here, he goes, you should see it, what’s been built, and he felt they were making a difference with the kids, that the kids are the future of Iraq."
Mark: "And he said most of Iraq is not what you see in the news. He says that’s Baghdad, the slums of Baghdad. Most people are supportive, they like the troops."
"The only thing he didn’t like about being in Iraq was being away from son/wife… it was being away from them."
Cathy says Doug thought of himself as a professional, who did his job no matter what.
He didn’t say a lot about his personal politics.
And regardless of their beliefs, his family stood behind him.
Cathy: "You bring your kids up to make their own choices and you support them in what they do, no matter what they choose. And along the way you might disagree with them, and you might not think it’s the best choice at the time, but you support them 120 percent."
Cathy says the support her family has received from the community has been overwhelming.
"It’s just unbelievable, people have been at our doors for 3 days, the phone’s been ringing off hook. Governor Lynch called, Judd Gregg called, giving home phone numbers, so it is overwhelming, I guess the sad part is, couldn’t we feel that support while the soldiers are over there doing their jobs every day versus after the fact. I mean, it’s making us feel wonderful, it’s just one of those things you say, ‘I hope they felt that.'”
Cathy says Doug wanted to be a career soldier.
But he was also a home-body, and he eventually hoped to move his family back to New Hampshire.
"He said i’m going to do twenty years, then probably come home and teach, that was going to be his next life."
"Teach what?"
"Probably would have been high school history, think of this, he’s been all over world, he’s been gone from here ten years, and where does he want to come back to? Here."
Doug’s family got the call about his death last week.
They’re planning services for Sunday in Plymouth, according to what Doug said requested.
"He wanted a military sendoff, rifle salute, taps, then he wanted a celebration of his life, wanted people to get together and have a party. So we’re celebrating him through a memorial. We’re having diff people speak from diff points of his life."
Doug liked to brew beer, so after his service, he wanted everyone to meet someplace fun, have drinks, and share memories.
Doug Dicenzo was 30 years old.
He is survived by his father Larry.
His mother Cathy and step father Mark.
His brother Dan…
His wife Nicole, and their 16 month old son Dakin.
Before he died, Doug also videotaped himself reading stories, so his son will always be able to see him, and hear his voice.
Army Capt. Douglas A. Dicenzo was killed in action on 05/25/06.
Army Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville, Ill.
Pfc. Lufkin was assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; died May 25 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of injuries sustained May 4 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his RG-31 mine protected vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad.
BY KEVIN SAMPIER
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
KNOXVILLE - A local soldier who was injured May 4 in Iraq by a roadside bomb died Thursday in Washington, D.C., just days after his family thought he would make a full recovery.
Army Pfc. Caleb Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville died Thursday afternoon at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center from complications during surgery to repair shrapnel damage to his left leg, according to Lufkin's father, Tammy Lufkin.
"Everybody thought he was going to be fine," Tammy Lufkin said Thursday evening after receiving the call just before 2 p.m. that his son had died.
Lufkin was a member of the 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
He suffered broken bones in his legs, both wrists, a broken foot, severed arteries and lacerations. But earlier this month, his mother, Marcy Gorsline, said he was expected to recover fully from his injuries.
Tammy Lufkin said his son suffered a heart attack and died during the surgery. He had complications with a similar surgery May 18 as well.
According to a Web page set up by Lufkin's family, he underwent a similar surgery on the same leg last week but ended up in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator after complications developed.
His father said the previous surgery rendered his blood unable to bring oxygen to his lungs, and the surgery was stopped because his oxygen level dropped.
His family had hoped Lufkin would undergo physical therapy closer to home and had high hopes he would be back to normal in no time.
"I talked to him every night," Tammy Lufkin said Thursday. The two had planned to go to Sturgis, S.D., in 2007.
The Web page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/caleblufkin was updated by Caleb Lufkin's mother Wednesday evening. She described her son's apprehension of undergoing the surgery again, especially after the previous complications.
"They told us today (Wednesday) that it should last four to five hours," she said in the entry. "Caleb is a little nervous, to say the least, given the fact that he ended up in ICU on the vent last time they tried to work on his leg."
A benefit for Caleb Lufkin was planned for June 17 in Knoxville by Tim Frainer, an Abingdon solider who was wounded last November in Iraq.
Frainer said Thursday the benefit will bepostponed until plans can be made with the family.
Family members are planning to fly to Washington to make arrangements for Lufkin's funeral.
Caleb Lufkin's stepsister, Artie Gorsline, said the news of Lufkin's death came as a shock to the whole family.
"I was actually in shock. I really didn't believe it at first," she said.
"He was a very loving person. Everybody loved him."
Army Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin died 05/25/06 as a result of injuries sustained in action on 05/04/06.
Army Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville, Ill.
Pfc. Lufkin was assigned to the 5th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; died May 25 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., of injuries sustained May 4 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his RG-31 mine protected vehicle during combat operations in Baghdad.
BY KEVIN SAMPIER
OF THE JOURNAL STAR
KNOXVILLE - A local soldier who was injured May 4 in Iraq by a roadside bomb died Thursday in Washington, D.C., just days after his family thought he would make a full recovery.
Army Pfc. Caleb Lufkin, 24, of Knoxville died Thursday afternoon at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center from complications during surgery to repair shrapnel damage to his left leg, according to Lufkin's father, Tammy Lufkin.
"Everybody thought he was going to be fine," Tammy Lufkin said Thursday evening after receiving the call just before 2 p.m. that his son had died.
Lufkin was a member of the 5th Engineer Battalion, 1st Engineer Brigade of Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
He suffered broken bones in his legs, both wrists, a broken foot, severed arteries and lacerations. But earlier this month, his mother, Marcy Gorsline, said he was expected to recover fully from his injuries.
Tammy Lufkin said his son suffered a heart attack and died during the surgery. He had complications with a similar surgery May 18 as well.
According to a Web page set up by Lufkin's family, he underwent a similar surgery on the same leg last week but ended up in the intensive care unit and on a ventilator after complications developed.
His father said the previous surgery rendered his blood unable to bring oxygen to his lungs, and the surgery was stopped because his oxygen level dropped.
His family had hoped Lufkin would undergo physical therapy closer to home and had high hopes he would be back to normal in no time.
"I talked to him every night," Tammy Lufkin said Thursday. The two had planned to go to Sturgis, S.D., in 2007.
The Web page at www.caringbridge.org/visit/caleblufkin was updated by Caleb Lufkin's mother Wednesday evening. She described her son's apprehension of undergoing the surgery again, especially after the previous complications.
"They told us today (Wednesday) that it should last four to five hours," she said in the entry. "Caleb is a little nervous, to say the least, given the fact that he ended up in ICU on the vent last time they tried to work on his leg."
A benefit for Caleb Lufkin was planned for June 17 in Knoxville by Tim Frainer, an Abingdon solider who was wounded last November in Iraq.
Frainer said Thursday the benefit will bepostponed until plans can be made with the family.
Family members are planning to fly to Washington to make arrangements for Lufkin's funeral.
Caleb Lufkin's stepsister, Artie Gorsline, said the news of Lufkin's death came as a shock to the whole family.
"I was actually in shock. I really didn't believe it at first," she said.
"He was a very loving person. Everybody loved him."
Army Pfc. Caleb A. Lufkin died 05/25/06 as a result of injuries sustained in action on 05/04/06.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Army Spc. Michael L. Hermanson
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Michael L. Hermanson, 21, of Fargo, N.D.
Spc Hermanson was assigned to the 164th Engineer Battalion, North Dakota Army National Guard, Minot, N.D.; died May 23, 2006 of injuries sustained when his RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle came under attack from an improvised explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and enemy small-arms fire while on a route-clearing mission during combat operations in Abayachi, Iraq.
N.D. guardsman killed by RPG in Iraq
By Dave Kolpack
The Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. — A North Dakota National Guard soldier was killed in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, military officials said. Spc. Michael Hermanson, of Fargo, was serving with Company A of the Minot-based 164th Engineer Combat Battalion.
Hermanson, 21, died at about 2 p.m. CDT — 11 p.m. Iraq time — on Tuesday, while his unit was on patrol clearing roadside bombs south of Balad, Guard spokesman Rob Keller said. Balad is about 50 miles north of Baghdad.
“All of us in the National Guard are deeply saddened at the loss of this great soldier,” Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, the state Guard commander, said in a statement Wednesday. “Spc. Hermanson edified the volunteer spirit prevalent in the North Dakota National Guard.”
Maj. Jason Steckler, commander of Company A, said Hermanson’s 3rd Platoon honored him as his remains were loaded on an aircraft for the flight back to the United States.
The Guard said Hermanson’s parents, Layne and Scharlotta, did not wish to speak to reporters Wednesday night.
Hermanson, who was single, has a sister, Lindsey, of Fargo. The 2002 Fargo North graduate attended North Dakota State University for two semesters before and after his military training.
He enlisted in the Guard in 2002. After basic training, he was assigned to Headquarters Support Company of the 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion in Fargo as a technical engineer, the Guard said.
Fargo North principal Andy Dahlen said Hermanson was interested in art, and never got into trouble in school.
“He was someone who did his thing and stayed out of the office,” Dahlen said.
Lindsey Hermanson is attending Fargo North, and was in school for a while Wednesday because she was worried about her final tests, Dahlen said. The school has waived those tests, he said.
“When you lose a brother or a son, you’re obviously distraught over it,” Dahlen said. “It’s especially difficult with Memorial Day around the corner.”
Hermanson was the 12th U.S. service member from North Dakota or serving with a North Dakota military unit to be reported killed while on duty in Iraq. He was the eighth Guard soldier to be killed.
Keller said the 164th Engineer Combat Battalion’s Company A has 122 soldiers from 44 North Dakota cities. Two other soldiers live in Minnesota and one lives in North Carolina, he said. Fifty of the soldiers, including Hermanson, volunteered.
“It’s a widespread unit,” Keller said.
The company was mobilized Aug. 5, 2005, and arrived in Iraq in mid-November of that year. The main duty of the soldiers was to clear roadside bombs.
Keller said no other soldiers “that we are aware of” were injured in Tuesday’s attack.
Hermanson’s immediate family was notified Tuesday, Keller said. Family members of all the 122 soldiers in the unit were being notified Wednesday, he said.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, and as this Memorial Day approaches, we pledge never to forget his courage or his selflessness,” Gov. John Hoeven said in a statement.
Army Spc. Michael L. Hermanson was killed in action on 5/23/06.
Army Spc. Michael L. Hermanson, 21, of Fargo, N.D.
Spc Hermanson was assigned to the 164th Engineer Battalion, North Dakota Army National Guard, Minot, N.D.; died May 23, 2006 of injuries sustained when his RG-31 Mine Protected Vehicle came under attack from an improvised explosive device, a rocket-propelled grenade and enemy small-arms fire while on a route-clearing mission during combat operations in Abayachi, Iraq.
N.D. guardsman killed by RPG in Iraq
By Dave Kolpack
The Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. — A North Dakota National Guard soldier was killed in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, military officials said. Spc. Michael Hermanson, of Fargo, was serving with Company A of the Minot-based 164th Engineer Combat Battalion.
Hermanson, 21, died at about 2 p.m. CDT — 11 p.m. Iraq time — on Tuesday, while his unit was on patrol clearing roadside bombs south of Balad, Guard spokesman Rob Keller said. Balad is about 50 miles north of Baghdad.
“All of us in the National Guard are deeply saddened at the loss of this great soldier,” Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, the state Guard commander, said in a statement Wednesday. “Spc. Hermanson edified the volunteer spirit prevalent in the North Dakota National Guard.”
Maj. Jason Steckler, commander of Company A, said Hermanson’s 3rd Platoon honored him as his remains were loaded on an aircraft for the flight back to the United States.
