Army Sgt. Reno S. Lacerna

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Reno S. Lacerna, 44, of Waipahu, Hawaii

Sgt. Lacerna was assigned to the 87th Corps Support Battalion, 3rd Sustainment Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga; died Dec. 31, 2007 in Qayyarah, Iraq, of a non-combat-related illness.

Army Sgt. Reno S. Lacerna died 12/31/07.

Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham

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Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham, 21, of Woodburn, Ky.

Pfc. Gorham was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Vicenza, Italy; died Dec. 31, 2007 at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds sustained Dec. 12 in Afghanistan when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Soldier dies weeks after roadside bombing in Afghanistan

The Associated Press

WOODBURN, Ky. — A soldier from south-central Kentucky who suffered severe burns when the Humvee he was riding in rolled over a bomb in Afghanistan has died, his father said Wednesday.

Army Spc. Brian Gorham, 23, of Woodburn suffered 2nd and 3rd degree burns on his face, legs, and arms in the Dec. 13 explosion. He died Monday, 18 days after the blast.

“My son was a fighter,” his father, Toney Gorham said. “He fought the whole time.”

Gorham served with the 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy, and had been in Afghanistan for six months. He was being treated in a hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

Gorham was remembered as a likable man who was always willing to help his neighbors.

“If you were around Brian for very long you would like him,” Jack Wright, a Sunday school teacher at Woodburn Baptist Church, told the Bowling Green Daily News. “I’m proud to have known him.”

Frances McKinney, who lived across the street from Gorham and his family, said Gorham was like a big brother to her daughter.

“When my dad was sick, Brian and his mother would come over and help him up and get around the house,” McKinney said.

McKinney said when she first heard about Gorham being injured by the roadside bomb, “I thought that it can’t be hitting this close to home, but it was.”

When the McKinneys moved into a house across from the Gorhams 15 years ago, the future soldier and his family helped welcome them to the community.

McKinney’s husband spent eight years in the Army, so when Gorham enlisted, he was able to talk to someone who had military experience.

“I remember him coming over and saying he was really excited about doing something meaningful,” McKinney said.

Debbie Brown, a secretary at Woodburn Baptist Church, said Gorham would often arrive at Wednesday church services wearing his Army ROTC uniform.

“I remember that he looked very distinguished and I’m sure he was proud to wear that uniform,” Brown said.

Gov. Steve Beshear directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff in Gorham’s honor.

Army Pfc. Brian L. Gorham died 12/31/07 from injuries suffered from an IED on 12/12/07.

Navy Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries

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Navy Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries, 52, of Honolulu

Specialist 1st Class Jeffries was assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Kuwait; died Dec. 31, 2007 as a result of injuries sustained Dec. 24 in a vehicular accident in Kuwait.

Navy reservist dies in Kuwait accident
Honolulu Advertiser

A Navy reservist from Honolulu died yesterday of injuries suffered Dec. 24 in a vehicle accident in Kuwait, the Pentagon reported yesterday.

Petty Officer 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries, 52, was permanently assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Kuwait, the Pentagon said. Details were not immediately available on the vehicle accident.

Jeffries wrote an article that appeared last month on the Digital Video and Imagery Distribution System Web site. The article, dated Dec. 19, described a Navy program in Kuwait that helps sailors make the transition back home at the end of their deployment.

The article said Jeffries was assigned to Navy Customs Battalion Tango. The unit deployed Sept. 30 to the Middle East in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Navy Times said.

The unit’s 450 sailors are reservists from 36 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, the Navy Times said. Its job is to perform customs inspections in Kuwait and Iraq for service members returning home at the end of their deployment.

Navy Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries died as a result of a vehicular accident on 12/31/07.

Army Pfc. Joseph R. Berlin Jr.

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Army Pfc. Joseph R. Berlin Jr., 21, of Chelsea, Ala.

Pfc. Berlin was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 30, 2007 in Baghdad of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

Killeen Daily Herald -- FORT HOOD – The Defense Department announced Wednesday the death of a Fort Hood soldier supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Pfc. Joseph R. Berlin Jr., 21, of Chelsea, Ala., died Sunday in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat-related incident. He had been assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Division, since January 2007. He deployed to Iraq in December.

The incident is under investigation.

Berlin joined the military in August 2006 as a fire support specialist.

Berlin's military awards and decorations include the National Defense Service Medal.

Army Pfc. Joseph R. Berlin Jr. died in Iraq of non-combat related injuries on 12/30/07.

Army Capt. Rowdy J. Inman

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Army Capt. Rowdy J. Inman, 38, of Panorama Village, Texas

Capt. Inman was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 26, 2007 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained from small-arms fire during dismounted combat operations. Also killed was Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell.

Houston Community — Army Capt. Rowdy J. Inman, 38, and Army Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell, 27, of Bakersfield, Calif., were killed in Mosul, Iraq Wednesday by wounds they suffered from small arms fire during dismounted combat operations, the U.S. Department of Defense reported Friday afternoon. They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps at Fort Hood.

Inman's death marks the sixth loss this year of troops with ties to Montgomery County. A total of 13 troops, either from Montgomery County or with ties to the county, have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in the War on Terror. Inman’s mother lives in Round Rock. He is the winner of the Bronze Star Medal and numerous other military awards and decorations.

Inman's uncle, 70-year-old Herman Dicus of Corpus Christi, said family members have heavy hearts. They're "kind of tore up," he said. "It's sad. I knew what he went through," said Dicus, who spent 20 years in the Navy, including five tours in Vietnam.

"This is such hard news," said Ron Loftin, of the Rivershire subdivision in Conroe, a former neighbor of Inman's. "God bless him and the other members of his unit. He made the ultimate sacrifice. "He did it, not for himself, but for the rest of us. That's the kind of guy he was."

A Desert Storm veteran and Sam Houston State University Reserve Officer Training Corps graduate, Inman was married to his wife Shannon for eight years and had two children, Keeley, 7, and Gary, 4. The family currently resides in Harker Heights, near Fort Hood.

The family left Rivershire when Inman was stationed at Fort Hood. His neighbors and friends had a small neighborhood barbecue before they left.

"One of the things he said before he left was he hoped that his next tour would be just as safe and he would come back soon," Loftin said about Inman previous tour in Iraq. "I pray for his wife and his children and the other members of his family." The Department of Defense listed Inman's address as Panorama Village.

Inman served two tours in Iraq totaling 19 months before briefly leaving the Army. He quickly reenlisted and shipped out for this final tour in Iraq in November.

"His wife didn't want him to stay in, so he got out for about one month and then got back in," said Herman Dicus, Inman's uncle, who lives in Corpus Christi. "He liked ROTC and school. He liked it enough to go into the Army."

Inman didn't like civilian life, neighbors said. "He loved service life," Rivershire neighbor Betty Knauf said. "He missed it when he got out, so that's why he got back in."
Rivershire neighbor Buddy Gorski saw Inman in early November, when Inman stopped by his house with another soldier before they were deployed.

"I couldn't say anything bad about him," Gorski said. "He was a great guy. "I'd be in the front yard doing something and he'd come over and help me. I never had to ask him."

The "ultimate dad and friend," as friend Krysti Kruse described Inman, was always talking about his wife, children and his dad driving tanks.

"One of the first times we met, he showed me pictures of his family and told me how he met his wife," said Kruse, of Montgomery. "He was so in love with her."

The Army captain met his wife, Shannon, while attending SHSU, said Janet Tingle, Oak Ridge High School head volleyball coach. Shannon graduated from ORHS.

"She played volleyball and softball for Oak Ridge," Tingle said. "She came back and taught for us and then taught at Conroe."

Shannon taught in Conroe from 1997-2000 and previously taught swimming, volleyball and softball in Klein. She coached volleyball at Montgomery High School during the 2005-06 school year.

Friend Greg Landrum, of Montgomery, met Inman while attending a MHS softball game. His daughter played on the varsity team.
"His family meant everything to him," Landrum said. "He'd do anything for you. He was just a great all-around guy."

The Inmans first left Conroe in 2001 for Colorado Springs, where Shannon became the head softball coach and assistant volleyball coach at Wasson High School.
According to Tingle, Shannon was an intense and very aggressive athlete while at ORHS. "Rowdy was just the most wonderful guy, very supportive of Shannon and her coaching," Tingle said.

Inman was commissioned as an officer in the SHSU ROTC program in spring 2000, according to www.shsu.edu. The uniform he wore while serving in Desert Storm was on display in 2002 at the "ROTC: Celebrating 50 Years at Sam Houston State University" exhibit.

The last time Benny Bennett saw his high school classmate Rowdy J. Inman was 12 years ago during a trip to the grocery store, but the short conversation the two shared will stay engraved in his memory forever.

Inman, was a 1986 King High School graduate and member of the school's Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps.

"His name says it all," Bennett said. "He was a bit rowdy, a lot of fun and probably one of the coolest friends a guy could have in high school. I'll never forget him. We had so much fun."

Bennett said in 1984 he had an opportunity to travel with Inman and other NJROTC members to a boot camp in Orlando, Fla. The group also had a chance to visit Disneyland.

"Rowdy and I had such a wonderful time," he said. "It was like we were little kids again, getting on all of the rides and enjoying the place."

Over the years, Bennett and Inman lost touch, but the two had a chance to catch up during a trip to the grocery store 12 years ago.

"We basically caught each other up on where we were with our lives and wished each other the best in the future," Bennett said. "I would've never guessed that would be the last time I would talk to him."

Bennett, sales and marketing director for Berry's Jewelers, said he heard about Inman's death from news reports.

Two Fort Hood soldiers die in Iraq
The Associated Press

FORT HOOD, Texas — Two decorated soldiers stationed at Fort Hood, one from Texas and the other from California, died in combat in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Dec. 28.

Capt. Rowdy J. Inman, 38, and Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell, 27, died the day after Christmas in Mosul, Iraq, from small-arms fire during dismounted combat operations.

Inman, of Panorama Village, Texas, was a recipient of the Bronze Star Medal and numerous other military awards and decorations.

Among the military awards and decorations earned by Portell, who was from Bakersfield, Calif., was an Army Commendation Medal.

Both soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, headquartered at Fort Hood.

Army Capt. Rowdy J. Inman was killed in action on 12/26/07.





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Army Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell

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Army Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell, 27, of Bakersfield, Calif.

Sgt. Portell was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 26, 2007 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained from small-arms fire during dismounted combat operations. Also killed was Capt. Rowdy J. Inman.

Bakersfield soldier dies in Iraq on second term of duty
The Associated Press

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — A soldier from Bakersfield who was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq was killed in Mosul when his Army platoon was ambushed.

The Department of Defense says 27-year-old Sgt. Benjamin Portell died Dec. 26 from wounds suffered from small-arms fire.

Portell’s pastor Brian Murphy says the soldier had just gotten married this year and was a devoted member of the Riverlakes Community Church.

Murphy says Portell’s older brother, Mike, is currently deployed in Iraq and a younger brother, Jeff, served a term there as well.

Benjamin Portell was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, in Fort Hood, Texas.

Bakersfield Californian — A 27-year-old soldier from Bakersfield died Wednesday when his Army platoon was ambushed in Iraq, according to the soldier's pastor.

Sgt. Benjamin Portell was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq, according to Brian Murphy, executive pastor of Riverlakes Community Church.

"Ben was a great guy," Murphy said. "He just got married seven months ago. It's horrible."

Portell and Capt. Rowdy J. Inman were killed in the ambush and four were injured, according to Murphy. The pastor didn't know what unit Portell served in.

Major Anne Edgecomb, spokeswoman for the U.S. Army, could not confirm Portell's death. She said multiple casualties could delay release of the soldiers' names because the Army only announces the names 24 hours after next of kin for all the involved soldiers are contacted.

In 2005, Portell was deployed to Iraq as a member of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team. Portell graduated from basic combat military training in 2003.

Portell's older brother, Mike Portell, is a soldier in the Army and is currently in Iraq, Murphy said. Portell's younger brother, Jeff Portell, used to be in the Army and served a tour in Iraq, Murphy said.

Murphy said the family is having a difficult time with their loved one's death.

"The parents can't talk right now," Murphy said.

Portell grew up in Bakersfield and graduated from Stockdale High School.

Kris Pelster, who played high school football with Portell, said he was an honest and trustworthy guy.

"He was a good guy to know and a solid addition to the football team," Pelster said.

Portell spent a lot of time helping out at the Riverlakes Community Church, including taking part in mission trips to Mexico.

"He had such a tender heart," Murphy said. "He was a real servant."

Portell married his wife, Michelle, over the summer, according to Murphy. She lives in New York.

Funeral services are tentatively planned to be held in Bakersfield.

Army Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell was killed in action on 12/26/07.

Army Sgt. Peter C. Neesley

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Army Sgt. Peter C. Neesley, 28, of Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.

Sgt. Neesley was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died Dec. 25, 2007 in Baghdad of an undetermined cause in a non-combat environment.

The Detroit News -- A 28-year-old soldier from Grosse Pointe Farms was killed on Christmas Day in Iraq, the U.S. Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Sgt. Peter C. Neesley died of an undetermined cause in a noncombat environment in Baghdad.

Neesley was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Ga.

The military is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death, according to the statement.

A family member who answered the phone at Neesley's home Wednesday said the family was not commenting on the death for the media at this time.

He added that there was no information about a funeral.

Kim Gerlach, a teacher at Pere Gabriel Richard Elementary School in Grosse Pointe Farms, met Neesley briefly last month when the soldier came to the school to visit students.

"He talked about the good soldiers in Iraq were doing, helping and protecting children over there," she said.

"He showed us pictures of an old shopping mall he stayed at for a while."

The visit was arranged through Neesley's sister, who has a son who attends school at Richard, Gerlach said. The soldier met with 70 or more students.

Gerlach said she received a call Wednesday from a co-worker about Neesley's death.

"He's a very nice, honest person," the teacher said. "He came in while he was on a five-day leave and talked to us."

Grosse Pointe Farms soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

GROSSE POINTE FARMS, Mich. — A 28-year-old soldier from suburban Detroit died Christmas day in Iraq, the military said.

Sgt. Peter C. Neesley, of Grosse Pointe Farms, died of an undetermined cause in a non-combat environment in Baghdad, the Defense Department said Dec. 26 in a release.

“He was just a sweet young boy,” longtime neighbor Jane Woodruff told the Detroit Free Press. “The Army was wonderful. ... It put discipline in his life.”

Neesley was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, at Fort Stewart, Ga.

The military is investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

The Associated Press left a telephone message Dec. 26 with the public affairs office at Fort Stewart.

Army Sgt. Peter C. Neesley died from a non-combat related incident on 12/25/07.





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Army Sgt. Bryan J. Tutten

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Army Sgt. Bryan J. Tutten, 33, of St. Augustine, Fla.

Sgt. Tutten was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Dec. 25, 2007 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during combat operations.

Soldier from St. Augustine dies during combat on second tour in Iraq
The Associated Press

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A soldier from north Florida died during combat on his second tour in Iraq, officials said Dec. 28.

Sgt. Bryan Joseph Tutten, 33, of St. Augustine, died Christmas Day in Balad, Iraq, after an improvised explosive device detonated near his position during combat operations, according to the Department of Defense.

He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Tutten was a rifleman and squad leader of an infantry company, his father-in-law, Gary Peterson, said.

“He went out to clear out the insurgents,” he said. “It was a very dangerous job but he was very good at it.”

Tutten enlisted in the Army six years ago. His second tour in Iraq began in November 2006, and he was due home within two months, relatives said.

He returned to Fort Bragg in May for two weeks when his son was born. He is also survived by his wife and a young daughter who was born during his first tour of Iraq.

Army Sgt. Bryan J. Tutten was killed in action on 12/25/07.

Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas D. Eischen

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Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas D. Eischen, 24, of Sanger, Calif.

SrA Eischen was assigned to the 60th Medical Operations Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif.; died Dec. 24, 2007 at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, in a non-combat-related incident.

Fresno Bee -- Another Buchanan High School graduate has died while serving in the military, the sixth from the Clovis school since the beginning of the war in Iraq.

Senior Airman Nick D. Eischen, 24, died Christmas Eve while stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. A military spokesman said Eischen's death was a "noncombat incident" and under investigation.

Tim Rolen, pastor at New Hope Community Church in Clovis, said the Eischen family was told the airman died in his sleep.

Eischen graduated in 2001 from Buchanan and played on the varsity football team. He was in the same class and was friends with Lance Cpl. Jared Hubbard and Cpl. Jeremiah Baro, Marines who died in a roadside bombing in Iraq in November 2004.

Eischen is the third Buchanan graduate to die this year serving in the military. In August, Army Cpl. Nathan Hubbard, brother of Jared, died in a helicopter crash in Iraq. In February, Pfc. Rowan Walter was killed by an explosive device in Iraq.

The loss of so many soldiers from one high school is difficult to understand, said Rolen, who visited Eischen's family at their Clovis home Wednesday.

"For some reason, there was an incredible commitment to country and family from that particular school," Rolen said.

The losses have been devastating to Buchanan, said Mike Vogt, Eischen and the school's football coach: "I hate to say this, but it makes you wonder, 'Who's next?' It makes me nervous. It's disconcerting."

Vogt said that Eischen was not a star player, but was dedicated to the team and well liked. He played offensive tackle.

Jason Baca, a teammate, recalled Eischen bulking up to become a key component of the team his senior season.

Josh Lopez, another teammate, said he remembers Eischen making friends easily.

"That probably kept with him when he went into the military," he said.

For Lopez, 25, losing another fellow Buchanan graduate and another high school friend has not been easy.

"It's really tough. It puts a sick feeling in your stomach," he said. "Especially losing all these guys you knew and sweated with and played ball with."

Clovis Unified Superintendent Terry Bradley said: "Obviously, it's a very tragic thing and a very difficult thing, especially for teachers, staff members and coaches who have been very close to these young men."

Cliff Eischen, Nick's grandfather, said the family was not ready to speak publicly about Nick's death on Wednesday.

"He was much loved, much respected," Cliff Eischen said. "The family just wants time to deal with their grief."

Rolen said the family received the news of Eischen's death Christmas morning. They knew of no health problems. He had been assigned to the 60th Medical Operations Squadron from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield.

Services will be arranged by Boice Funeral Home in Clovis, but a date has not been set, Rolen said.

Eischen was married to wife Leah and had a 2-year-old son, Braeden. A younger brother, 22-year-old Drew, is in the Army stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was with his parents in Clovis, where he is recovering from shoulder surgery, when the news came about his older brother.

"It was a shock, but they have the support of some very good friends," Rolen said.

Rolen had known Nick Eischen since he was about 12 and a first baseman on the Babe Ruth team Rolen coached.

Rolen said Eischen was well-mannered with a mischievous side as well: "You knew he was kind of up to something by the smirk on his face."