The Guard said Hermanson’s parents, Layne and Scharlotta, did not wish to speak to reporters Wednesday night.
Hermanson, who was single, has a sister, Lindsey, of Fargo. The 2002 Fargo North graduate attended North Dakota State University for two semesters before and after his military training.
He enlisted in the Guard in 2002. After basic training, he was assigned to Headquarters Support Company of the 142nd Engineer Combat Battalion in Fargo as a technical engineer, the Guard said.
Fargo North principal Andy Dahlen said Hermanson was interested in art, and never got into trouble in school.
“He was someone who did his thing and stayed out of the office,” Dahlen said.
Lindsey Hermanson is attending Fargo North, and was in school for a while Wednesday because she was worried about her final tests, Dahlen said. The school has waived those tests, he said.
“When you lose a brother or a son, you’re obviously distraught over it,” Dahlen said. “It’s especially difficult with Memorial Day around the corner.”
Hermanson was the 12th U.S. service member from North Dakota or serving with a North Dakota military unit to be reported killed while on duty in Iraq. He was the eighth Guard soldier to be killed.
Keller said the 164th Engineer Combat Battalion’s Company A has 122 soldiers from 44 North Dakota cities. Two other soldiers live in Minnesota and one lives in North Carolina, he said. Fifty of the soldiers, including Hermanson, volunteered.
“It’s a widespread unit,” Keller said.
The company was mobilized Aug. 5, 2005, and arrived in Iraq in mid-November of that year. The main duty of the soldiers was to clear roadside bombs.
Keller said no other soldiers “that we are aware of” were injured in Tuesday’s attack.
Hermanson’s immediate family was notified Tuesday, Keller said. Family members of all the 122 soldiers in the unit were being notified Wednesday, he said.
“He made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, and as this Memorial Day approaches, we pledge never to forget his courage or his selflessness,” Gov. John Hoeven said in a statement.
Army Spc. Michael L. Hermanson was killed in action on 5/23/06.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Marine Sgt. David R. Christoff
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. David R. Christoff, 25, of Rossford, Ohio
Sgt Christoff was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died May 22 from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. William J. Leusink.
Springfield News-Sun
By Samantha Sommer - Staff Writer
Son, best friend, godfather, Marine. Honorable, handsome, humorous, hero.
The words friends and family use to describe Sgt. David Christoff aren’t enough.
“There’s no describing what kind of a wonderful person he was to everyone,” said his father, David Christoff, of Rossford.
Sgt. Christoff, 25, died in Iraq on Sunday, killed by a roadside bomb, according to friends and family.
He was a 1999 graduate of Shawnee High School. His mother and stepfather still live here.
Sgt. Christoff re-enlisted in the Marines last year and volunteered for a second tour of Iraq, said his friend Branden Skabla, who joined the Marines with him and also fought in Iraq.
During his first tour in Iraq, Skabla said Sgt. Christoff fought in the push into Fallujah.
In his recent second tour there, he saw less action. The Marines mostly did patrols and waited, Skabla said, and worried about roadside bombs. Some fellow Marines that trained with Sgt. Christoff were going to Iraq, and he wanted to join them, Skabla said.
People were forgetting the war, Sgt. Christoff told Skabla.
“He never forgot about it,” Skabla said. “He always said, ‘If there’s a war going on, I want to be there. I want to protect my country.”
Skabla said he will never forget the day he and Sgt. Christoff quit their constructions jobs to join the Marines after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Last August, Skabla, 25, left the Marines and joined his wife and son, now in Toledo.
He asked Sgt. Christoff, whom he considered a brother, to be the godfather to his son.
“He was excited and he accepted with open arms,” Skabla said. “He loves my son and wife like I do.”
Skabla last saw his best friend when he was home on leave a few months ago. They went to a Super Bowl party and then to visit Sgt. Christoff’s family in Rossford.
The elder David Christoff had a heart attack during that visit. Sgt. Christoff took his father to the hospital and extended his leave a few days.
His father credits that with saving his life.
“He was my life,” father David Christoff said. “Part of my heart is gone and I’ll never get it back.”
Sgt. Christoff lived every day to the fullest and died doing what he wanted to do by defending his country, his father said.
He often told his father not to believe the bad news about the war and that he saw the good occurring in Iraq.
“We all slept safely every night because of what he and his warriors are doing,” the elder David Christoff said.
Bob Willman, former Clark-Shawnee superintendant, remembered Sgt. Christoff as well-spoken, liked and respected. It didn’t surprise Willman that Sgt. Christoff joined the Marines.
“He was loyal to his family, and to his classmates and to his school,” Willman said, “and obviously, to his country.”
Sgt. Christoff last talked to his father in the middle of the night on Thursday.
They talked about the weather — it hit 100 degrees in Iraq — and sports — he wanted to know how LeBron James was doing in the playoffs.
“It was a typical father-son chat,” father David Christoff said.
Words he’ll cherish forever.
Marine Sgt. David R. Christoff was killed in action on 05/22/06.
Marine Sgt. David R. Christoff, 25, of Rossford, Ohio
Sgt Christoff was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died May 22 from wounds sustained while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. William J. Leusink.
Springfield News-Sun
By Samantha Sommer - Staff Writer
Son, best friend, godfather, Marine. Honorable, handsome, humorous, hero.
The words friends and family use to describe Sgt. David Christoff aren’t enough.
“There’s no describing what kind of a wonderful person he was to everyone,” said his father, David Christoff, of Rossford.
Sgt. Christoff, 25, died in Iraq on Sunday, killed by a roadside bomb, according to friends and family.
He was a 1999 graduate of Shawnee High School. His mother and stepfather still live here.
Sgt. Christoff re-enlisted in the Marines last year and volunteered for a second tour of Iraq, said his friend Branden Skabla, who joined the Marines with him and also fought in Iraq.
During his first tour in Iraq, Skabla said Sgt. Christoff fought in the push into Fallujah.
In his recent second tour there, he saw less action. The Marines mostly did patrols and waited, Skabla said, and worried about roadside bombs. Some fellow Marines that trained with Sgt. Christoff were going to Iraq, and he wanted to join them, Skabla said.
People were forgetting the war, Sgt. Christoff told Skabla.
“He never forgot about it,” Skabla said. “He always said, ‘If there’s a war going on, I want to be there. I want to protect my country.”
Skabla said he will never forget the day he and Sgt. Christoff quit their constructions jobs to join the Marines after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Last August, Skabla, 25, left the Marines and joined his wife and son, now in Toledo.
He asked Sgt. Christoff, whom he considered a brother, to be the godfather to his son.
“He was excited and he accepted with open arms,” Skabla said. “He loves my son and wife like I do.”
Skabla last saw his best friend when he was home on leave a few months ago. They went to a Super Bowl party and then to visit Sgt. Christoff’s family in Rossford.
The elder David Christoff had a heart attack during that visit. Sgt. Christoff took his father to the hospital and extended his leave a few days.
His father credits that with saving his life.
“He was my life,” father David Christoff said. “Part of my heart is gone and I’ll never get it back.”
Sgt. Christoff lived every day to the fullest and died doing what he wanted to do by defending his country, his father said.
He often told his father not to believe the bad news about the war and that he saw the good occurring in Iraq.
“We all slept safely every night because of what he and his warriors are doing,” the elder David Christoff said.
Bob Willman, former Clark-Shawnee superintendant, remembered Sgt. Christoff as well-spoken, liked and respected. It didn’t surprise Willman that Sgt. Christoff joined the Marines.
“He was loyal to his family, and to his classmates and to his school,” Willman said, “and obviously, to his country.”
Sgt. Christoff last talked to his father in the middle of the night on Thursday.
They talked about the weather — it hit 100 degrees in Iraq — and sports — he wanted to know how LeBron James was doing in the playoffs.
“It was a typical father-son chat,” father David Christoff said.
Words he’ll cherish forever.
Marine Sgt. David R. Christoff was killed in action on 05/22/06.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Army Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer, 25, of Gilmanton, N.H.
Pfc Cournoyer was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 18 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed were Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, 1st. Lt. Robert A. Seidel III and Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen Jr.
By RILEY YATES
Union Leader Staff
Saturday, May. 20, 2006
A soldier from Gilmanton who loved to work out and was known for his generosity was killed this week in Iraq, the New Hampshire National Guard said yesterday.
Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer, 25, was among those killed Thursday when a homemade bomb exploded as their convoy returned to base in Baghdad, said Maj. Greg Heilshorn, a guard spokesman.
Cournoyer grew up in Gilmanton, graduating in 2000 from Gilford High School, Heilshorn said. Yesterday, family and friends wearing red ribbons streamed to the home of his parents, Denis and Lenda.
Heilshorn, who acted as spokesman for the family, said Cournoyer was remembered for his generosity. His mother would send care packages to Iraq, which he always shared with his fellow soldiers.
“Needless to say, his buddies in his unit couldn’t wait for him to get those care packages,” Heilshorn said.
“As his mom and dad said, he had a big heart.”
At least 13 other soldiers and Marines with New Hampshire ties have died in the Middle East in the past two years, including two others since April.
Cournoyer enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2005, and was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y.
He had been in Iraq nearly a year, and was scheduled to return stateside late this summer. February was the last time he saw home, when he was back for a two-week leave.
Cournoyer was an infantryman and had been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, which is given to soldiers who see direct combat, Heilshorn said.
“He worked out,” Heilshorn said. “He was very, very much into being in shape, which is of course part of being a soldier.”
Before enlisting, Cournoyer worked as a mason’s assistant in the Laconia area. He bought a truck that he had fixed up and paid off.
He planned to buy a Harley-Davidson after his tour ended, Heilshorn said. He wanted to join the National Guard.
Last night, longtime Gilford educator Don Engelbert said Cournoyer had a highly developed sense of right and wrong that stood out to his peers and teachers.
Cournoyer found a niche in the military, Engelbert said.
“He was a really solid human being and he was a caring human being,” said Engelbert, who taught Cournoyer’s older sister, Natalie. “He was a big, strapping kid.”
Though Cournoyer was not involved in high school athletics, he was a Red Sox fan. Heilshorn said his mother would send him Sox memorabilia while he was stationed in Iraq.
Funeral arrangements have not been scheduled. Cournoyer will be buried with full military honors, Heilshorn said.
Army Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer was killed in action on 05/18/06.
Army Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer, 25, of Gilmanton, N.H.
Pfc Cournoyer was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died May 18 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad. Also killed were Lt. Col. Daniel E. Holland, 1st. Lt. Robert A. Seidel III and Sgt. Lonnie C. Allen Jr.
By RILEY YATES
Union Leader Staff
Saturday, May. 20, 2006
A soldier from Gilmanton who loved to work out and was known for his generosity was killed this week in Iraq, the New Hampshire National Guard said yesterday.
Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer, 25, was among those killed Thursday when a homemade bomb exploded as their convoy returned to base in Baghdad, said Maj. Greg Heilshorn, a guard spokesman.
Cournoyer grew up in Gilmanton, graduating in 2000 from Gilford High School, Heilshorn said. Yesterday, family and friends wearing red ribbons streamed to the home of his parents, Denis and Lenda.
Heilshorn, who acted as spokesman for the family, said Cournoyer was remembered for his generosity. His mother would send care packages to Iraq, which he always shared with his fellow soldiers.
“Needless to say, his buddies in his unit couldn’t wait for him to get those care packages,” Heilshorn said.
“As his mom and dad said, he had a big heart.”
At least 13 other soldiers and Marines with New Hampshire ties have died in the Middle East in the past two years, including two others since April.
Cournoyer enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2005, and was a member of the 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y.
He had been in Iraq nearly a year, and was scheduled to return stateside late this summer. February was the last time he saw home, when he was back for a two-week leave.
Cournoyer was an infantryman and had been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, which is given to soldiers who see direct combat, Heilshorn said.