Rolen ran into Eischen in the Sierra Vista Mall in September, shortly before he was sent to Afghanistan, and recalled his firm handshake. Rolen said he then added Eischen's name to the church's list of soldiers to pray for.

Air Force Senior Airman Nicholas D. Eischen died in a non-combat related incident on 12/24/07.

Army 1st Lt. Jeremy E. Ray

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Army 1st Lt. Jeremy E. Ray, 26, of Houston

1st. Lt Ray was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 20, 2007 in Kanaan, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an enemy attacked using an explosive device.

Houston soldier killed by suicide bomber
The Associated Press

HOUSTON — A Houston soldier killed by a suicide bomber in Iraq is being remembered as a quiet man who loved the outdoors and playing his guitar.

1st Lt. Jeremy E. Ray, 26, died Dec. 20 in Kanaan when a man wearing an explosives vest blew himself up while U.S. soldiers were doing a security check at a city council meeting.

“He was a good guy,” 1st Lt. Charlie Huey, 26, who is stationed at Fort Hood with the field artillery unit, said in a story in the Dec. 22 online edition of the Houston Chronicle. “He played his guitar a lot. He was kind of a quiet guy, the type of guy you’d want to hang out with.”

Ray was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, at Fort Hood.

Ray graduated from Texas A&M University in 2006. He deployed to Iraq on Nov. 8.

“We received three e-mails from him while he was over there,” his father, Randy Ray, told the newspaper. “He was just saying that he really couldn’t tell us where he was, but that they were somewhere in northern Iraq, setting up a forward operation base called ‘Warhorse.’ ”

Huey, who roomed with Ray at A&M, said that while Ray had a quiet side, he wasn’t a pushover.

He recalled what happened when some freshmen left a dead rat outside a house where they were staying.

“[Ray] found out who did it and we went over to the Corps’ room at the dorm,” Huey said. “We went inside and had a ‘discussion’ with them. After that, we never had a problem with them again.”

Randy Ray said the news of his son’s death was still sinking in.

“I don’t have any feeling. I’m just very numb,” he said. “I have a lot of inner feelings penned up about the war.”

Ray said he and his wife, Deborah, had a constant stream of well-wishers at their home.

“The phone’s been ringing off the hook, and close family members are here with us,” he said. “Without that family support we’d be lost.”

Army 1st Lt. Jeremy E. Ray was killed in action on 12/20/07.

Army Pfc. Juctin R. P. McDaniel

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Army Pfc. Juctin R. P. McDaniel, 19, of Andover, N.H.

Pfc. McDaniel was assigned to the 524th Combat Service Support Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; died Dec. 17, 2007 in Baghdad of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident in Taji, Iraq.

Hawaii-based soldier dies of non-combat-related injuries in Iraq
The Associated Press

HONOLULU — The Pentagon says a Hawaii-based soldier has died of non-combat injuries in Iraq.

Pfc. Juctin R. P. McDaniel of Andover, N.H., died Dec. 17 in Baghdad. He sustained the injuries in what the military is calling a non-combat related incident in Taji, Iraq.

The 19-year-old’s work specialty was repairing power generation equipment.

He deployed to Iraq last month.

The Pentagon says the circumstances of the incident are under investigation.

McDaniel was a member of the 524th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade, at the 8th Theater Sustainment Command at Fort Shafter.

McDaniel joined the Army in November 2006 and was assigned to Schofield Barracks in April.

Andover soldier dies in Iraq, military cites non-combat incident
The Associated Press

CONCORD, N.H. — A 19-year-old soldier from Andover has died in Iraq of non-combat related injuries, the Department of Defense said.

Pfc. Juctin McDaniel died Dec. 17 in Baghdad of injuries sustained from a non-combat incident in Taji, Iraq, the Pentagon announced in a news release last week. It said the incident was under investigation.

McDaniel was a graduate of Merrimack Valley High School, the Concord Monitor reported. He served in 524th Combat Service Support Battalion, 45th Sustainment Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, based in Fort Shafter, Hawaii.

McDaniel was a generator mechanic and had deployed to Iraq last month, the Honolulu Advertiser reported. A neighbor told the newspaper that McDaniel joined the Army more than a year ago.

“I didn’t know him well, but I know that he was very, very proud of his military service, and I think that he found a lot of direction having joined the military,” the neighbor, Joy Langtry, said in a phone interview with the Advertiser.

Langtry remembers seeing McDaniel playing basketball with his siblings and helping his stepfather in the garden.

“He was a decent kid and I know that his family felt his going into the Army really, really helped him,” she said.

Army Pfc. Juctin R. P. McDaniel died from non-combat related injuries on 12/17/07.

Army Sgt. Austin D. Pratt

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Army Sgt. Austin D. Pratt, 22, of Cadet, Mo.

Sgt. Pratt was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Polk, La.; died Dec. 15, 2007 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in Baghdad.

KALB -- FORT POLK, La. - The Department of Defense announced today that Sergeant Austin D. Pratt, 22, of Cadet, Mo., died Dec. 15 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat related incident.

Pratt was an infantryman assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light).

Pratt joined the Army in May 2004 and has been stationed at Fort Polk since September 2004.

The incident is under investigation.

Army Sgt. Austin D. Pratt died 12/15/07 in Balad, Iraq of non-combat related injuries.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan A. Lowery

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Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan A. Lowery, 38, of Houlton, Maine

SFC Lowery was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 14, 2007 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

Boston Globe -- Residents of a town in rural Maine near the Canadian border grieved the death of a native son this weekend with the news that Army Sergeant First Class Jonathan A. Lowery died in a gunfire attack in Mosul, Iraq.

Lowery, 38, a former drill sergeant and father of two, was killed Friday when his unit came under small arms fire, Army officials said. The sergeant's brother, Lawrence, said he had no additional details about the circumstances surrounding the death, which he said remains under investigation. He said it was his brother's second tour in Iraq.

"He was very well versed in combat . . . and he was a commanding presence," Lawrence Lowery said in a phone interview yesterday. "He was very proud of what he did in the military."

Born and raised in Houlton, a town of 6,500, Lowery grew up the second youngest of six children. He was fond of hunting and fishing in the remote town, home to a Smith & Wesson plant and pudding manufacturer Tate and Lyle.

After graduating from high school, Lowery took some college courses and served in the National Guard before enlisting in the Army. Lawrence Lowery said his brother's decision to join the military was influenced by an older brother who had joined the Air Force.

Lowery stayed in the military for the next 19 years, stationed at points across the United States and abroad. He fought in Kosovo, and most recently, the soldier, who was divorced, worked as a senior drill sergeant at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, not far from where his two sons, ages 8 and 11 live. At the time of his death, he was assigned to the Third Squadron, Third Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps in Fort Hood, Texas.

Lawrence Lowery said Jonathan had been promoted to sergeant first class earlier this year.

Army officials said flags will be flown at half-staff on the day of Lowery's funeral. A date and time has not been set. His remains have not yet been returned to Houlton, where his father and other family members live.

Paul Cleary, chairman of the Houlton Town Council, said the news has deeply affected many in the town. Lowery was remembered at church services yesterday. Cleary said he would offer a request for a resolution honoring Lowery and recognizing his years of service at the next Council meeting.

"We all joke about how small Houlton is, and how we all know each other," he said. "At a time like this, it's a good thing. We work to help each other through."

Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan A. Lowery was killed in action on 12/14/07.

Army Pvt. Daren A. Smith

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pvt. Daren A. Smith, 19, of Helena, Mont.

Pvt. Smith was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Polk, La.; died Dec. 13, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

Governor order flags flown at half-staff for fallen soldier
The Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. — Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered that flags be flown at half-staff Dec. 21-22 in honor of a Helena soldier who died in Iraq.

The body of Army Pvt. Daren A. Smith, 19, will arrive in Butte on Dec. 20, said Maj. Garth Scott of the Montana National Guard.

His funeral is set for 10 a.m. Dec. 22 at Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home in Butte. It will be followed by a graveside service at 12:30 p.m. at Fort Harrison, near Helena.

Smith died last week in Baghdad of injuries that weren’t related to combat, the Department of Defense said. The death remains under investigation.

Smith was in a unit sent to Iraq from Fort Polk, La. Samantha Evans, Fort Polk media affairs officer, said Smith joined the Army in March 2007 and arrived in Louisiana in August.

“Everything else is under investigation,” she told the Independent Record newspaper. “A non-combat injury can be anything not dealing with actual combat. I wouldn’t speculate a guess. There are a lot of things that could include.”

Smith was born in Butte and lived there until he reached middle school, when he moved to Helena. He graduated from Helena High School in 2006 and completed a semester at the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology, Scott said.

In Iraq, Smith served in a small platoon that moved ahead of larger units and scouted out conditions.

Efforts to contact his family Dec. 18 were unsuccessful.

In Smith’s honor, Schweitzer has ordered that national and state flags be flown at half-staff beginning Dec. 21 and ending Dec. 22 at sundown.

Body of Montana soldier arrives home
The Associated Press

BUTTE, Mont. — The flag-draped casket of Army Pvt. Daren Smith, who died in Iraq, arrived in Butte on Dec. 20 to dozens of family members and friends who gathered at the city’s airport to pay their respects.

Smith, 19, died Dec. 13 in Baghdad of non-combat-related injuries. He is the 22nd Montanan serving in the military to die in Iraq. The Department of Defense hasn’t release any additional details about the death, which is under investigation.

Bad weather delayed Smith’s flight to Butte for a few hours, and his family was given the option of canceling the flight and receiving the body in Helena, said honor guard coordinator Denny Lenoir. The family rejected the idea.

“They wanted him to come home,” Lenoir said.

Smith was born in Butte and lived there until he reached middle school, when he moved to Helena. He graduated from Helena High School in 2006 and completed a semester at the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology.

He joined the Army in March and was deployed to Iraq on Nov. 29.

Smith served in a small platoon that moved ahead of larger units and scouted out conditions.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. at Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home, followed by a graveside service at 12:30 p.m. at the Montana Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison near Helena.

Gov. Brian Schweitzer has ordered the national and state flags to be flown at half-staff through sundown Dec. 22.

Hundreds line streets to honor Helena soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

HELENA, Mont — Hundreds lined the streets of this Rocky Mountain town Saturday to honor a Helena soldier killed in Iraq.

Army Pvt. Daren Smith was laid to rest at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery here.

Smith, 19, died Dec. 13 in Baghdad, less than two weeks after being deployed to Iraq with the 4th Brigade Combat Team. His cause of death remains under investigation but is being termed “non-combat related” by the military.

Smith’s body was flown to the Butte airport on Thursday, and a private memorial service was conducted there Saturday. The funeral procession then drove the 66 miles to Helena, where people unfurled flags over Interstate 15 and lined the streets to show their respect for the fallen soldier and his family.

Mourners paced along the road into the Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison as they waited for Smith’s hearse to arrive, their faces reddened by the 20-degree temperatures and crisp northeast wind. A riderless horse followed the hearse, a silent testament to Smith’s training with the 5-15 Cavalry Warlords.

Smith’s grief-stricken family and friends declined to talk to reporters, but his obituary describes him as a cool-headed, honest guy who loved to get dirty and wrestle with friends and dreamed of becoming a film producer.

He grew up in Butte but moved with his family to Helena in 2000, where he attended Helena Middle School and Helena High, graduating in 2006.

“He was the kind of guy who would do anything for you,” a teary-eyed friend told the Independent Record. “He was just a great guy,” said the man, who declined to give his name.

Smith’s mother, Debra Smith, was given the folded flag that had been draped over his casket, and as she laid a bouquet of red and white flowers on the casket, four balloons — a red one, a white one, a blue one and a star-shaped green one — drifted into the skies.

“I just want to pick him up and hold him,” she said, sobbing quietly.

Army Pvt. Daren A. Smith died of non-combat related injuries on 12/13/07.





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Army Sgt. Samuel E. Kelsey

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Samuel E. Kelsey, 24, of Troup, Texas

Sgt. Kelsey was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died Dec. 13, 2007 in Tunnis, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated.

TYLER, Texas — A 24-year-old soldier from the East Texas town of Troup has died in combat during his second tour in Iraq, his family and the military said.

Sgt. Samuel E. Kelsey died Thursday in Tunnis, Iraq, from wounds he suffered in an explosion, the Department of Defense said in a release.

Denina Kelsey said her son had run to help a fellow soldier whose legs were injured in an explosion. The second improvised explosive device went off while Kelsey was trying to help the soldier.

“He felt strongly about wanting his men, every one of them, to come home,” Denina Kelsey said. “He was saving somebody else’s life, and my child lost his life.”

Denina Kelsey said she was devastated by the loss of her only child.

“He was my life, my breath, everything I did in my life I did for my child,” she said. “He was my only child, and I am his only parent.”

Samuel Kelsey graduated from Troup High School in 2001. He was part of an active and tight-knit class, family friend Ava Johnson said.

“They were every teacher’s favorites, and they just were all there for each other — still very close,” Johnson said.

She said Kelsey’s friends and classmates were calling each other for support.

“We all celebrate together, and we all grieve together,” Johnson said of Troup, which has about 2,100 residents and is located 105 miles southeast of Dallas.

The women said Kelsey had a good sense of humor and made friends easily.

“What anybody else would call friends, Sam called family,” Denina Kelsey said.

Kelsey was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Army Sgt. Samuel E. Kelsey was killed in action on 12/13/07.

Army Spc. Brynn J. Naylor

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Brynn J. Naylor, 21, of Roswell, N.M.

Spc. Naylor was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Dec. 13, 2007 in Baghdad of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using small-arms fire.

New Mexico soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

ROSWELL, N.M. — A New Mexico soldier who was scheduled to return home before Christmas has died in Iraq.

Army Pfc. Brynn Naylor, 21, was killed Dec. 13 from small-arms fire in Baghdad, said Bernarr Treat, a Naylor family friend and designated spokesman.

“For the Naylor family, Christmas time now will always be marked by that, but you never want to forget either and they won’t forget Brynn’s commitment to family and country,” Treat said.

Naylor, who was stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo., had served 15 months in Iraq on security patrol.

He graduated from Roswell’s Goddard High School in 2005 and turned down scholarships to join the Army, Treat said.

Naylor is survived by his father, Ross Naylor of Roswell, and his mother, D’Ann McGuire of Shallowater, Texas.

Army Spc. Brynn J. Naylor was killed in action on 12/13/07.

Army Cpl. Joshua C. Blaney

Remember Our Heroes

Army Cpl. Joshua C. Blaney, 25, of Matthews, N.C.

Cpl. Blaney was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy; died Dec. 12, 2007 at Forward Operating Base Curry, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Michael J. Gabel.

The State -- FORT MILL — Only death comes in uniform after dark.

It came after 9 p.m. Wednesday. Dianne Massey opened her Fort Mill front door to an Army beret. She screamed, “No, not Josh!”

But it was.

Her son, Cpl. Joshua Blaney, 25, had been killed in eastern Afghanistan earlier that day. A bomb blew up the vehicle he was riding in, Army officials confirmed Friday. Blaney was in the lead truck in a convoy.

Massey learned her son was dead as she stood a few feet from his Purple Heart and Army Commendation Medal. Blaney somehow had previously survived, though with leg shrapnel and scars, a convoy bomb in Iraq on an earlier tour. He was in the lead truck that day, too.

“I immediately remembered his fifth birthday party, the GI Joe cake,” Massey said Friday. “He would pitch a tent and play Army with his uncle who was in the Special Forces. They would eat MREs (Meals Ready to Eat.) There was the time at Wal-Mart. He was 8, or 9. We walked out, and he had this bulge in his pocket. I asked him, ‘Josh, what’s in the pocket?’ Out comes the GI Joe. I marched him right inside and made him give it back.”

A paratrooper with the 1st Battalion, 503rd Airborne, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Blaney was based at Forward Operating Base Curry in Afghanistan, said Maj. Nathan Banks, an Army spokesman. Another soldier, Michael Gabel of Louisiana, died when the vehicle ran over the bomb, Banks said.

Blaney grew up in Matthews, N.C., and graduated from Butler High School in 2002. After enlisting, he lived the past five-plus years in Italy at Camp Ederle when not deployed. He was five months into his second tour in Afghanistan after the Iraq deployment and recently had signed re-enlistment papers for two more years.

“He told me he would make a career out of it,” Massey said.

Blaney was part of the paratrooper drop into northern Iraq in 2003 that was the first of its kind for the Army since Vietnam, his mother said. Since Blaney’s death, e-mails have poured in to family members from his fellow soldiers in Afghanistan, calling him a top-notch paratrooper and friend.

Other e-mails described him as compassionate to his fellow soldiers and a mentor to younger men.

“A leader,” said his sister, Carley.

Blaney was divorced and had no children. He’s Massey’s middle child. He joined the Army after his mother and stepfather, Air Force veteran Eric Massey of Fort Mill, urged Blaney to try college. The Masseys then pushed the Air Force.

“He told me the Army would give him the discipline he needed, the focus he needed to figure out what he wanted to do with his life,” Massey said.

Blaney’s sister said her brother was a humble, gracious man who rarely talked about what he had seen or done in the wars.

Dianne Massey’s sister, Amy, whose husband is that Special Forces uncle that Blaney played “Army” with all the time, said, “Josh went in the Army a boy, and he came out a man.”

Blaney’s grandfather, Sid Belk, is an 84-year-old World War II Army Air Corps veteran.

“I know what my grandson was doing,” he said. “He was a fine soldier. Brave. I am proud of him.”

Army Cpl. Joshua C. Blaney was killed in action on 12/12/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Gabel

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Gabel, 30, of Crowley, La.

SSgt. Gabel was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade, Camp Ederle, Italy; died Dec. 12, 2007 at Forward Operating Base Curry, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Cpl. Joshua C. Blaney.

NPR -- December 17, 2007 • Army Staff Sgt. Michael Gabel, 30, was killed last week in Afghanistan. In a story NPR aired last month, Gabel spoke eloquently about the loss of his best friend in the line of duty.

At the memorial service for three U.S. Army paratroopers who died in Kunar province, Gabel delivered a moving eulogy for his comrade, Larry Rougle. Holding back tears, he told the crowd, "I will not be bitter. I will not shed a tear of sorrow. I am proud to have known such a good man and a warrior to the bitter end. Until we see each other again, sky soldiers!"

On Dec. 12, Gabel died in a roadside bomb blast. He was in the lead vehicle of a convoy securing a stretch of road in the southeastern Paktika Province.

The Baton Rouge native, who enlisted in the Army in 2000, was serving as a Sky Trooper with 173rd Airborne brigade. It was his third tour in Afghanistan. He had also served in Iraq.

His brother David Gabel said Michael had planned to re-enlist next year so he could serve more time in Afghanistan, a country that he loved.

"My brother believed in Afghanistan," David Gabel said. "He really wanted to see schools, jobs and opportunities brought to the country. It was his third tour in Afghanistan, and the job there was unfinished."

Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Gabel was killed in action on 12/12/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Gregory L. Elam

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Gregory L. Elam, 39, of Columbus, Ga.

SSgt. Elam was assigned to the 54th Quartermaster Company, 49th Quartermaster Group, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Lee, Va.; died Dec. 11, 2007 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, as a result of a non-combat-related illness.

For many in Iraq, Gregory L. Elam was fellow soldier who became a shoulder to cry on, and an ear to listen.

"As a friend, he was a person you could always go to. He's a leader as a soldier, so you could go to him for anything military-wise, and also fellowship-wise," said Staff Sgt. Patrick Curley.

Elam, 39, of Columbus, Ga., died Dec. 11 in Kandahar of a non-combat related illness. He was a 1986 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Lee.

His closest friends say he was a military man at heart, but his love for people was what really made him stand out.

"Greg was the type of guy, that he met no strangers. Greg was soft-spoken but he left an impact. When you met him, he just grew on you, he was just that type of person," said Rev. Willie Jones, a family friend.

Elam joined the Army in October 1986. He is survived by his wife Angela, and two daughters -- Jamieliah, 15, and Imani, 8.

"Who will call me Cantaloupe and poke fun at my frizzy hair, or losing too much weight while deployed? It's not going to be the same without you," wrote Sgt. Denetra Mathis-Cantu.

Army Staff Sgt. Gregory L. Elam died from a non-combat related illness on 12/11/07.

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark T. Carter

Remember Our Heroes

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark T. Carter, 27, of Fallbrook, Calif.

CPO Carter was assigned to Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron 2, Virginia Beach, Va.; died Dec. 11, 2007 as a result of enemy action while conducting combat operations in Iraq.

SEAL chief killed in Iraq, Navy says
Staff report

A Virginia-based SEAL who received two Bronze Stars with “V” devices was killed Tuesday in Iraq, according to a Navy release.

Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark Thomas Carter, 27, of Fallbrook, Calif., was killed in enemy action somewhere in Iraq. Carter was with Tactical Development and Evaluation Squadron 2, based in Virginia Beach, Va.

Carter joined the Navy in 1998, according to Navy records, and graduated from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL school the next year. He was assigned to SEAL Team 3, based at Naval Base Coronado, Calif., then SEAL Team 7.

In April 2004, Carter was assigned to Naval Special Warfare Development Group at Dam Neck, Va., according to information provided by Navy Personnel Command. That group, formerly known as SEAL Team 6, is an ultra-secretive unit that reports to Joint Special Operations Command, which includes Delta Force.

He received his current assignment in July 2006. Carter was selected for chief earlier this year.

“I am honored to serve with and lead men and women like Chief Mark Carter. He was an outstanding SEAL, teammate, and great American,” Carter’s commanding officer, who was not named, said in a statement. “On behalf of my command, I extend my condolences and heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends. His ultimate sacrifice, the most noble act for any American warrior, is our tragic loss, and I urge those who knew him to honor his life, in the best way we know how.”

In addition to his Bronze Star, Carter received a Joint Service Commendation Medal with “V” device, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, two Combat Action Ribbons, and an Afghanistan Campaign Medal, among other decorations.

“Losing any of the warriors serving in Naval Special Warfare is a significant loss, but losing a chief petty officer makes that loss even tougher,” said Lt. David Luckett, Naval Special Warfare Group 2 spokesman. “Like so many of his brothers in the SEAL community, Chief Carter lived the SEAL Code, and his actions on and off the battlefield embodied everything noble about serving in the Navy and in Naval Special Warfare.”

Carter is survived by his father, mother, three brothers and four sisters.

Navy Chief Special Warfare Operator Mark T. Carter was killed in action on 12/11/07.

Army Spc. Johnathan A. Lahmann

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Johnathan A. Lahmann, 21, of Richmond, Ind.

Spc. Lahmann was assigned to the 59th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; died Dec. 10, 2007 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds sustained in Bayji, Iraq, when a improvised explosive device struck his vehicle.

Soldier from Richmond killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

RICHMOND, Ind. — A soldier from Richmond was killed when an improvised explosive device struck his vehicle, the Department of Defense said.

Spc. Johnathan A. Lahmann, 21, died Dec. 10 in Tikrit of wounds suffered in an explosion in Bayji, Iraq, the military said.

Lahmann was assigned to the 59th Engineer Company, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, based at Fort Hood, Texas.

Family members said military officials told them he died in a suicide bombing.

Lahmann, the son of Linda and Alan Lahmann Jr., was a 2004 graduate of Richmond High School.

“I saw the military out here and I knew it,” said neighbor Monica Hardwick. “That hurts. He was a great kid.”

She said the last time she saw Lahmann was when he and a friend made a fire pit in the Lahmanns’ back yard. “He was a great neighbor,” she said. “Very polite kid, good manners.”

Army Spc. Johnathan A. Lahmann was killed in action on 12/10/07.

Army Cpl. Tanner J. O'Leary

Remember Our Heroes

Army Cpl. Tanner J. O'Leary, 23, of Eagle Butte, SD.

Cpl. O'Leary was a combat infantryman with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C., died Dec 9, 2007 in Musa Qal'eh, Afghanistan of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated.

Rapid City Journal — O'Leary, 23, died Sunday in Afghanistan from wounds he received when a roadside bomb detonated. O'Leary was taking a watch-over position as part of a reconnaissance team action in Musa Qal'eh, Afghanistan.

O'Leary was a combat infantryman with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, of the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C.

An operation involving the Afghan army and NATO's International Security Assistance Force was launched last Friday to retake Musa Qal'eh from the Taliban.

His family says Tanner O'Leary died in Afghanistan while serving his first tour there. He's a Timber Lake High School graduate who grew up between there and Eagle Butte. Now his family is struggling through a time when they could use him the most.

In West River, South Dakota, on a day like this, his family says Tanner O'Leary would have been a good person to have around.

The second member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to die in support of U.S. military military operations in the Middle East, was happy in the Army, according to a former teacher and friend who spoke with Cpl. Tanner O'Leary just before he was deployed in August.

Pfc. Sheldon Hawk Eagle, 21, of Eagle Butte, the other member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe to be killed Mideast operations, died November 15, 2003, when two Army helicopters crashed in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.

O'Leary's death impacts many people living on the vast Cheyenne River Reservation, where the term "community" is not measured by proximity or kinship, but by the people you know and the children you watch grow to adulthood.

"Pretty easy-going, happy-go-lucky kid,” cousin Shanna Anderson said. “It's easy to be around somebody who's happy all the time, ‘every day's a good day’ type of person," Anderson said.

He might have done some of the things his family says he did so often- crack a joke, work outside or just enjoy time with the people he loved, who are now trying to cope with his death.

He has a little girl and of course that's the twinkle in his eye. He sure thought a lot of her and she thought a lot of him too.”

"I know he's in heaven, you know, I know he's saved. And I know Jesus is in his heart, and he believed it," Anderson said.

Anderson says he believed he was doing the right thing when he joined the army and she's proud of him for that. That’s true even now that she knows he won't be around any more to work with horses or share times like this past July.

"Yeah, that's the last time he was home. We got word that he was going to Afghanistan," Anderson said.

He was around to help get through it then, but not this time, not when they got word that the son and brother of Carmen and Tully O'Leary, the father of 4-year-old Alexis, the cousin of Shanna Anderson won't be coming back.

"You know, you rely on God. He brings the peace and the joy again. The sun will shine again," Anderson said.

O'Leary grew up on the family ranch southwest of Timber Lake, where he lived with his mother, Carmen O'Leary, and a sister Tully, 16, and was surrounded by a close extended family.

He also leaves a four-year-old daughter, Alexis.

A cousin, Melissa O'Leary, said O'Leary's death is hard on everyone, especially his mother.

O'Leary would be proud of his mother's courage this week, Melissa O'Leary said.

"He was proud of her anyway, but he would be especially proud of her now," she said. "We all want to honor Tanner."

Tanner O’Leary, a 2003 graduate of the Timber Lake High School, had been in Afghanistan since September. He joined the Army in 2005.

Cousin Melissa O’Leary, 31, of Timber Lake said the family hasn’t learned yet how Tanner O’Leary died, though they received the news on Monday night.

Melissa O’Leary said her youngest cousin was a beautiful person. They grew up together on the same ranch 20 miles west of Timber Lake.

“He was extremely kind, very funny ... just very fun loving,” she said. “He was really so smart. He was absolutely a joy.

“Most important, he was a wonderful father.”

His family says O'Leary just turned 23 in September.

He attended Northern State University in Aberdeen before joining the Army in 2005.

The O'Leary family has a strong tradition of military service, Melissa O'Leary said. Tanner O'Leary is the third of his generation of O'Leary men to serve in the military.

His death cuts deeply into a community that has seen more than its share of tragedy and death in the past two years, according to Chris Bohlander, elementary-school principal in Timber Lake.

Bohlander taught science when O'Leary was in high school.

"This is a close community," he said. "Quite a few of the staff taught Tanner."

O'Leary was a good student with a keen interest in biology, which often challenged Bohlander, but also forged a strong relationship between the pair.

"Teaching him made me go home and want to teach better, because he just ate it up," Bohlander said. "He was hungry to learn."

Bohlander will also cherish memories of O'Leary's zest for life and an infectious smile that usually hinted "he was coming up with a zinger."

His grandmother Arlene O'Leary, 77, clings to memories of that smile. She watched her grandson grow up just next door. He worked hard on the ranch, at school and at life, she said.

"He was my happy little clown," Arlene O'Leary said. "He was a trickster. I loved him so much from infancy."