“He worked out,” Heilshorn said. “He was very, very much into being in shape, which is of course part of being a soldier.”
Before enlisting, Cournoyer worked as a mason’s assistant in the Laconia area. He bought a truck that he had fixed up and paid off.
He planned to buy a Harley-Davidson after his tour ended, Heilshorn said. He wanted to join the National Guard.
Last night, longtime Gilford educator Don Engelbert said Cournoyer had a highly developed sense of right and wrong that stood out to his peers and teachers.
Cournoyer found a niche in the military, Engelbert said.
“He was a really solid human being and he was a caring human being,” said Engelbert, who taught Cournoyer’s older sister, Natalie. “He was a big, strapping kid.”
Though Cournoyer was not involved in high school athletics, he was a Red Sox fan. Heilshorn said his mother would send him Sox memorabilia while he was stationed in Iraq.
Funeral arrangements have not been scheduled. Cournoyer will be buried with full military honors, Heilshorn said.
Army Pfc. Nicholas R. Cournoyer was killed in action on 05/18/06.
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Marine Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, of Overbrook, Oklahoma.
Lance Cpl. Yearby was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; killed May 14 while conducting combat operations in the Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr.
OVERBROOK, May 16, 2006 (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex) --
A Marine from Oklahoma was killed Sunday in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, of Overbrook in Love County was killed Sunday while "conducting combat operations against enemy forces" in Anbar province, the Pentagon said.
KTEN-TV in Denison, Texas, reported that the military told Yearby's family early Sunday that he was killed when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine.
Also killed was Lance Cpl. Jose S. Marin Dominguez Jr., 22, of Liberal, Kan.
Both were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Yearby and Dominguez were among seven U.S. military personnel killed during the weekend.
"Flags are at half-mast in honor of my son," Justin Yearby told KTEN. "It honors our family."
The family said Hatak Yearby -- the first name means "free man" -- joined the Marines because he was influenced by past veterans and warriors, KTEN reported.
A family friend, Wilson Roberts of Ada, said Yearby, an American Indian dancer in powwow competitions, wore two long braids until he woke one morning and told his mother he had to cut his hair because of a dream.
"That's one of the things he had to do to go into the Marines," he said.
The family said in a KTEN interview that Yearby treated his service in the Marine Corps as he treated his tribe -- "with respect, honor and dignity."
Yearby graduated in 2003 from Marietta High School, where Vice Principal Pam Anderson described him as a quiet, well-mannered, good student.
"What I do remember is that they used to travel and dance. He had the costume and all that, and he always wore the long hair," she said.
When Yearby returned to the school last winter for a basketball game, Anderson hardly recognized him.
"I told him I was proud of him for what he was doing," she said.
KTEN reported that Yearby's body is expected to be returned to his family in the next seven to 10 days.
A 1998 article in the Daily Ardmorite described Justin Yearby as a member of the Creek and Choctaw tribes.
Yearby's survivors include his wife, Lindsey, whom he married in February; his parents, Justin and Mary Yearby; and two sisters, Shema Yearby and Samarrah Bell, a former Marine.
Chris Bell, Yearby's brother-in-law, said the family was not granting further media requests and wished to be respected during its time of mourning.
Marine Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Marine Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, of Overbrook, Oklahoma.
Lance Cpl. Yearby was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; killed May 14 while conducting combat operations in the Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr.
OVERBROOK, May 16, 2006 (Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News delivered by Newstex) --
A Marine from Oklahoma was killed Sunday in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby, 21, of Overbrook in Love County was killed Sunday while "conducting combat operations against enemy forces" in Anbar province, the Pentagon said.
KTEN-TV in Denison, Texas, reported that the military told Yearby's family early Sunday that he was killed when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine.
Also killed was Lance Cpl. Jose S. Marin Dominguez Jr., 22, of Liberal, Kan.
Both were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force at Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Yearby and Dominguez were among seven U.S. military personnel killed during the weekend.
"Flags are at half-mast in honor of my son," Justin Yearby told KTEN. "It honors our family."
The family said Hatak Yearby -- the first name means "free man" -- joined the Marines because he was influenced by past veterans and warriors, KTEN reported.
A family friend, Wilson Roberts of Ada, said Yearby, an American Indian dancer in powwow competitions, wore two long braids until he woke one morning and told his mother he had to cut his hair because of a dream.
"That's one of the things he had to do to go into the Marines," he said.
The family said in a KTEN interview that Yearby treated his service in the Marine Corps as he treated his tribe -- "with respect, honor and dignity."
Yearby graduated in 2003 from Marietta High School, where Vice Principal Pam Anderson described him as a quiet, well-mannered, good student.
"What I do remember is that they used to travel and dance. He had the costume and all that, and he always wore the long hair," she said.
When Yearby returned to the school last winter for a basketball game, Anderson hardly recognized him.
"I told him I was proud of him for what he was doing," she said.
KTEN reported that Yearby's body is expected to be returned to his family in the next seven to 10 days.
A 1998 article in the Daily Ardmorite described Justin Yearby as a member of the Creek and Choctaw tribes.
Yearby's survivors include his wife, Lindsey, whom he married in February; his parents, Justin and Mary Yearby; and two sisters, Shema Yearby and Samarrah Bell, a former Marine.
Chris Bell, Yearby's brother-in-law, said the family was not granting further media requests and wished to be respected during its time of mourning.
Marine Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr.
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr., 22, of Liberal, Kansas.
Lance Cpl. MarinDominguez was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; killed May 14 while conducting combat operations in the Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby.
Associated Press
LIBERAL - A Marine killed in Iraq, the 26th Kansan to die there since the war started, was remembered for his faith and devotion to his adopted country.
"He told me that in his own way, he had a relationship with God, and God had him there for a reason," said Thomas Marin, brother of Lance Cpl. Jose Marin Jr.
Jose Marin, 22, was killed Sunday in fighting in Al Anbar Province, the Marines said. Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu Yearby, 21, of Overbrook, Okla., was also killed.
They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Funeral services for Marin were set for Sunday in Liberal, where he grew up. He was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and moved to Kismet after emigrating to the United States in 1991. His family later moved to Liberal and he became a U.S. citizen.
He enlisted in the Marines in 2003, shortly after graduating from Liberal High School.
"He was going to the Marines as soon as he got out of here," said Brian Fowler, an automotive mechanics instructor at the high school. "He was excited about it."
Marin's family wasn't as excited about his decision, though.
"We didn't like the idea much," said his grandmother, Gabina Marin. "Me, I insisted that he not go."
He joined up anyway and served eight months in Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq.
"We told him that we supported him, that we loved him, that he was our hero," said his father, Jose Marin Sr.
Janet Heston, the registrar at Liberal High, recalled a visit Marin made to the school after completing boot camp and the pride he displayed in his Marine uniform.
"He was a real likable kid," she said.
Marin called his family from Iraq whenever he could. His last call was May 9.
"You just ask God to give you strength," Tomas Marin said.
Thomas Marin’s family was heading out the door Sunday for his sister's graduation when officials pulled up to say his brother had been killed in Iraq.
He was just a great guy, said brother Thomas Marin.
He was a sweet guy with a tough exterior – surprising his family when he enlisted with the Marines three years ago.
22-year-old Jose Marin was the kind of older brother Thomas Marin looked up to and admired.
“I wish everybody would have gotten to know him the way I did,” said Thomas.
Friends say when he was home; Marin was a familiar face in church.
He loved music and cars – going so far as to start a car club in Liberal.
It's the downtime Thomas says he'll miss most about his brother, “Just the times I spent with him.”
Thomas describes his brother as a hero, “I just hope the taking of his life signifies something.”
Marin was in his second tour overseas -- he had previously spent time in Afghanistan. He was killed Sunday during combat operations in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr. was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr., 22, of Liberal, Kansas.
Lance Cpl. MarinDominguez was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; killed May 14 while conducting combat operations in the Anbar province, Iraq. Also killed was Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu M. Yearby.
Associated Press
LIBERAL - A Marine killed in Iraq, the 26th Kansan to die there since the war started, was remembered for his faith and devotion to his adopted country.
"He told me that in his own way, he had a relationship with God, and God had him there for a reason," said Thomas Marin, brother of Lance Cpl. Jose Marin Jr.
Jose Marin, 22, was killed Sunday in fighting in Al Anbar Province, the Marines said. Lance Cpl. Hatak Yuka Keyu Yearby, 21, of Overbrook, Okla., was also killed.
They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.
Funeral services for Marin were set for Sunday in Liberal, where he grew up. He was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and moved to Kismet after emigrating to the United States in 1991. His family later moved to Liberal and he became a U.S. citizen.
He enlisted in the Marines in 2003, shortly after graduating from Liberal High School.
"He was going to the Marines as soon as he got out of here," said Brian Fowler, an automotive mechanics instructor at the high school. "He was excited about it."
Marin's family wasn't as excited about his decision, though.
"We didn't like the idea much," said his grandmother, Gabina Marin. "Me, I insisted that he not go."
He joined up anyway and served eight months in Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq.
"We told him that we supported him, that we loved him, that he was our hero," said his father, Jose Marin Sr.
Janet Heston, the registrar at Liberal High, recalled a visit Marin made to the school after completing boot camp and the pride he displayed in his Marine uniform.
"He was a real likable kid," she said.
Marin called his family from Iraq whenever he could. His last call was May 9.
"You just ask God to give you strength," Tomas Marin said.
Thomas Marin’s family was heading out the door Sunday for his sister's graduation when officials pulled up to say his brother had been killed in Iraq.
He was just a great guy, said brother Thomas Marin.
He was a sweet guy with a tough exterior – surprising his family when he enlisted with the Marines three years ago.
22-year-old Jose Marin was the kind of older brother Thomas Marin looked up to and admired.
“I wish everybody would have gotten to know him the way I did,” said Thomas.
Friends say when he was home; Marin was a familiar face in church.
He loved music and cars – going so far as to start a car club in Liberal.
It's the downtime Thomas says he'll miss most about his brother, “Just the times I spent with him.”
Thomas describes his brother as a hero, “I just hope the taking of his life signifies something.”
Marin was in his second tour overseas -- he had previously spent time in Afghanistan. He was killed Sunday during combat operations in Al Anbar Province, Iraq.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jose S. MarinDominguez Jr. was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West
Remember Our Heroes
Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria, Ohio.
Master Sgt. West died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 312th Training Support Battalion, 4th Brigade, 78th Division (Training Support), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Died on May 14, 2006.
AP -- ELYRIA, Ohio -- A soldier who grew up in Ohio was killed Sunday during combat operations in Iraq, the Defense Department said Thursday.
Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria was conducting combat operations in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Defense Department said. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 312th Regiment, Clinton, N.C.
West joined the Army in 1988 after graduating from high school and recently had been at posted at bases in Kentucky and West Virginia, The (Elyria) Chronicle Telegram reported. He is survived by his wife, Jeannie West, and the couple's 11-year-old daughter Shelby, who live in Arvada, Colo., the newspaper said.
Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria, Ohio.
Master Sgt. West died in Baghdad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 312th Training Support Battalion, 4th Brigade, 78th Division (Training Support), Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Died on May 14, 2006.
AP -- ELYRIA, Ohio -- A soldier who grew up in Ohio was killed Sunday during combat operations in Iraq, the Defense Department said Thursday.
Master Sgt. Robert H. West, 37, of Elyria was conducting combat operations in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, the Defense Department said. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 312th Regiment, Clinton, N.C.
West joined the Army in 1988 after graduating from high school and recently had been at posted at bases in Kentucky and West Virginia, The (Elyria) Chronicle Telegram reported. He is survived by his wife, Jeannie West, and the couple's 11-year-old daughter Shelby, who live in Arvada, Colo., the newspaper said.
Army Master Sgt. Robert H. West was killed in action on 05/14/06.