A good high school athlete, O'Leary didn't "go so much for the medals and trophies as much as he loved the game."

Her grandson was also a devoted father to his daughter. He wanted to be the "best father in the world" because he grew up without a father, she said.

"He wanted to take care of his little girl," Melissa O'Leary said. "His primary concern was his daughter." The family learned Wednesday that Tanner O'Leary's cousin, Capt. Brian O'Leary, will escort his body home, Arlene O'Leary said.

Brian O'Leary is serving in Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne and has started home, she said. This is his second deployment.

Funeral services for Tanner O'Leary have not been scheduled but will take place in Timber Lake.

Bohlander's last conversation with O'Leary was in July when the infantryman was home on leave. The men met one night at a convenience store.

A man had replaced the boyish high school student Bohlander remembered. "He looked like a soldier."

O'Leary was excited about seeing his daughter, who lives in Mankato, Minn., Bohlander recalled.

And, O'Leary was emphatic that the Army was where he was supposed to be, Bohlander said.

"He was there because he wanted to be," Bohlander said. "That gives me peace."

Army Cpl. Tanner J. O'Leary was killed in action on 12/09/07.

Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering

Remember Our Heroes

Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering, 31, of Bovey, Minn.

Spc. Pickering was assigned to the Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany; died Dec. 9, 2007 in Baghdad of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

Soldier from Bovey, Minn., killed in Iraq
The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — A soldier from Bovey, Minn., has died in Iraq, the Defense Department announced Dec. 10.

Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering, 31, died Dec. 9 in Baghdad of “injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident,” the department said in a news release.

Pickering was assigned to the Regimental Support Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, based in Vilseck, Germany.

“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation,” the news release said.

Pickering was from Bovey, an Iron Range town about five miles northeast of Grand Rapids, or about 25 miles southwest of Hibbing.

Army Spc. Randy W. Pickering died 12/09/07 due to a non-combat related incident.





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Army Capt. Adam P. Snyder

Remember Our Heroes

Army Capt. Adam P. Snyder, 26, of Fort Pierce, Fla.

Capt. Snyder was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Dec. 5, 2007 in Bayji, Iraq, from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Army Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez and Army Pvt. Dewayne L. White.

Fort Pierce soldier killed in Iraq known for acting, singing
The Associated Press

FORT PIERCE, Fla. — A 101st Airborne Division soldier killed in Iraq had hoped to become an actor, relatives said.

Capt. Adam P. Snyder of Fort Pierce died Dec. 5 from injuries he suffered in a roadside bombing in Iraq.

Two other soldiers based at Fort Campbell, a sprawling Army post on the Kentucky-Tennessee state line, died in the explosion after their Humvee hit the roadside bomb in Beiji, Iraq. Sgt. Eric Hernandez of Waldwick, N.J., and Pvt. Dewayne White of Country Club Hills, Ill., died Dec. 4.

All three were assigned to the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Snyder graduated from West Point, where he sang in the glee club, and previously served in Iraq in 2004-2005.

Relatives say the 26-year-old had hoped to move to California and try a career as an actor after his military service ended in 2009. Friends remembered Snyder for his roles in Christmas plays at the Westside Baptist Church, and as Harold Hill in a production of “The Music Man” at Lincoln Park Academy, where he graduated in 2000.

Snyder’s mother received a Christmas package containing tree ornaments from her son Dec. 6. Fran Frazer said her son was supposed to move to a desk job in January because of his duties as a captain.

“He said, ‘I know that will make you happy, but it won’t make me happy,’ ” she said. “He wanted to be on the front lines with the guys.”

Snyder was resourceful in finding extra gear for the men in his command, said Breck Barker of Raleigh, N.C., whose son Snyder mentored at West Point.

“He would ask, and we would respond,” Barker said. “I had just sent him individual body armor side plate carriers so that all of his men would be protected, and he had confirmed Monday that all were deployed and the men were happy.”

Army Capt. Adam P. Snyder was killed in action on 12/05/07.

Army Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez

Remember Our Heroes

Army Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez, 26, of Waldwick, N.J.

Sgt. Hernandez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Dec. 4, 2007 in Bayji, Iraq, from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Army Pvt. Dewayne L. White and Army Capt. Adam P. Snyder.

The Star Ledger -- Nearing the end of a four-year stint in the Army, Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez wanted nothing more than to pursue a career in law enforcement.

He was a decorated soldier, an accomplished marksman, a leader on and off the battlefield.

Yet his dream remained out of reach. Time and again, he was told no positions were available. Out of options, Hernandez re-enlisted in the Army earlier this year. In September, he arrived in Iraq for his second combat tour with the 101st Airborne Division.

On Tuesday, he died there, one of three soldiers killed when a roadside bomb ripped into their Humvee in Bayji, northwest of Baghdad.

Hernandez, 26, who grew up in West Milford, Passaic County, and most recently lived in the Bergen County community of Waldwick, was the 87th service member with ties to New Jersey killed in the war.

His mother, June Augusta, said that after her son shipped out, he received offers for two jobs that would have kept him home.

"They came too late," she said in a brief interview yesterday outside her Waldwick home. "Way too late."

Initially, the military seemed a natural career for Hernandez, a tall, strapping man who spoke often during his youth of becoming a soldier.

"Since he was a little kid, he played army with his friends," said his stepfather, John Augusta. "He just always wanted to be a soldier."

Hernandez joined the Army in 2003, and it wasn't long before he served his first tour of duty in Iraq, his stepfather said. Assigned to Fort Campbell in Kentucky, Hernandez more recently began to reconsider his options, and law enforcement seemed the right path.

Army Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez was killed in a non-combat related incident on 12/04/07.

Army Pvt. Dewayne L. White

Remember Our Heroes

Army Pvt. Dewayne L. White, 27, of Country Club Hills, Ill.

Pvt. White was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Dec. 4, 2007 in Bayji, Iraq, from wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Army Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez and Army Capt. Adam P. Snyder.

Southtown Star -- The last time Dewayne L. White called home from Iraq, his mother was staring at a crimson sunset unlike any she had ever seen.

"Baby, you should see this sky," Sandra Miller told her eldest soldier son. "It's so beautiful. I wish you were here to share this with me."

They talked a few minutes more about nothing in particular. Then White signed off as with a trademark "see ya" and his breathy, staccato laugh.

"I can hear his laughter," Miller said, her eyes puffy and bloodshot. "I hope I don't lose that sound."

White, 27, of Country Club Hills, was killed Tuesday when the vehicle in which he was riding was struck by an improvised explosive devise in Bayji, Iraq.

Another 101st Airborne soldier, Sgt. Eric J. Hernandez, 26, of New Jersey, was also killed. A third infantryman, Capt. Adam Snyder, of Florida, died Wednesday from injuries suffered in the blast.

It was White's second tour in Iraq. The Army private and his Fort Campbell-based 1st Brigade Combat Team were deployed in September.

"We are so proud of him," his mother said, pulling his Army portrait from the pages of her Bible.

White's younger brother DeShaun was hours away from boarding a flight for his second tour in Iraq when he learned of DeWayne's death.

The military granted DeShaun, an Army specialist, an emergency leave and put him on a plane home.

"I have a bond with the guys going over there," DeShaun said. "I feel bad I won't be there with them, but I feel worse about what happened to my brother."

Chester Miller, stepfather to DeWayne, DeShaun and their sister Nekita, said DeShaun will not return to a combat assignment.

"We'll not send another son over there to die," said Miller, a police officer in south suburban Phoenix.

DeWayne and DeShaun's father, Lenell White Jr., is retired from the Air Force. The boys grew up admiring his uniform and playing with toy guns, DeShaun said.

The brothers joined the Army together in November 2004 and attended boot camp at the same time.

During their first tour in Iraq, a yearlong stretch that began in September 2005, they were stationed 35 miles apart and never saw each other.

"DeWayne wouldn't talk about the casualties or the danger because he didn't want us to worry," said his mother, who works as a private mortgage insurance processor in Downers Grove.

White grew up in Chicago's Woodlawn community and attended Curie High School. When his mother and stepfather moved to Country Club Hills during his senior year, White earned his GED and trained to be a welder through a Job Corps program.

For the next few years, he worked a series of jobs in Tennessee, Kansas and the Southland.

It was during one of his stints in Clarksville, Tenn., that White met Synaca. They were married in February. The Millers missed the celebration because of a snowstorm in Chicago.

The snow also was falling Tuesday when they got the news of his death.

Sandra Miller was a passenger in her cousin's car when Synaca called.

"She said, 'Mom, there's been an accident in Iraq,'" Miller recalled. "Then she said DeWayne didn't make it."

Miller said she felt a heaviness on her chest, causing her cousin to think she was having a heart attack. Miller fell out of the car and began to wail.

"The spirit was telling me to come to my senses and be strong for my family," she said. "But I broke down. I have faith in God and that he's going to bring us through this."

Meanwhile, White's sister was home alone when the military turned up at their door.

"There was only one reason they were here," said Nekita as she cradled her 6-week-old daughter Jaida. "Our neighbor had to get me off the military man because I wanted to kill him. They wouldn't tell me nothing. It was horrible."

White loved to dance, draw cartoons of hip-hop characters and play pool. He adored the family's dog, a Rottweiler named Zeus. And he did a dead-on impression of Donald Duck, his siblings said.

His family remembered how willing White - a broad-shouldered man who stood 6 feet 2 inches - had always been to help others.

When he was about 7 years old, a neighbor gave him a dollar for being a good boy. White gave the money to charity, without urging from adults, because he wanted to help the children of Ethiopia, his mother said.