Saturday, May 13, 2006
Army Specialist Ronald W. Gebur
Remember Our Heroes
Army Specialist Ronald W. Gebur, 23, of Delavan, Ill.
Spc. Gebur was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 13 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad.
Journal Star -- PEORIA - Members of an Illinois Army National Guard unit who knew a Delavan man killed over the weekend in Iraq describe him as a "morals and ethics" type of guy.
"He was a great guy . . . morals and ethics all right there," said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Koslowsky, who served with Spc. Ronald Gebur in the 733rd Quartermaster Battalion, based in Delavan.
Gebur, 23, died Saturday when an explosive device blew up near his Humvee during a patrol in Baghdad, according to the Pentagon.
He leaves behind a wife, who is also in the U.S. Army, and a 9-month-old son.
"He gave the ultimate sacrifice for us," his father, Larry Gebur, said Monday while fighting back tears.
Koslowsky remembered Gebur as someone who enlisted in the National Guard after graduating from Delavan High School in 2002. While with the 733rd, he was a cook, but he had higher aspirations.
"All I know, he wanted to go active duty the minute he came in," Koslowsky said. "He wanted to be infantry."
So in 2004, Gebur transferred to the 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, where he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. There, he was a platoon leader and a sniper. His unit had just arrived in Iraq for a tour of duty in December.
Master Sgt. Jason Burris was also in the 733rd with Gebur. He remembers him as a friendly guy who always seemed happy. He would volunteer for extra duty and loved the Army.
Deborah Gebur said her son joined the military to follow in the footsteps of his grandfathers, who both served in Korea.
"He was very talented. He grew up learning to hunt with his grandfather, so that's how he learned to shoot. He was just so talented. He was a strong man. That's how I remember him," his mother said.
Koslowsky, 34, said he considered Gebur not just another soldier under his command but a close friend as well. They would hang out together after drill sessions. The death has been tough for the sergeant.
"I will miss him greatly," he said.
Army Specialist Ronald W. Gebur was killed in action on 05/13/06.
Army Specialist Ronald W. Gebur, 23, of Delavan, Ill.
Spc. Gebur was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died May 13 of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during combat operations in Baghdad.
Journal Star -- PEORIA - Members of an Illinois Army National Guard unit who knew a Delavan man killed over the weekend in Iraq describe him as a "morals and ethics" type of guy.
"He was a great guy . . . morals and ethics all right there," said Sgt. 1st Class Michael Koslowsky, who served with Spc. Ronald Gebur in the 733rd Quartermaster Battalion, based in Delavan.
Gebur, 23, died Saturday when an explosive device blew up near his Humvee during a patrol in Baghdad, according to the Pentagon.
He leaves behind a wife, who is also in the U.S. Army, and a 9-month-old son.
"He gave the ultimate sacrifice for us," his father, Larry Gebur, said Monday while fighting back tears.
Koslowsky remembered Gebur as someone who enlisted in the National Guard after graduating from Delavan High School in 2002. While with the 733rd, he was a cook, but he had higher aspirations.
"All I know, he wanted to go active duty the minute he came in," Koslowsky said. "He wanted to be infantry."
So in 2004, Gebur transferred to the 4th Infantry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, where he was assigned to 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment. There, he was a platoon leader and a sniper. His unit had just arrived in Iraq for a tour of duty in December.
Master Sgt. Jason Burris was also in the 733rd with Gebur. He remembers him as a friendly guy who always seemed happy. He would volunteer for extra duty and loved the Army.
Deborah Gebur said her son joined the military to follow in the footsteps of his grandfathers, who both served in Korea.
"He was very talented. He grew up learning to hunt with his grandfather, so that's how he learned to shoot. He was just so talented. He was a strong man. That's how I remember him," his mother said.
Koslowsky, 34, said he considered Gebur not just another soldier under his command but a close friend as well. They would hang out together after drill sessions. The death has been tough for the sergeant.
"I will miss him greatly," he said.
Army Specialist Ronald W. Gebur was killed in action on 05/13/06.
Friday, May 05, 2006
Army Sgt. John C. Griffith
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. John C. Griffith, 33, of Las Vegas, Nev.
Sgt Griffith was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Sgt. John C. Griffith was killed in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, May 5, 2006 while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Griffith, 33, was a light wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Originally from Wisconsin, Griffith enlisted in the Army in May 1991 and attended Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Following basic and advanced training, Griffith was assigned to the 56th Air Ambulance Company at Camp Humphries, Korea in July 2004. In July 2005 Griffith was reassigned to Fort Drum.
Griffith is a graduate of the Warrior Leader’s Course.
His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Aviator Badge, Parachutist Badge and Driver/Mechanic Badge.
Griffith is survived by his wife, Christa; their children Hunter, Spencer and Kailynn; and his parent, Robert and Barbara.
Army Sgt. John C. Griffith was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Larger Image
Army Sgt. John C. Griffith, 33, of Las Vegas, Nev.
Sgt Griffith was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Sgt. John C. Griffith was killed in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, May 5, 2006 while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Griffith, 33, was a light wheeled vehicle mechanic assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Originally from Wisconsin, Griffith enlisted in the Army in May 1991 and attended Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Following basic and advanced training, Griffith was assigned to the 56th Air Ambulance Company at Camp Humphries, Korea in July 2004. In July 2005 Griffith was reassigned to Fort Drum.
Griffith is a graduate of the Warrior Leader’s Course.
His awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Aviator Badge, Parachutist Badge and Driver/Mechanic Badge.
Griffith is survived by his wife, Christa; their children Hunter, Spencer and Kailynn; and his parent, Robert and Barbara.
Army Sgt. John C. Griffith was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., 19, of Worcester, Mass.
Pfc. Moquin was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
War ends a creative life
Worcester man, 19, volunteered for dangerous duty
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— Easter Sunday was the last time Tracy A. Vaillancourt heard the voice of her 19-year-old son, Brian M. Moquin, a U.S. Army infantry scout and private first class who died with nine other soldiers when a military helicopter crashed in a remote region of Afghanistan Friday.
It was around 2 a.m., and Pfc. Moquin was calling on a scratchy satellite telephone to wish her a belated happy birthday and talk about attending her wedding, planned for the fall.
“I’ll be OK, Mom,” he told his mother. “Don’t worry about me.”
While they had supported his decision to enlist last March, Ms. Vaillancourt and her fiancé, Peter Bissonnette, a Worcester police officer, had urged the teenager to choose a less risky assignment.
The free spirit who loved to skateboard and go to rock concerts, and kept a scrapbook he called his “bible” stuffed with his drawings, poems and photos, was firm. He would follow the dangerous, and, in his mind, more adventurous, path of providing advance reconnaissance for combat units.
“I pleaded with him not to do it,” Ms. Vaillancourt told the Telegram & Gazette, choking back sobs during an interview yesterday at the home she shares with Mr. Bissonnette, as about a dozen family members and friends grieved with her. “But he said ‘I can’t sit behind a desk.’ ”
Pfc. Moquin died 64 days before he would have turned 20.
The former student at Millbury High School and Shrewsbury High School was on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in a military offensive seeking al-Qaida and Taliban militants near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The aircraft went down in what authorities said was an accident.
Army officials did not release the names of the 10 victims until yesterday because of difficulty in identifying some of the bodies. Some families had confirmed earlier that their kin were among the dead, all of whom were from Fort Drum, N.Y., home base of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry.
Pfc. Moquin was among seven soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment. The other three were part of the 71st Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers had been deployed to Afghanistan from January to March as part of a detachment of 5,800 10th Mountain Division soldiers now in the country.
Family members said a funeral likely will be held in the city next week and Pfc. Moquin will be buried here after his remains arrive from Fort Drum.
Ms. Vaillancourt, a manager for a Shrewsbury company that sells seafood display cases, was at a Chicago trade show Sunday morning when she learned of the death of her only child. An officer called her on her cell phone.
Distraught, she flew back to Boston and was met at the airport by an Army sergeant and chaplain, both in full dress uniform. Earlier, the officers had gone to her home with news of her son’s death.
“He was too young,” Ms. Vaillancourt said. “He just wanted to do something to make everybody proud. I’m very proud of him.”
“It was a horrific sight when they came up to my house,” Mr. Bissonnette said, describing opening the door, seeing the officers and realizing immediately that something terrible must have happened to Ms. Vaillancourt’s son.
Pfc. Moquin was a sensitive young man whom Mr. Bissonnette described as “both rebellious and patriotic.” Joining the military and taking and passing the general equivalency diploma test to do so were a way to straighten himself out, Mr. Bissonnette and Ms. Vaillancourt said.
He had a taste for risk and the energy and creativity to do unusual things, like make his own tattoo gun and give himself a tattoo, his mother said. He and his friends would take off for a faraway rock concert with little gas in their car and even less money in their pockets. Her son would say that if the car ran out of gas, he would skateboard to the show. He also loved the music and movies of Frank Sinatra, his mother said.
“Everything that could possibly be dangerous, he was into doing,” Ms. Vaillancourt said.
Pfc. Moquin had from a young age been interested in joining the military. Among the many photographs and keepsakes Ms. Vaillancourt had of her son was a photograph of him as a 5-year-old dressed in military fatigues.
“I sat with him many times before he left,” Mr. Bissonnette said. “He knew he was doing the right thing.”
In a recent letter Pfc. Moquin penned to his mother from the combat zone, he wrote: “I’ve grown up a lot here and I’m going to try my damn best to make you proud of me.”
“I’m doing the best I can to be the best soldier,” he continued. “I miss ya. Love, your son, Brian.”
Ms. Vaillancourt, 36, had raised her son as a single parent. He was born in Worcester and moved with his mother to Shrewsbury when he was 6. They moved back to Worcester when he was about 16, and he enrolled in high school in Millbury, where both sets of his grandparents, Ernest and Catherine Vaillancourt and Elsie and Walter Moquin, live.
Pfc. Moquin’s art teacher at Millbury High, Gail M. Fairbanks, said he was a talented student in the studio art program.
The tall, thin young man was prolific at drawing, printmaking and poetry, she said. She said she hopes to put some of his drawings on display at the school to commemorate him.
“He was a kid who always walked the road less traveled,” Ms. Fairbanks said. “He was talented, adventurous, creative.”
Aside from his interest in joining the military, he had plans to go to art college or become a crab fisherman in Alaska, Ms. Vaillancourt said.
“He had the adventure spirit,” she said.
Friends of Pfc. Moquin have posted messages and photos about him on the Web site Myspace.com, of which he was a member. Some of the remembrances mentioned his affinity for rock music. Pfc. Moquin played the guitar and sang in a band described as playing “grunge” music, his mother’s fiancé said.
“R.I.P. I love you Brian. Sorry it had to end like this,” one Myspace contributor wrote. “I know you’ll still be checking your myspace in your grave because that’s how you are. Send me a letter sometime while I’m overseas. You were a ridiculously great friend and I will never forget you.”
Pfc. Moquin attended Millbury High in 2002 and 2003 after transferring from Shrewsbury High, school officials said.
He did not graduate from Millbury High, Principal Anne Steele said. Pfc. Moquin received his GED from Quinsigamond Community College before entering the Army, his mother said.
“It was only me and Brian his whole life,” Ms. Vaillancourt said. “I did everything with him.”
Army Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., 19, of Worcester, Mass.
Pfc. Moquin was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
War ends a creative life
Worcester man, 19, volunteered for dangerous duty
By Shaun Sutner TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
WORCESTER— Easter Sunday was the last time Tracy A. Vaillancourt heard the voice of her 19-year-old son, Brian M. Moquin, a U.S. Army infantry scout and private first class who died with nine other soldiers when a military helicopter crashed in a remote region of Afghanistan Friday.
It was around 2 a.m., and Pfc. Moquin was calling on a scratchy satellite telephone to wish her a belated happy birthday and talk about attending her wedding, planned for the fall.
“I’ll be OK, Mom,” he told his mother. “Don’t worry about me.”
While they had supported his decision to enlist last March, Ms. Vaillancourt and her fiancé, Peter Bissonnette, a Worcester police officer, had urged the teenager to choose a less risky assignment.
The free spirit who loved to skateboard and go to rock concerts, and kept a scrapbook he called his “bible” stuffed with his drawings, poems and photos, was firm. He would follow the dangerous, and, in his mind, more adventurous, path of providing advance reconnaissance for combat units.
“I pleaded with him not to do it,” Ms. Vaillancourt told the Telegram & Gazette, choking back sobs during an interview yesterday at the home she shares with Mr. Bissonnette, as about a dozen family members and friends grieved with her. “But he said ‘I can’t sit behind a desk.’ ”
Pfc. Moquin died 64 days before he would have turned 20.
The former student at Millbury High School and Shrewsbury High School was on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in a military offensive seeking al-Qaida and Taliban militants near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. The aircraft went down in what authorities said was an accident.
Army officials did not release the names of the 10 victims until yesterday because of difficulty in identifying some of the bodies. Some families had confirmed earlier that their kin were among the dead, all of whom were from Fort Drum, N.Y., home base of the Army’s 10th Mountain Division Light Infantry.
Pfc. Moquin was among seven soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment. The other three were part of the 71st Cavalry Regiment. The soldiers had been deployed to Afghanistan from January to March as part of a detachment of 5,800 10th Mountain Division soldiers now in the country.
Family members said a funeral likely will be held in the city next week and Pfc. Moquin will be buried here after his remains arrive from Fort Drum.
Ms. Vaillancourt, a manager for a Shrewsbury company that sells seafood display cases, was at a Chicago trade show Sunday morning when she learned of the death of her only child. An officer called her on her cell phone.
Distraught, she flew back to Boston and was met at the airport by an Army sergeant and chaplain, both in full dress uniform. Earlier, the officers had gone to her home with news of her son’s death.
“He was too young,” Ms. Vaillancourt said. “He just wanted to do something to make everybody proud. I’m very proud of him.”
“It was a horrific sight when they came up to my house,” Mr. Bissonnette said, describing opening the door, seeing the officers and realizing immediately that something terrible must have happened to Ms. Vaillancourt’s son.
Pfc. Moquin was a sensitive young man whom Mr. Bissonnette described as “both rebellious and patriotic.” Joining the military and taking and passing the general equivalency diploma test to do so were a way to straighten himself out, Mr. Bissonnette and Ms. Vaillancourt said.
He had a taste for risk and the energy and creativity to do unusual things, like make his own tattoo gun and give himself a tattoo, his mother said. He and his friends would take off for a faraway rock concert with little gas in their car and even less money in their pockets. Her son would say that if the car ran out of gas, he would skateboard to the show. He also loved the music and movies of Frank Sinatra, his mother said.
“Everything that could possibly be dangerous, he was into doing,” Ms. Vaillancourt said.
Pfc. Moquin had from a young age been interested in joining the military. Among the many photographs and keepsakes Ms. Vaillancourt had of her son was a photograph of him as a 5-year-old dressed in military fatigues.
“I sat with him many times before he left,” Mr. Bissonnette said. “He knew he was doing the right thing.”
In a recent letter Pfc. Moquin penned to his mother from the combat zone, he wrote: “I’ve grown up a lot here and I’m going to try my damn best to make you proud of me.”
“I’m doing the best I can to be the best soldier,” he continued. “I miss ya. Love, your son, Brian.”
Ms. Vaillancourt, 36, had raised her son as a single parent. He was born in Worcester and moved with his mother to Shrewsbury when he was 6. They moved back to Worcester when he was about 16, and he enrolled in high school in Millbury, where both sets of his grandparents, Ernest and Catherine Vaillancourt and Elsie and Walter Moquin, live.
Pfc. Moquin’s art teacher at Millbury High, Gail M. Fairbanks, said he was a talented student in the studio art program.
The tall, thin young man was prolific at drawing, printmaking and poetry, she said. She said she hopes to put some of his drawings on display at the school to commemorate him.
“He was a kid who always walked the road less traveled,” Ms. Fairbanks said. “He was talented, adventurous, creative.”
Aside from his interest in joining the military, he had plans to go to art college or become a crab fisherman in Alaska, Ms. Vaillancourt said.
“He had the adventure spirit,” she said.
Friends of Pfc. Moquin have posted messages and photos about him on the Web site Myspace.com, of which he was a member. Some of the remembrances mentioned his affinity for rock music. Pfc. Moquin played the guitar and sang in a band described as playing “grunge” music, his mother’s fiancé said.
“R.I.P. I love you Brian. Sorry it had to end like this,” one Myspace contributor wrote. “I know you’ll still be checking your myspace in your grave because that’s how you are. Send me a letter sometime while I’m overseas. You were a ridiculously great friend and I will never forget you.”
Pfc. Moquin attended Millbury High in 2002 and 2003 after transferring from Shrewsbury High, school officials said.
He did not graduate from Millbury High, Principal Anne Steele said. Pfc. Moquin received his GED from Quinsigamond Community College before entering the Army, his mother said.
“It was only me and Brian his whole life,” Ms. Vaillancourt said. “I did everything with him.”
Army Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Specialist Justin L. O’Donohoe
Remember Our Heroes
Army Specialist Justin L. O’Donohoe, 27, of San Diego
Spc O'Donohoe was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
FORT DRUM, N.Y. – Spc. Justin L. O'Donohoe was killed in Kunar Province , Afghanistan May 5, 2006 while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Odonohoe, 27, was a cavalry scout assigned to A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Odonohoe, from San Diego, Calif., enlisted in the Army in April 2004 and attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Knox, Ky. After completing Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Ky., he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in September 2004 and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in February 2006.
Odonohoe’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal, Combat Action Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
Odonohoe is survived by his parents, Joseph and Pamela Odonohoe, San Diego, Calif., and his brother, Kyle.
Army Specialist Justin L. O’Donohoe was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Specialist Justin L. O’Donohoe, 27, of San Diego
Spc O'Donohoe was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
FORT DRUM, N.Y. – Spc. Justin L. O'Donohoe was killed in Kunar Province , Afghanistan May 5, 2006 while conducting combat operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Odonohoe, 27, was a cavalry scout assigned to A Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (LI), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Odonohoe, from San Diego, Calif., enlisted in the Army in April 2004 and attended Basic Combat Training at Fort Knox, Ky. After completing Advanced Individual Training at Fort Knox, Ky., he was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in September 2004 and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in February 2006.
Odonohoe’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal, Combat Action Badge and the Expert Infantryman Badge.
Odonohoe is survived by his parents, Joseph and Pamela Odonohoe, San Diego, Calif., and his brother, Kyle.
Army Specialist Justin L. O’Donohoe was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Specialist David N. Timmons Jr.
Remember Our Heroes
Army Specialist David N. Timmons Jr., 23, of Lewisville, N.C.
Specialist Timmons was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The News & Observer
Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer
The last time David Timmons Sr. saw his only son J.R., a U.S. Army calvary scout, was in January as he was about to go to Afghanistan.
"He shed a few tears, but they were strong tears," Timmons said. "He understood the game of war."
Army Spc. David "J.R." Timmons Jr., 23, of Lewisville, was among 10 American soldiers killed when a helicopter crashed Friday night in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, his father said.
U.S. Army officials told his father that he was participating in a reconnaissance mission.
"The troops were loading back into the helicopter and somehow, the helicopter lost its hover," Timmons said Monday. "Somehow, maybe because of the wind, one of the blades hit a tree and the helicopter fell 200 feet."
The military said it will be days before it releases the identities of the victims, members of the 10th Mountain Division stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y.
The CH-47 Chinook crashed during the hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants thought to be hiding in rugged and remote Kunar province. The U.S. military said the helicopter was not downed by hostile fire and an investigation was under way.
J.R. Timmons also is survived by his mother, Cynthia Watts Timmons, and sister Shalanta, 19, a Winston-Salem State University student.
David Timmons last talked with his son Easter Sunday. "He said he was doing the best he could and told me to just pray for him," Timmons said.
J.R. Timmons was the oldest of two children. He grew up in Lewisville, a small community outside Winston-Salem.
"He was very athletic," said Timmons. "He played football, basketball and track."
A lithe 6-foot-4, 180 pounder, J.R. played trombone in the West Forsyth High School band before graduating in 2001.
Timmons said one memory from his son's childhood stands out. In elementary school, a well-meaning white teacher told him he would have to work twice as hard as his white counterparts to succeed.
"I was kind of upset at first," Timmons said. "Then, I told him he had to show her he was bigger than that and that's what he did until the very end. If you compare his life to a card game, then I would say he took his hand and played the best game he could for 23 years."
Before enlisting two years ago, J.R. Timmons attended Forsyth Community College where he studied business for two years.
"He was at a midpoint in his life," Timmons said. "He was trying to decide whether to transfer to a four-year-college or go to the Navy or go to the Army."
J.R. Timmons was a lifelong member of Morning Star Baptist Church. "He was shy when it came to standing in the pulpit, but he had a strong faith. He knew the Lord," his father said.
Timmons found out about the crash on the Internet on Friday. He stayed home Saturday waiting for a call from his son or a visit from the Army.
Army Specialist David N. Timmons Jr. died in action on 05/05/06.
Army Specialist David N. Timmons Jr., 23, of Lewisville, N.C.
Specialist Timmons was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The News & Observer
Thomasi McDonald, Staff Writer
The last time David Timmons Sr. saw his only son J.R., a U.S. Army calvary scout, was in January as he was about to go to Afghanistan.
"He shed a few tears, but they were strong tears," Timmons said. "He understood the game of war."
Army Spc. David "J.R." Timmons Jr., 23, of Lewisville, was among 10 American soldiers killed when a helicopter crashed Friday night in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan, his father said.
U.S. Army officials told his father that he was participating in a reconnaissance mission.
"The troops were loading back into the helicopter and somehow, the helicopter lost its hover," Timmons said Monday. "Somehow, maybe because of the wind, one of the blades hit a tree and the helicopter fell 200 feet."
The military said it will be days before it releases the identities of the victims, members of the 10th Mountain Division stationed at Fort Drum, N.Y.
The CH-47 Chinook crashed during the hunt for al-Qaeda and Taliban militants thought to be hiding in rugged and remote Kunar province. The U.S. military said the helicopter was not downed by hostile fire and an investigation was under way.
J.R. Timmons also is survived by his mother, Cynthia Watts Timmons, and sister Shalanta, 19, a Winston-Salem State University student.
David Timmons last talked with his son Easter Sunday. "He said he was doing the best he could and told me to just pray for him," Timmons said.
J.R. Timmons was the oldest of two children. He grew up in Lewisville, a small community outside Winston-Salem.
"He was very athletic," said Timmons. "He played football, basketball and track."
A lithe 6-foot-4, 180 pounder, J.R. played trombone in the West Forsyth High School band before graduating in 2001.
Timmons said one memory from his son's childhood stands out. In elementary school, a well-meaning white teacher told him he would have to work twice as hard as his white counterparts to succeed.
"I was kind of upset at first," Timmons said. "Then, I told him he had to show her he was bigger than that and that's what he did until the very end. If you compare his life to a card game, then I would say he took his hand and played the best game he could for 23 years."
Before enlisting two years ago, J.R. Timmons attended Forsyth Community College where he studied business for two years.
"He was at a midpoint in his life," Timmons said. "He was trying to decide whether to transfer to a four-year-college or go to the Navy or go to the Army."
J.R. Timmons was a lifelong member of Morning Star Baptist Church. "He was shy when it came to standing in the pulpit, but he had a strong faith. He knew the Lord," his father said.