He maintained that spirit of giving while in Iraq. He always carried candy to pass out to the children, his mother said.

"He loved to give, not receive," she explained. "He was always happy and wanted to make every person happy. Even the little babies would just smile and smile at him."

In the past year, White's family has suffered the losses of Sandra's _mother, grandmother and aunt.

White inherited the nickname "Crazy Weezie" from his grandmother, Elouise Ireland, with whom he was very close.

He had the moniker tattooed on his left forearm. On his right shoulder, White inked a tribute to a soldier he knew who died in combat.

Country Club Hills lowered the American flag flying outside the city hall to half-staff on Thursday.

"Our heart goes out to the family at this time," Mayor Dwight Welch said. "Our community shares their grief since this young man gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country. God bless all our military men and women."

White also is survived by a stepsister, Kimberly Highsmith, of Arkansas, and a stepbrother, Chester Miller Jr., of Chicago.

Army Pvt. Dewayne L. White was killed in action on 12/04/07.

Army Sgt. Kyle Dayton

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Army Sgt. Kyle Dayton, 22, of El Dorado Hills, Calif.

Sgt. Dayton was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Dec. 3, 2007 in Ashwah, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

El Dorado Hills soldier killed by vehicle explosion in Iraq

The Associated Press

EL DORADO HILLS, Calif. — A 22-year-old paratrooper from El Dorado Hills who died following an explosion in Iraq was killed before he ever had the chance to meet his 3½-month-old son.

“The one thing I really wish he could have done was hold our son, Sean, just once,” Nicole Dayton told The Sacramento Bee of her husband, Sgt. Kyle Dayton. “He was so excited about becoming a daddy.”

Dayton died Dec. 3 in Anbar province when his unit responded to a logistics convoy accident and one of the vehicles unexpectedly ignited, the Department of Defense said Dec. 5. The accident is under investigation.

Dayton was on his second deployment to the Middle East. He was an infantry team leader with the 2nd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Nicole met Kyle Dayton in high school in California, and she moved to North Carolina to be with him when he returned from a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan. They married soon after, and he left for Iraq in June.

“From the first conversation we had, I knew I wanted to be part of his life,” she recalled. “When I was pregnant, Kyle went out at 11 p.m. and used his last two dollars to get me the Dairy Queen hot dogs I just couldn’t live without.”

Dayton joined the Army in October 2003. During his time in the service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart and the Army Commendation Medal.

“Dayton’s personality, professionalism, and approach to leadership was a part of the soul of this company and of this battalion,” said Staff Sgt. Geoffrey Creel, a squad leader in the same company as Dayton. “Just as it is with everything lost, you only realize how important that part was, once it is gone. Dayton was a large part of us, of our family.”

James Banuelos recalled his high school best friend as “the most loyal person I ever met — stubborn as hell, but loyal. ... When he thought he was right, he would fight to the death to make sure people knew he was right.”

Army Sgt. Kyle Dayton was killed in a non-combat related incident on 12/03/07.

Marine Lance Cpl. Michael C. Zebrowski

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Thomaston man dies in Sunday accident on I-84

BY KURT MOFFETT REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

THOMASTON — Chester and Miroslawa Zebrowski believe their son, Michael, was attempting to help other motorists when he was killed Sunday night on Interstate 84 in Hartford.

Michael C. Zebrowski, a 20-year-old Marine reservist, was one of two people who had gotten out of their vehicles on the highway around 8:20 when a five-vehicle crash occurred. The accident was in the westbound lanes between Exits 44 and 45.

Another man, Zachoriah Williams, 21, of East Hartford, was also killed. Williams was a private with the Connecticut National Guard, according Lt. Col. John Whitford, a guard spokesman.

Marine LCpl Michael C. Zebrowski was killed in a car accident on 12/02/07.

Army Pvt. Zachoriah Gentry Williams

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Service Members Killed In Five-Car I-84 Crash
Men May Have Gotten Outside Cars, Police Say

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Two young men who were members of the military died after Sunday night's pileup on Interstate 84, state police said.

Authorities identified the victims as Zachoriah Williams, 21, of East Hartford, and Michael Zebrowski, 20, of Thomaston. State police said the two men may have gotten out of their cars.

Williams was a private in the Army National Guard and Zebrowski was a Marine.

Five cars collided on westbound I-84 in Hartford near exit 44 shortly after 8 p.m. State police continue to investigate the incident.

Army National Guard Pvt. Zachoriah Gentry Williams was killed on 12/02/07.

Army Sgt. Blair W. Emery

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Army Sgt. Blair W. Emery, 24, of Lee, Maine

Sgt. Emery was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 30, 2007 in Baqubah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Maine soldier’s body is being returned to home town
The Associated Press

LEE, Maine — A soldier who was killed last week in Iraq was remembered Dec. 7 as a simple man who asked for little and gave more than he received.

Hundreds of people filled the Lee Academy gymnasium to pay their respects to Sgt. Blair Emery, who was killed Nov. 30 after a roadside bomb exploded next to his Humvee in Baqubah.

Gov. John Baldacci and state military officials presented medals to Emery’s widow, Chu Emery, who told the crowd that her husband was an “angel.”

Emery, 24, was the second soldier from this small town to die this year in Iraq. In June, Sgt. Joel House, who was 22, was killed in a roadside bomb attack in Taji, 12 miles north of Baghdad.

Both attended Lee Academy, graduating one year apart.

“This is very devastating for this small community to have two fine individuals taken like this before their time,” Baldacci said.

Veterans groups lined the motorcade route and members snapped to attention as a hearse brought Emery’s body home Dec. 6. The motorcade, led by the local police chief, included state, local and county police, along with fire departments and ambulances.

Carl Thompson of Ketchikan, Alaska, one of Emery’s uncles, was moved to tears.

“This community can be proud of its people as well as the people that serve,” Thompson said. “I just know that everywhere we looked there were people waving flags, people standing with their hands over their hearts, or pulling their cars over to wave. It just shows what this community is made out of real Americans.”

Emery was originally scheduled to return to the U.S. at the end of October, but his deployment was extended by another three months, his family said.

Army Sgt. Blair W. Emery was killed in action on 11/30/07.

Army Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason

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Army Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason, 42, of Bloomington, Minn.

SFC Tobiason was assigned to the 847th Adjutant General Battalion, 89th Regional Readiness Command, Wichita, Kan.; died Nov. 28, 2007 in Baghdad of injuries sustained in an incident that is currently under investigation.

Minnesota soldier dies in Iraq
The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — A soldier from Minnesota has died after being injured in Iraq, his family and the Department of Defense said Nov. 29.

Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason, 42, of Hayfield, died Nov. 28 in Baghdad of injuries he suffered in an incident that is under investigation, the department said.

Tobiason grew up in Bloomington — graduating from Kennedy High School — and had volunteered to stay longer in Iraq after his tour ended in October, his sister, Nancy Mitchell, told the Star Tribune on Nov. 29. He was assigned to the 847th Adjutant General Battalion, 89th Regional Readiness Command, Wichita, Kan.

Mitchell said all the family knows about the circumstances of her brother’s death is that he had stepped outside of a tent and that shots were fired. She said expected a final report on his death to be issued in a day or two.

While the Defense Department said Tobiason was from Bloomington, Mitchell said that he last lived in the small town of Hayfield in southeastern Minnesota. She told the paper that he was in his 14th year in the military and had planned to serve 20 years before retiring to a cabin in Minnesota.

Tobiason was on his second tour overseas and had previously served in Kuwait, and he would have returned home in January, his sister said. He is the 66th person with strong Minnesota ties to die in connection with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Services were planned for next week at St. Bonaventure Catholic Church in Bloomington.

Army Sgt. 1st Class John J. Tobiason died from non-combat related injuries on 11/28/07 in Baghdad, Iraq.

Marine Cpl. Allen C. Roberts

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Marine Cpl. Allen C. Roberts, 21, of Arcola, Ill.

Cpl. Roberts was assigned to Marine Attack Squadron 214, Marine Aircraft Group 13, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Ariz.; died Nov. 28, 2007 from a vehicle accident near Al Asad, Iraq.

Urbana Champaign News-Gazette -- ARCOLA – Flags in Arcola and Douglas County were lowered this morning in remembrance of Marine Allen C. Roberts, who died in Iraq.

The Department of Defense hadn't released the details of Roberts' death this morning, but those who remember Mr. Roberts said he was a caring, helpful man who took his military duties seriously. Mr. Roberts was a 2004 Arcola High School graduate.

Cindy Mills, Arcola's guidance counselor when Mr. Roberts attended school there, remembers him clearly. He was always laughing, always smiling, but took his work in the Marines seriously.

"He was very loyal to his country," Mills said, "and he was very proud of what he was doing."

Mills also remembers that Mr. Roberts, an only child, had a close bond with his mother, Jaye Roberts. She did not immediately return a phone message.

"He was a respectful young man who cared about his mother and cared about her wishes," Mills said. "You don't find a lot of those. They're not average."

Randy Rothrock was Mr. Roberts' principal from the time Mr. Roberts was in seventh grade until he graduated. He remembers that the last time he saw Mr. Roberts, the young man seemed satisfied with his military career.

"He had really found his place," Rothrock said. "I think everybody was really proud of what he accomplished. ... I'm sure he was a great Marine."

Former social studies teacher Richard Fay remembers Mr. Roberts as being interested in current affairs during his high school years. He remembers Mr. Roberts being devastated after terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and paying close attention to the war in Iraq. Fay would bring in veterans of World War II and the Korean War, which Mr. Roberts enjoyed.