Timmons found out about the crash on the Internet on Friday. He stayed home Saturday waiting for a call from his son or a visit from the Army.
Army Specialist David N. Timmons Jr. died in action on 05/05/06.
Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty
Remember Our Heroes
Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty, 41, of Florida.
Lt Col. Fenty was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten.
Ken Ma and Rebecca Mahoney
Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted May 11 2006
PORT ORANGE -- An Army officer whose father lives in Volusia County was among 10 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty Jr., 41, of Watertown, N.Y., was killed Friday when the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter fell into a ravine during a mountaintop landing in Kunar Province.
Fenty was the commander of the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, The Associated Press reported.
His father, also named Joseph Fenty, lives in Port Orange. He did not want to comment Wednesday night. A neighbor, who would not give her name, said the family was told about Fenty's death during the weekend.
"It's a terrible tragedy," she said.
Fenty became a commissioned officer in June 1986 after graduating from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., AP reported. He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in 1997 and was deployed to Bosnia, then to Afghanistan in March 2002.
In June 2004, he took command of the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, a part of the division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, AP reported.
He is survived by his wife, Kristen; a daughter; and his parents.
Three other soldiers from Fenty's unit were killed. The six other soldiers who were killed were assigned to the division's 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment.
Last year, Fenty was among about 230 officers from the 10th Mountain Brigade Combat Team who participated in a 10.4-mile motivational brigade run. In an interview with the Fort Drum Blizzard, a military newsletter, Fenty hailed his fellow officers for their spirit of cooperation and partnership.
"I think it was awesome to get all the brigade officers out there with a team-building focus," he said. "And most importantly, they were all together at the finish line cheering each other on."
Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Larger Image
Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty, 41, of Florida.
Lt Col. Fenty was assigned to the 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten.
Ken Ma and Rebecca Mahoney
Sentinel Staff Writers
Posted May 11 2006
PORT ORANGE -- An Army officer whose father lives in Volusia County was among 10 soldiers killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday.
Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty Jr., 41, of Watertown, N.Y., was killed Friday when the CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter fell into a ravine during a mountaintop landing in Kunar Province.
Fenty was the commander of the 10th Mountain Division's 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, The Associated Press reported.
His father, also named Joseph Fenty, lives in Port Orange. He did not want to comment Wednesday night. A neighbor, who would not give her name, said the family was told about Fenty's death during the weekend.
"It's a terrible tragedy," she said.
Fenty became a commissioned officer in June 1986 after graduating from Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., AP reported. He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division in 1997 and was deployed to Bosnia, then to Afghanistan in March 2002.
In June 2004, he took command of the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, a part of the division's 3rd Brigade Combat Team, AP reported.
He is survived by his wife, Kristen; a daughter; and his parents.
Three other soldiers from Fenty's unit were killed. The six other soldiers who were killed were assigned to the division's 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment.
Last year, Fenty was among about 230 officers from the 10th Mountain Brigade Combat Team who participated in a 10.4-mile motivational brigade run. In an interview with the Fort Drum Blizzard, a military newsletter, Fenty hailed his fellow officers for their spirit of cooperation and partnership.
"I think it was awesome to get all the brigade officers out there with a team-building focus," he said. "And most importantly, they were all together at the finish line cheering each other on."
Army Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten
Remember Our Heroes
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten,34, of Texas
Chief Warrant Officer Totten was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
By ESTHER WU / The Dallas Morning News
Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, a graduate of Dallas' arts magnet high school, was among 10 soldiers killed in Afghanistan on May 5, the Department of Defense has announced.
Funeral services are pending.
Chief Warrant Officer Totten died when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was aboard crashed near Asadabad in the Kunar province, according to the Department of Defense. He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y.
The St. Paul, Minn., native, who would have celebrated his 35th birthday last Wednesday, was a career Army pilot who served in Bosnia and Iraq. He was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 1997, he was named Army Ranger of the Year.
Chief Warrant Officer Totten moved to Dallas with his father, Noel Totten, and his stepmother, Tommie, when he was 16. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 1990.
Luis Martinez, director of instrumental music at the arts school, recalled that Chief Warrant Officer Totten was a trumpet player at the school. "He was a member of the wind ensemble," he said.
Ms. Totten told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that when military officials knocked on her door Saturday, she knew they had bad news.
"I cried all night," Ms. Totten told reporters. "I didn't go back to sleep. I'm OK. Being 81, I've got to be OK."
Chief Warrant Officer Totten's family has created a memorial Web site, eric-totten.memory-of.com, for friends and relatives to post memorials.
His sister, Thais Hinz of Duluth, Minn., posted a message to her brother on the Web site: "Eric, I was so proud of you and what you have accomplished. You were such a fine and wonderful man. You had such a caring heart. I had envisioned a great future for you but God must have something special in mind for you."
According to the family, Chief Warrant Officer Totten was deeply devoted to his father, who preceded him in death on July 26.
His mother, Floranne, also preceded him in death.
In addition to Ms. Hinz and his stepmother, Chief Warrant Officer Totten is survived by his brothers Noel Totten of Bloomington, Minn., Jim Totten of Tallahassee, Fla., and Ottis Totten of New Orleans; and sister Judy Jackson of Oklahoma City.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten,34, of Texas
Chief Warrant Officer Totten was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
By ESTHER WU / The Dallas Morning News
Chief Warrant Officer Eric W. Totten, a graduate of Dallas' arts magnet high school, was among 10 soldiers killed in Afghanistan on May 5, the Department of Defense has announced.
Funeral services are pending.
Chief Warrant Officer Totten died when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was aboard crashed near Asadabad in the Kunar province, according to the Department of Defense. He was assigned to the 10th Mountain Division, based in Fort Drum, N.Y.
The St. Paul, Minn., native, who would have celebrated his 35th birthday last Wednesday, was a career Army pilot who served in Bosnia and Iraq. He was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. In 1997, he was named Army Ranger of the Year.
Chief Warrant Officer Totten moved to Dallas with his father, Noel Totten, and his stepmother, Tommie, when he was 16. He graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in 1990.
Luis Martinez, director of instrumental music at the arts school, recalled that Chief Warrant Officer Totten was a trumpet player at the school. "He was a member of the wind ensemble," he said.
Ms. Totten told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that when military officials knocked on her door Saturday, she knew they had bad news.
"I cried all night," Ms. Totten told reporters. "I didn't go back to sleep. I'm OK. Being 81, I've got to be OK."
Chief Warrant Officer Totten's family has created a memorial Web site, eric-totten.memory-of.com, for friends and relatives to post memorials.
His sister, Thais Hinz of Duluth, Minn., posted a message to her brother on the Web site: "Eric, I was so proud of you and what you have accomplished. You were such a fine and wonderful man. You had such a caring heart. I had envisioned a great future for you but God must have something special in mind for you."
According to the family, Chief Warrant Officer Totten was deeply devoted to his father, who preceded him in death on July 26.
His mother, Floranne, also preceded him in death.
In addition to Ms. Hinz and his stepmother, Chief Warrant Officer Totten is survived by his brothers Noel Totten of Bloomington, Minn., Jim Totten of Tallahassee, Fla., and Ottis Totten of New Orleans; and sister Judy Jackson of Oklahoma City.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson
Remember Our Heroes
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, 28, of Effingham, Illinois.
Chief Warrent Officer Donaldson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Associated Press
Published May 8, 2006, 8:17 PM CDT
EFFINGHAM, Ill. -- Christopher Donaldson's mom was relieved when her son told her early this year that his first mission overseas as an Army pilot would be in Afghanistan, not Iraq.
"I didn't fully recognize the dangers in Afghanistan," Lynn Donaldson said in a telephone interview from her Effingham home. "I thought it was safer. Perhaps I was naive."
Military officials knocked on her door Saturday in this southern Illinois town before midnight with news that her 28-year-old son was one of 10 soldiers killed when their CH-47 helicopter crashed during combat operations in eastern Afghanistan.
"They apologized and said it was the quickest they could get there," said Donaldson about the late-night visit.
The U.S. military said Sunday that the soldiers died while scouring remote Afghan mountains along the Pakistan border for al-Qaida and Taliban militants. The military said Friday's crash -- the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in a year -- was not caused by hostile fire.
The military has not yet released the names of those killed.
Donaldson, a U.S. Army Warrant Officer 2nd Class, graduated in 1995 from Effingham High School, where he played football. He joined the Army two years later, eventually training as a helicopter crewman and then receiving his own wings in 2004.
"He assured me they wouldn't send him abroad for a long time because he was in training," she said. "I was thinking it was a long way off and that the war would be over by the time he was done with his flight training. I was wrong, obviously."
At least 234 U.S. military personnel, including those killed Friday, have died in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan and Uzbekistan since late 2001 when U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban regime, according to the Defense Department. More than 2,400 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war started there in March 2003.
Donaldson began his tour of duty in Afghanistan in February and was due home on leave next month, his mother said. His tour would have ended in six months.
The soldiers who died in the crash, including Donaldson, were based at Fort Drum in New York. Of the roughly 18,000 Americans in Afghanistan, about half are from the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, Benjamin Abel, a Fort Drum spokesman, said Sunday.
Lynn Donaldson, said she spoke to her son from his base in Bagram, Afghanistan once a week -- the last time on Wednesday morning. She said he was proud to be in the Army and was a stickler about mastering details of a mission so that it would get done correctly.
"The Army gave him great opportunities he might not have had," she said. "He grew a lot as a person, especially as a leader. ... He was a great son and a great soldier."
Along with his mother, Christopher Donaldson is survived by his father, Bill Donaldson, and by two younger brothers, 25-year-old Jason and Ryan, 21.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, 28, of Effingham, Illinois.
Chief Warrent Officer Donaldson was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Associated Press
Published May 8, 2006, 8:17 PM CDT
EFFINGHAM, Ill. -- Christopher Donaldson's mom was relieved when her son told her early this year that his first mission overseas as an Army pilot would be in Afghanistan, not Iraq.
"I didn't fully recognize the dangers in Afghanistan," Lynn Donaldson said in a telephone interview from her Effingham home. "I thought it was safer. Perhaps I was naive."
Military officials knocked on her door Saturday in this southern Illinois town before midnight with news that her 28-year-old son was one of 10 soldiers killed when their CH-47 helicopter crashed during combat operations in eastern Afghanistan.
"They apologized and said it was the quickest they could get there," said Donaldson about the late-night visit.
The U.S. military said Sunday that the soldiers died while scouring remote Afghan mountains along the Pakistan border for al-Qaida and Taliban militants. The military said Friday's crash -- the deadliest for U.S. forces in Afghanistan in a year -- was not caused by hostile fire.
The military has not yet released the names of those killed.
Donaldson, a U.S. Army Warrant Officer 2nd Class, graduated in 1995 from Effingham High School, where he played football. He joined the Army two years later, eventually training as a helicopter crewman and then receiving his own wings in 2004.
"He assured me they wouldn't send him abroad for a long time because he was in training," she said. "I was thinking it was a long way off and that the war would be over by the time he was done with his flight training. I was wrong, obviously."
At least 234 U.S. military personnel, including those killed Friday, have died in Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan and Uzbekistan since late 2001 when U.S.-led forces ousted the Taliban regime, according to the Defense Department. More than 2,400 U.S. soldiers have been killed in Iraq since the war started there in March 2003.
Donaldson began his tour of duty in Afghanistan in February and was due home on leave next month, his mother said. His tour would have ended in six months.
The soldiers who died in the crash, including Donaldson, were based at Fort Drum in New York. Of the roughly 18,000 Americans in Afghanistan, about half are from the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, Benjamin Abel, a Fort Drum spokesman, said Sunday.
Lynn Donaldson, said she spoke to her son from his base in Bagram, Afghanistan once a week -- the last time on Wednesday morning. She said he was proud to be in the Army and was a stickler about mastering details of a mission so that it would get done correctly.
"The Army gave him great opportunities he might not have had," she said. "He grew a lot as a person, especially as a leader. ... He was a great son and a great soldier."
Along with his mother, Christopher Donaldson is survived by his father, Bill Donaldson, and by two younger brothers, 25-year-old Jason and Ryan, 21.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, 34, of Hamburg, N.Y.
Staff Sgt Howick was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The Buffalo News
By TOM ERNST
News Staff Reporter
5/10/2006
War claims 'spirited, good kid'
"He had that big smile and was just a delightful young man."
Staff Sgt. Chris Howick re-enlisted to go overseas.
Jake Makey saw Chris Howick in person last summer when the soldier returned home to Hamburg to visit his parents.
And when he saw a 15-year-old picture of Howick on television Tuesday, he couldn't help but think of how little his former next-door neighbor had changed.
Still the same boyish looks.
"He still looks like he did in high school," Makey said. "He was a good kid . . . a spirited kid."
Tragically, Howick's yearbook photo is in the news because he was among the 10 U.S. soldiers from Fort Drum reported killed Friday when their transport helicopter crashed in Afghanistan.
Christopher T. Howick, 34, was an Army staff sergeant. He had enlisted about a year after graduating from Hamburg High School in 1990.
Paul Bloom, a guidance counselor at the school, said he remembers Howick well. "I remember that face, that cherubic face," Bloom said. "He had that big smile and was just a delightful young man to be with. He was a genuinely likable kid."
"This hurts a lot," Bloom said of his death. "It's like a punch in the stomach."
He recalled Howick as an average student who took business courses. "I don't recall him talking about the Army [as a career option]," he said.
The Defense Department has reported that all 10 U.S. soldiers aboard the helicopter died when it crashed while attempting to land near Asadabad in Afghanistan's Kunar province Friday night. All 10 were from the 10th Mountain Division.
The U.S. military has said the helicopter was not downed by enemy fire.
The unit was conducting operations on a mountaintop landing zone around 8 p.m., when it fell into a ravine, according to a statement from the U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
Six soldiers were aboard the helicopter and four more from a ground group were attempting to board it when the aircraft rolled down the side of the mountain, Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, the 10th Mountain Division's chief public affairs officer in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press.
The soldiers were conducting combat operations as part of a hunt for al-Qaida and Taliban militants believed to be hiding in the mountainous terrain.
A U.S. flag flew Tuesday on the front of Howick's home, and Makey said Howick's parents, Charles and Lola, had asked neighbors to respect their privacy and limit comments.
He also is survived by a brother, believed to be serving in the Navy; his wife, Una, and a young daughter, Noel.
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, 34, of Hamburg, N.Y.
Staff Sgt Howick was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The Buffalo News
By TOM ERNST
News Staff Reporter
5/10/2006
War claims 'spirited, good kid'
"He had that big smile and was just a delightful young man."
Staff Sgt. Chris Howick re-enlisted to go overseas.
Jake Makey saw Chris Howick in person last summer when the soldier returned home to Hamburg to visit his parents.
And when he saw a 15-year-old picture of Howick on television Tuesday, he couldn't help but think of how little his former next-door neighbor had changed.
Still the same boyish looks.
"He still looks like he did in high school," Makey said. "He was a good kid . . . a spirited kid."
Tragically, Howick's yearbook photo is in the news because he was among the 10 U.S. soldiers from Fort Drum reported killed Friday when their transport helicopter crashed in Afghanistan.
Christopher T. Howick, 34, was an Army staff sergeant. He had enlisted about a year after graduating from Hamburg High School in 1990.
Paul Bloom, a guidance counselor at the school, said he remembers Howick well. "I remember that face, that cherubic face," Bloom said. "He had that big smile and was just a delightful young man to be with. He was a genuinely likable kid."
"This hurts a lot," Bloom said of his death. "It's like a punch in the stomach."
He recalled Howick as an average student who took business courses. "I don't recall him talking about the Army [as a career option]," he said.
The Defense Department has reported that all 10 U.S. soldiers aboard the helicopter died when it crashed while attempting to land near Asadabad in Afghanistan's Kunar province Friday night. All 10 were from the 10th Mountain Division.
The U.S. military has said the helicopter was not downed by enemy fire.
The unit was conducting operations on a mountaintop landing zone around 8 p.m., when it fell into a ravine, according to a statement from the U.S. military base in Afghanistan.
Six soldiers were aboard the helicopter and four more from a ground group were attempting to board it when the aircraft rolled down the side of the mountain, Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, the 10th Mountain Division's chief public affairs officer in Afghanistan, told the Associated Press.
The soldiers were conducting combat operations as part of a hunt for al-Qaida and Taliban militants believed to be hiding in the mountainous terrain.
A U.S. flag flew Tuesday on the front of Howick's home, and Makey said Howick's parents, Charles and Lola, had asked neighbors to respect their privacy and limit comments.
He also is survived by a brother, believed to be serving in the Navy; his wife, Una, and a young daughter, Noel.
Army Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, 24, of Fontana, California
Sgt Brewster was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Daily Press
By LEROY STANDISH Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE — Sgt. Bryan Brewster, of the famed 10th Mountain Division, loved his job. "Bryan is the type of person that he accepted his fate. I think he went out with a smile on his face. He died doing what he loved doing," his brother Scott Brewster said from his family's home in Victorville. "You can't ask for more than that."
Brewster and nine other soldiers died Friday when their helicopter crashed due to mechanical failure in the mountains of Afghanistan, according to the United States Army. Bryan is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart Kati Brewster of Watertown, N.Y. He is also survived by his parents Louis and Linda Brewster and his brother Scott, all of Victorville.
"They were dropping troops off," Scott said. "It was a mission to confront al-Qaida and Taliban that were hiding out in that area."
Bryan Brewster, whose family moved to Victorville after he graduated from Fontana High School and joined the Army, was on his fourth tour of duty oversees. He had served two tours in Afghanistan, one in Iraq and was in the middle of his fourth deployment when the helicopter he was in crashed.
Bryan Brewster was a crew chief on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. The younger of two brothers Bryan had the ultimate goal of becoming a pilot. He was just two months away from being transferred from the front lines to helicopter training school, his brother said.
"Since he was a little kid, 4 or 5 years old, he would go to school wearing camo," Scott said. "He knew what he was doing right upon graduation; he was ready."
Bryan had participated in Junior ROTC while attending high school and won numerous military awards.
"He took his country very, very, very seriously no matter what the circumstances were or what the politics were. He was going to do everything in his power to do it," Scott said. "My brother was a once in a lifetime soldier. There is nobody in this world that would be dedicated to the Army like my brother."
Army Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, 24, of Fontana, California
Sgt Brewster was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
Daily Press
By LEROY STANDISH Staff Writer
VICTORVILLE — Sgt. Bryan Brewster, of the famed 10th Mountain Division, loved his job. "Bryan is the type of person that he accepted his fate. I think he went out with a smile on his face. He died doing what he loved doing," his brother Scott Brewster said from his family's home in Victorville. "You can't ask for more than that."
Brewster and nine other soldiers died Friday when their helicopter crashed due to mechanical failure in the mountains of Afghanistan, according to the United States Army. Bryan is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart Kati Brewster of Watertown, N.Y. He is also survived by his parents Louis and Linda Brewster and his brother Scott, all of Victorville.
"They were dropping troops off," Scott said. "It was a mission to confront al-Qaida and Taliban that were hiding out in that area."
Bryan Brewster, whose family moved to Victorville after he graduated from Fontana High School and joined the Army, was on his fourth tour of duty oversees. He had served two tours in Afghanistan, one in Iraq and was in the middle of his fourth deployment when the helicopter he was in crashed.
Bryan Brewster was a crew chief on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, based out of Fort Drum, N.Y. The younger of two brothers Bryan had the ultimate goal of becoming a pilot. He was just two months away from being transferred from the front lines to helicopter training school, his brother said.
"Since he was a little kid, 4 or 5 years old, he would go to school wearing camo," Scott said. "He knew what he was doing right upon graduation; he was ready."
Bryan had participated in Junior ROTC while attending high school and won numerous military awards.
"He took his country very, very, very seriously no matter what the circumstances were or what the politics were. He was going to do everything in his power to do it," Scott said. "My brother was a once in a lifetime soldier. There is nobody in this world that would be dedicated to the Army like my brother."
Army Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, 23, of Utopia, Texas
Sgt Wiekamp was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The Uvalde Leader
by Cerise Merritt - Staff writer
The stark realities of war officially touched the normally safe enclave of Utopia at 2 a.m. Sunday, when representatives of the U.S. Army knocked on the front door of Randy and Kathy Wiekamp.
Under the circumstances, the Wiekamps must have known they were about to hear tragic news, but with three of their four sons in the Army, they couldn't be sure just what it was.
They had to wait a moment to learn that it their oldest son, Jeff, who was dead.
Sergeant Jeffery Scott Wiekamp, 23, was one of the 10 soldiers killed Friday in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan.
He was crew chief of the combat operation, part of campaign Operation Mountain Lion in Kunar Province.
Military officials have said about 2,500 Afghan and United States soldiers are involved in the joint campaign to flush militants from remote mountains in eastern Afghanistan.
The helicopter crash brought the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 25.
Although Taliban militants claim to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have stated that there is no indication enemy fire caused the crash.
Wiekamp graduated from Utopia High School in 2001.
Sgt. Josh Wiekamp, 22, and Specialist Jared Wiekamp, 20, also graduated from Utopia High. Each of the three brothers joined the Army shortly after completing high school. Joey, 18, will graduate from Utopia High School in three weeks, and he's undecided about his future plans.
Jeff's wife, Ashley Brown, is a sergeant in the Army. His mother, Kathy, also has one brother, Sgt. Stephen Triner, and one brother-in-law, Staff Sgt. Rollie Snow, in the Army.
Services for Jeff Wiekamp are pending, as family members await the arrival of his body.
In the meantime, community members are showing their support by wrapping trees with yellow ribbons and displaying U.S. flags across the town.
“Jeff started here when he was in third grade,” said teacher Lucille Wise. “He and my daughter, Kristi, were in the same class. He was such a sweet, shy kid.
“They were a very tight class, and everyone used to just try to draw him out and get him to talk. We're all going to miss him so much,” she added.
Army Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Army Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp, 23, of Utopia, Texas
Sgt Wiekamp was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum N.Y.; died May 5 when the CH-47 Chinook helicopter he was traveling on crashed during combat operations east of Abad, Afghanistan, in the Kunar province. Also killed were: Pfc. Brian M. Moquin Jr., Spc. David N. Timmons Jr., Spc. Justin L. O’Donohoe, Sgt. John C. Griffith, Sgt. Bryan A. Brewster, Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Howick, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher B. Donaldson, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Eric W. Totten and Lt. Col. Joseph J. Fenty.
The Uvalde Leader
by Cerise Merritt - Staff writer
The stark realities of war officially touched the normally safe enclave of Utopia at 2 a.m. Sunday, when representatives of the U.S. Army knocked on the front door of Randy and Kathy Wiekamp.
Under the circumstances, the Wiekamps must have known they were about to hear tragic news, but with three of their four sons in the Army, they couldn't be sure just what it was.
They had to wait a moment to learn that it their oldest son, Jeff, who was dead.
Sergeant Jeffery Scott Wiekamp, 23, was one of the 10 soldiers killed Friday in the crash of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter in Afghanistan.
He was crew chief of the combat operation, part of campaign Operation Mountain Lion in Kunar Province.
Military officials have said about 2,500 Afghan and United States soldiers are involved in the joint campaign to flush militants from remote mountains in eastern Afghanistan.