"Allen, he just loved that," Fay said. "He ate that stuff up."

Rothrock said it was a pleasure watching Mr. Roberts mature during his years in school.

"He just got more likable and more into things every year," Rothrock said, adding that faculty members could always count on Mr. Roberts to volunteer and that he was heavily involved in Boy Scouts.

He played football for four years at Arcola and was involved in drama there, as well, Mills said.

"He never wanted to be somebody he wasn't; he never tried to belong anyplace that he didn't," Mills said. "He was himself and he was comfortable with himself."

Rothrock said Mr. Roberts is the first Arcola resident lost in a war in recent memory, and Mills said it's tough news because everyone in Arcola knows him.

"This will shake us," she said.

And Fay knows Mr. Roberts will be remembered with gratitude.

"Allen was a true hero," Fay said. "He gave it all."

Douglas County Board Chairman Chuck Knox said he has directed all flags at county facilities be lowered to half-staff until the funeral is over as a token of respect. "May God grant comfort to his family and friends and welcome Allen home," Knox said.

Marine Cpl. Allen C. Roberts died 11/28/07 due to a vehicle accident in Iraq.

Army Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison

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Army Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison, 25, of Houston

Spc. Garrison was assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Nov. 27, 2007 in Amerli, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes.

Houston soldier dies in Iraq
The Associated Press

HOUSTON — A Texan was one of two soldiers killed in Amerli, Iraq, after their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device, the Department of Defense said Nov. 28.

Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison, 25, of Houston and Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes, 26, of Bronx, N.Y., were killed Nov. 27.

They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y. Both were deployed to Iraq in September.

Garrison was an infantryman working as a radio telephone operator. He enlisted in the Army in March 2006 and had been awarded a Purple Heart among his five decorations.

Garrison is survived by his wife and parents, all of Houston.

Houston Chronicle -- A 25-year-old soldier from Houston died on Tuesday from wounds he suffered in Amerli, Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday.

Army Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle on Nov. 27, the department said.

A native Houstonian based at Fort Drum in New York, Garrison was an infantryman assigned as a radio telephone operator to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division. He enlisted in the Army in March 2006 and completed basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga. He deployed to Iraq in September.

His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Army Service Ribbon.

Garrison is survived by his wife and parents, all of Houston.

Army Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison was killed in action on 11/27/07.

Army Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes

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Army Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes, 26, of Bronx, N.Y.

Pvt. Cortes was assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Nov. 27, 2007 in Amerli, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison.

Newsday -- A 26-year-old Bronx man who enlisted in the Army earlier this year was identified as one of two soldiers killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in Iraq, the Defense Department said Wednesday night.

Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes died of injuries he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated as his vehicle rode past in Amerli, Iraq, about 100 miles north of Baghdad.

Cortes was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) in Fort Drum, N.Y.

Cortes, whose family declined to comment last night, died along with Spc. Benjamin J. Garrison, 25, of Houston, Texas, who was assigned to the same unit.

Cortes was an infantryman who enlisted in the Army in January and finished his basic and advanced individual training at Fort Benning, Ga.

His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and Army Service Ribbon.

He is survived by his parents and brother.

Army Pvt. Isaac T. Cortes was killed in action on 11/27/07.

Army Staff Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin

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Army Staff Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin, 33, of Bellevue, Ohio

SSgt. Martin was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 22, 2007 in Regensburg, Germany, of wounds sustained Nov. 9 in Jisr Naft, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

Fort Campbell soldier from Ohio dies from Iraq injuries

The Associated Press

BELLEVUE, Ohio — A Fort Campbell, Ky., soldier from northwestern Ohio has died nearly two weeks after being injured in Iraq.

The Army said Staff Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin, 33, of Bellevue, died Nov. 22 in Regensburg, Germany, of wounds he suffered Nov. 9 in Jisr Naft when his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb. He was serving his third tour of duty in Iraq.

Martin was a cavalry scout assigned to A Troop, 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, the military said. He is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and children, Allura, Trenton and Alaina, of Fort Campbell; and his parents, Laura and Donald Martin of Bellevue, Fort Campbell said.

He entered the Army in 1997 and had been at Fort Campbell for two years, the post said.

Hundreds of people paid $10 apiece Nov. 25 for a lunch in Bellevue to benefit Martin’s family, with many throwing in a few extra dollars.

Kentucky Gov. Ernie Fletcher ordered flags at all state office buildings to remain at half-staff in Martin’s honor.

Toledo Blade -- BELLEVUE, Ohio - Services for Army Staff Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin, 33, who died Thursday in a hospital in Germany nearly two weeks after he was hurt in Iraq, will be at 11 a.m. Saturday in Immaculate Conception Church, Bellevue.

Visitation will be in the church from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday.

On Nov. 9, the vehicle in which Sergeant Martin was a passenger in Jisr Naft hit an improvised explosive device. He was unconscious as he was taken from the vehicle.

Sergeant Martin, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., with the 101st Airborne Division, was in his third tour of duty in Iraq. He received a Purple Heart after a roadside bomb last year injured tendons in one of his arms.

He was a 1993 graduate of Bellevue High School. He joined the Marines afterward and, later, the Army.

Surviving are his wife, Becki; daughters, Alaina and Allaura; son, Trenton; parents, Donald and Laura Martin; sister, Heather Bollinger, and grandparents, Vernon and Vi Arnold.

Army Staff Sgt. Jonathon L. Martin died 11/22/07 after being injured 11/09/07 by a roadside bomb.





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Army Spc. Melvin L. Henley Jr.

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Army Spc. Melvin L. Henley Jr., 26, of Jackson, Miss.

Spc. Henley was assigned to the 603rd Aviation Support Battalion, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.; died Nov. 21, 2007 at Camp Striker in Baghdad of injuries sustained in a non-combat-related incident.

Jackson soldier on second tour in Iraq
The Associated Press

JACKSON, Miss. — Spc. Melvin Henley was on his second tour of duty in Iraq family members say when he died Nov. 21 at Camp Striker in Iraq from injuries suffered from a non-combat-related incident.

The Department of Defense announced Henley’s death Nov. 23.

The cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head, Jim Jeffcoat, a spokesman for Fort Stewart in Georgia, where Henley was assigned, told The Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

“It is under investigation,” Jeffcoat said.

Henley, 26, from Jackson, was a helicopter mechanic. He was assigned to the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart in March 2007. He served one tour of duty in Iraq from November 2003 to November 2004.

Amber Henley, 23, told the newspaper that her husband was not happy about a second tour.

The Henleys were married less than two years and were assigned to Fort Stewart only three months when Melvin Henley received his orders in June.

“He had tried to talk to his command because we hadn’t had any time,” Amber Henley said. “We had barely gotten settled in. But they told him they couldn’t do anything about it.

“He hated to be away from us,” Amber Henley said. “We were everything to each other.”

Henley was scheduled to end his tour in October 2008.

Henley’s uncle, George Watkins, said his family in Jackson also knew he was having a hard time.

“We know he was under stress,” Watkins said. “But we don’t know [how he died] at this time, whether it was an accident. We’re trying to be strong. We’re waiting on a report from the military.”

Despite the stress, a soldier is what Henley wanted to be, his uncle said.

“He wanted to make a difference in other people’s lives, and he had other relatives who had done the same. His grandfather fought in World War II. So, he was following in those footsteps.”

Henley joined the Army after graduating in 1999 from Provine High School. He was among the top 10 students in his class. Because he was only 17, his mother signed his enlistment papers.

Army Spc. Melvin L. Henley Jr. died 11/21/07 of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident.

Army Cpl. Jason T. Lee

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Army Cpl. Jason T. Lee, 26, of Fruitport, Mich.

Cpl. Lee was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 18, 2007 in Balad, Iraq, when an improvised explosive device detonated during a mounted patrol in Baqubah. Also killed were Pfc. Marius L. Ferrero and Cpl. Christopher J. Nelson.

WWMT -- FRUITPORT (NEWSCHANNEL 3) – The U.S Government says Iraq is now at its safest since the 2003 invasion. However, as a West Michigan family found out, patrolling the streets can be deadly.

Jason T. Lee, 26, of Fruitport died on patrol Sunday. An explosive detonated near his unit in Baquabah. Two others also died.

Jason Lee attended high school in Fruitport for two years in the late 1990's. But Tuesday, some teachers say they still have vivid memories of him as a teenager.

Jason Lee was a beginning Spanish student with Kerri Jacobs. “He was a free spirit,” said Jacobs.

A teenager with long hair, always carrying his guitar. That love of music has stayed strong. But when Jason returned to Fruitport High a few years ago, Kerri saw someone else.

“He walked into my room and I didn't even recognize him,” said Jacobs. He had joined the army and outgrown that teenage body. Monday, the corporal was on patrol in Baqubah when a bomb exploded nearby.

“It's shocking, makes me feel sad, upset,”said Jacobs.

Tuesday the news of his death was just beginning to filter through the high school hallways. His family said in a statement - "He was a very good man with a huge heart. If you were lucky enough to meet him, it is unlikely you would or could ever forget him."

“Everybody loved him, he was kind of mischievous, but in a good way,” said Jacobs.

Kerri Jacobs felt lucky enough to meet and teach Jason. Tuesday she's remembering the final time she ever saw him.

“He commented about how he matured and he apologized for his behavior in class, which he didn't need to do,” said Jacobs.

School records show Jason got his GED in 2005. He had only been in Iraq since June.

Army Cpl. Jason T. Lee was killed in action on 11/18/07.