The helicopter crash brought the number of U.S. military personnel killed in Afghanistan this year to at least 25.
Although Taliban militants claim to have shot the helicopter down, U.S. officials have stated that there is no indication enemy fire caused the crash.
Wiekamp graduated from Utopia High School in 2001.
Sgt. Josh Wiekamp, 22, and Specialist Jared Wiekamp, 20, also graduated from Utopia High. Each of the three brothers joined the Army shortly after completing high school. Joey, 18, will graduate from Utopia High School in three weeks, and he's undecided about his future plans.
Jeff's wife, Ashley Brown, is a sergeant in the Army. His mother, Kathy, also has one brother, Sgt. Stephen Triner, and one brother-in-law, Staff Sgt. Rollie Snow, in the Army.
Services for Jeff Wiekamp are pending, as family members await the arrival of his body.
In the meantime, community members are showing their support by wrapping trees with yellow ribbons and displaying U.S. flags across the town.
“Jeff started here when he was in third grade,” said teacher Lucille Wise. “He and my daughter, Kristi, were in the same class. He was such a sweet, shy kid.
“They were a very tight class, and everyone used to just try to draw him out and get him to talk. We're all going to miss him so much,” she added.
Army Sgt. Jeffery S. Wiekamp was killed in action on 05/05/06.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Marine Sgt. Elisha R. Parker
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Elisha R. Parker, 21, of Taberg, N.Y.
Sgt. Parker was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed May 4, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq.
Elisha "Eli" Parker was a 2002 graduate of Camden High School who was "born to be a Marine." He died on May 4 in service of his country in Iraq.
Parker, 21, a combat engineer, was killed in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, U.S. Defense Department officials said last week. He was a member of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Parker was on his third tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed by a roadside bomb. Parker's latest tour was scheduled to run from March through September.
Eli was devoted to the U. S. Marines and had a passion to serve the country he loved. He was the school's first recipient of the Cpl. Pat Tillman Award, which is given to a graduating senior who enlists in the military for full-time active duty. Eli began basic training for the Marines three weeks after he graduated from Camden High School.
All in Camden will remember Sgt. Eli Parker for his convictions, bravery and patriotism.
Quotes about Eli
"Eli's smile will be forever imprinted in my mind. He was a gentle spirit loved by all who knew him. Someone once said to me that when a young person passes before their time should be over it's because God needs old and young angels and he only takes the best. He certainly has a gem by His side now. God Bless the Parkers with strength and flood their minds with memories of happier times spent with Eli throughout his short life. I'm glad to have known him. He will be missed by many, but we are thankful to have known him." Maureen Dourney
"Eli Parker was a true asset to our community. Indeed, he was an asset to our entire nation." Carl Goodwill, friend.
"He made the ultimate sacrifice for us and his country. As tragic as it is, it's very fitting for Eli...He loved what he did." Justin Casey, friend and high school classmate
"He was a kid who was so gifted, he could have done anything. I think he felt it was his duty ... to serve the country..." Steve Campbell, Parker's high school track coach.
"He took all our most rigorous courses and graduated 15th in a very competitive class. He was an outstanding young man with a great personality who was actively involved in our high school activities." Rocco Longo, Camden Superintendent of Schools.
Special Thanks From the Parker Family
The Parker family would like to extend their gratitude and deepest appreciation to the many people throughout Camden and the surrounding area who have shown such overwhelming compassion and kindness during this difficult time. The cards are too numerous to count, the food is delicious and plentiful, and your kindness, hugs, and outpouring of love is carrying us when we would surely fall without you.
Thank you for remembering our precious Eli.
Please continue to pray for our troops and the families who await their return.
Contributions in Eli's Honor
Eli Parker Memorial
Youth Center Fund
P.O. Box 215
Camden, NY 13316
A new community youth center will be built at the Abundant Life Commuity Church in honor of Eli Parker. If you would like to make a donation toward its construction, please send a check to the above address made out to the Eli Parker Memorial Fund.
You could also consider supporting the following fund which the Parker family feels is worthy.
Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund
825 College Blvd., Suite 102
P.M.B. 609
Oceanside, CA 92057
Marine Sgt. Elisha R. Parker was killed in action on 05/04/06.
Marine Sgt. Elisha R. Parker, 21, of Taberg, N.Y.
Sgt. Parker was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; killed May 4, while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq.
Elisha "Eli" Parker was a 2002 graduate of Camden High School who was "born to be a Marine." He died on May 4 in service of his country in Iraq.
Parker, 21, a combat engineer, was killed in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, U.S. Defense Department officials said last week. He was a member of the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force.
Parker was on his third tour of duty in Iraq when he was killed by a roadside bomb. Parker's latest tour was scheduled to run from March through September.
Eli was devoted to the U. S. Marines and had a passion to serve the country he loved. He was the school's first recipient of the Cpl. Pat Tillman Award, which is given to a graduating senior who enlists in the military for full-time active duty. Eli began basic training for the Marines three weeks after he graduated from Camden High School.
All in Camden will remember Sgt. Eli Parker for his convictions, bravery and patriotism.
Quotes about Eli
"Eli's smile will be forever imprinted in my mind. He was a gentle spirit loved by all who knew him. Someone once said to me that when a young person passes before their time should be over it's because God needs old and young angels and he only takes the best. He certainly has a gem by His side now. God Bless the Parkers with strength and flood their minds with memories of happier times spent with Eli throughout his short life. I'm glad to have known him. He will be missed by many, but we are thankful to have known him." Maureen Dourney
"Eli Parker was a true asset to our community. Indeed, he was an asset to our entire nation." Carl Goodwill, friend.
"He made the ultimate sacrifice for us and his country. As tragic as it is, it's very fitting for Eli...He loved what he did." Justin Casey, friend and high school classmate
"He was a kid who was so gifted, he could have done anything. I think he felt it was his duty ... to serve the country..." Steve Campbell, Parker's high school track coach.
"He took all our most rigorous courses and graduated 15th in a very competitive class. He was an outstanding young man with a great personality who was actively involved in our high school activities." Rocco Longo, Camden Superintendent of Schools.
Special Thanks From the Parker Family
The Parker family would like to extend their gratitude and deepest appreciation to the many people throughout Camden and the surrounding area who have shown such overwhelming compassion and kindness during this difficult time. The cards are too numerous to count, the food is delicious and plentiful, and your kindness, hugs, and outpouring of love is carrying us when we would surely fall without you.
Thank you for remembering our precious Eli.
Please continue to pray for our troops and the families who await their return.
Contributions in Eli's Honor
Eli Parker Memorial
Youth Center Fund
P.O. Box 215
Camden, NY 13316
A new community youth center will be built at the Abundant Life Commuity Church in honor of Eli Parker. If you would like to make a donation toward its construction, please send a check to the above address made out to the Eli Parker Memorial Fund.
You could also consider supporting the following fund which the Parker family feels is worthy.
Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund
825 College Blvd., Suite 102
P.M.B. 609
Oceanside, CA 92057
Marine Sgt. Elisha R. Parker was killed in action on 05/04/06.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
Army Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor, 38, of Indianapolis, Indiana
Sgt Proctor was assigned to the 638th Battalion (Aviation), Indiana Army National Guard, Shelbyville, Ind.; killed May 3 when a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device detonated near his observation post during dismounted combat patrol operations in Tammin, Iraq.
The Pentagon says 38-year-old Sergeant Joseph Proctor was killed Wednesday during combat operations near Ramadi. He died on Wednesday in an area where the Army says it's seen a heavy insurgency recently. A roadside bomb apparently exploded near Proctor's vehicle.
Sgt. Proctor had been serving a year-long tour with the Army National Guard's 638th battalion aviation sector. He grew up in Whiteland and leaves behind a wife and three children at his home in Indianapolis.
Proctor died just two weeks before his scheduled hoemcoming. His clothing had already been shipped home.
He graduated from Whiteland Community High School in 1987. His former teachers remember him as "Joey" and said he had an interest in history and government, a bubbly personality and an ever-present smile.
Proctor served in the Army during the 1991 Gulf War and re-enlisted in the National Guard in 2002, which his former teachers say speaks to the great citizen and patriot he was even in his younger days.
"His death was a big tragedy but obviously I think if Joey knew that was going to happen to him when I had him in school, he would have said, 'Well, that's what I'm supposed to do.' He's just really a good kid, just the kind of a kid that if he was your son, you'd be proud of him," said Butch Zike, Proctor's former teacher.
Army Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor was killed in action on 05/03/06.
Army Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor, 38, of Indianapolis, Indiana
Sgt Proctor was assigned to the 638th Battalion (Aviation), Indiana Army National Guard, Shelbyville, Ind.; killed May 3 when a suicide, vehicle-borne, improvised explosive device detonated near his observation post during dismounted combat patrol operations in Tammin, Iraq.
The Pentagon says 38-year-old Sergeant Joseph Proctor was killed Wednesday during combat operations near Ramadi. He died on Wednesday in an area where the Army says it's seen a heavy insurgency recently. A roadside bomb apparently exploded near Proctor's vehicle.
Sgt. Proctor had been serving a year-long tour with the Army National Guard's 638th battalion aviation sector. He grew up in Whiteland and leaves behind a wife and three children at his home in Indianapolis.
Proctor died just two weeks before his scheduled hoemcoming. His clothing had already been shipped home.
He graduated from Whiteland Community High School in 1987. His former teachers remember him as "Joey" and said he had an interest in history and government, a bubbly personality and an ever-present smile.
Proctor served in the Army during the 1991 Gulf War and re-enlisted in the National Guard in 2002, which his former teachers say speaks to the great citizen and patriot he was even in his younger days.
"His death was a big tragedy but obviously I think if Joey knew that was going to happen to him when I had him in school, he would have said, 'Well, that's what I'm supposed to do.' He's just really a good kid, just the kind of a kid that if he was your son, you'd be proud of him," said Butch Zike, Proctor's former teacher.
Army Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor was killed in action on 05/03/06.
Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre, 27, of Woodbridge, Va.
Cpt. Letendre was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Plainville, Conn.; killed May 3, 2006 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq.
Potomac News Blog
BY LILLIAN KAFKA
A local Marine was killed on May 3 in Iraq while conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar province, according to a press release from the Department of Defense.
Capt. Brian S. Letendre, 27, of Woodbridge, was “a very patriotic young man who believed in what his country is doing,” said his father, Milton Letendre of Woodbridge.
The 1996 Potomac High School graduate was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Plainville, Conn.
He had just volunteered for his second tour in Iraq, said a family friend and fellow Marine Capt. David Bann.
Bann said he and Brian Letendre grew up in the Harbors of Newport community in Woodbridge where, among other activities, they played in the woods as young boys.
By their early teens, Brian Letendre and friends had decided to become Marine officers, said Milton Letendre.
Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre was killed in action on 05/03/06.
Larger Image
Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre, 27, of Woodbridge, Va.
Cpt. Letendre was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Plainville, Conn.; killed May 3, 2006 while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq.
Potomac News Blog
BY LILLIAN KAFKA
A local Marine was killed on May 3 in Iraq while conducting combat operations in the Al Anbar province, according to a press release from the Department of Defense.
Capt. Brian S. Letendre, 27, of Woodbridge, was “a very patriotic young man who believed in what his country is doing,” said his father, Milton Letendre of Woodbridge.
The 1996 Potomac High School graduate was assigned to the Marine Forces Reserve’s Inspector and Instructor Staff, 1st Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Plainville, Conn.
He had just volunteered for his second tour in Iraq, said a family friend and fellow Marine Capt. David Bann.
Bann said he and Brian Letendre grew up in the Harbors of Newport community in Woodbridge where, among other activities, they played in the woods as young boys.
By their early teens, Brian Letendre and friends had decided to become Marine officers, said Milton Letendre.
Marine Capt. Brian S. Letendre was killed in action on 05/03/06.
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