Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami
LCpl. Lantigua was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 31, 2009 in Taqaddum, Iraq, as the result of a non-hostile incident.
N.C.-based Marine dies in Iraq
The Associated Press
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — The military says a North Carolina-based Marine has died after a non-hostile incident in Iraq.
The Department of Defense said Thursday that 20-year-old Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua of Miami died on Tuesday in Anbar province. Officials said the incident is under investigation, but no details have been released.
Lantigua was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune.
Followed cousin’s example in joining Corps
The Associated Press
Nelson M. Lantigua was the only child of a single mother who gave birth to him when she was 13 years old in Santiago, Dominican Republic. His mother, Maria Lantigua, struggled for years to bring her son to the United States. She finally succeeded in time for him to attend high school. Aunts, uncles and his grandmother stepped in to fill the familial gap in the United States, cooperatively raising Lantigua.
“Here, he learned to differentiate the good path from the wrong path. He grew as a person,” Rafael Lugo said of his son-in-law.
Lantigua, 20, of Miami, died March 31 of wounds suffered from a noncombat incident in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
After spending a few years in the United States, Lantigua longed to return to the Dominican Republic and raise a family.
But first he followed the example of his older cousin, Francisco Arturo Santos, who had joined the Marines. The family disapproved of his decision but relented when he told them he felt a need to serve his adoptive country.
He also is survived by his wife, Rossana.
Marine Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua was killed in a non-combat related incident on 3/31/09.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV
Remember Our Heroes
Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV, 26, of Narragansett, R.I.
assigned to Combined Security Transition Command — Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan. He died March 27, 2009 when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on personnel. Also killed was Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe.
Afghan soldier’s slaying of 2 officers stuns base
By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer
Lt. j.g. Francis “Frankie” Toner and Lt. Florence Bacong Choe were taking a Friday afternoon jog along a well-worn path on the outskirts of Forward Operating Base Shaheen in Afghanistan.
Then an Afghan Army soldier raised his military-issued weapon and fatally shot the two officers. A third Navy officer was also wounded in the shootings, said Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.
The Afghan soldier fatally shot himself moments after the killings, Mathias said.
The shooting stunned the sailors and soldiers living on the base, who are there to “mentor” the Afghan troops.
“I really hope that this incident doesn’t just pass as two more service members killed in Afghanistan. I want everyone to know how they died and why,” said Lt. Michael Lucrezio, a medical service corps officer assigned to the base.
“The simple fact is that they were murdered in cold blood. The guy who shot them wasn’t some random bad guy who snuck on base wearing a stolen uniform; he was an army soldier who had been vetted through the [Afghan National Army] recruiting process and trained to their basic standards,” Lucrezio said in an e-mail to Navy Times after the shooting.
Afghan officials expressed condolences for the deaths. Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was “saddened and deeply regretful this tragedy occurred,” and that the incident was under investigation, according to a military press release.
Meanwhile, back at home, a Navy chaplain and senior chief knocked on the door at the Toner’s family home in Rhode Island to relay news of the 26-year-old Seabee’s death.
“The irony is that he loved those people,” Sharon Toner, the officer’s stepmother, said of Toner in an interview. “His heart just went out to the children over there because they weren’t in school and they didn’t have shoes. The poverty over there really hit him hard.”
Toner’s family had expected him home for leave the following week, his stepmother said.
Toner was assigned to Naval Facility Hawaii at Pearl Harbor, where he lived with his wife, Brooke. He was on a one-year deployment to Afghanistan to help oversee reconstruction projects in an area north of the capital.
Choe, 35, was a medical service corps officer assigned to Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where she lived with her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the hospital, and their 3-year-old daughter, according to a statement from the hospital.
She was born at the same hospital while her father was a career sailor, said Sonja Hanson, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Choe contacted a Navy recruiter just days after Sept. 11, 2001, Hanson said. She also was on a one-year deployment in Afghanistan, where she helped run the medical station that served U.S. troops as well as Afghan troops and civilians, Mathias said.
Choe’s family declined requests for an interview, Hanson said.
The Toner family is planning a memorial service at the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, N.Y., where Toner earned his bachelor’s degree in 2006, his stepmother said.
Toner was voted prom king at his high school and played football in college, his family said. He sought a Navy career immediately after his graduation.
“He was going to do a full 20 years. His long-term goal was to someday work at the Pentagon. He loved, loved the Navy, loved the Seabees and he never had any thoughts about doing anything else,” his stepmother said.
Sharon Toner said her stepson’s death was a “freak event.”
“I don’t see that as a reflection on the Afghan people. In America we have people right here — you read it in the newspaper every day, people murdering other people and doing things like that. That doesn’t reflect on the society as a whole,” she said.
Flags to be flown at half-staff for slain sailor
The Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Gov. Don Carcieri has ordered U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff in honor of a sailor from Rhode Island who was killed in Afghanistan last week.
The Defense Department says Lt. j.g. Francis Toner and another sailor were fatally shot by an Afghan National Army soldier who opened fire at Camp Shaheen in northern Afghanistan.
The 26-year-old Narragansett man served as a garrison engineer. His family tells the Providence Journal that Toner taught young Afghans how to play softball and would ask family members back home to send clothes and shoes for the poorest children.
Toner attended the Merchant Marine Academy and shook hands with President George W. Bush at the graduation ceremony in 2006.
Flags will remain at half-staff until Toner is laid to rest.
Pearl Harbor community remembers Toner
By Eloise Aguiar
Honolulu Advertiser
A Pearl Harbor-based naval officer assigned to help train the Afghan military was fatally shot March 27 by an Afghan National Army soldier, the Pentagon said.
Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV, 26, of Narragansett, R.I., was one of two U.S. sailors killed by the soldier, who opened fire on personnel assigned to Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan.
Also killed was Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif., the Pentagon said.
Toner was born in Rhode Island and his family moved to Westlake Village, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb. The 2001 graduate of Westlake High School was a star running back for the school’s championship football team as well as homecoming king.
After high school he was recruited to play football at the Merchant Marine Academy, where he earned a degree in Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management. He became a Navy officer in 2006.
He was deployed in October to Afghanistan, where he tried to teach soldiers and children how to play softball, a relative said.
“He’d send us these videos and it was kind of funny because they thought you were supposed to hit people with the ball,” his aunt, Linda Moosekian, told the Ventura County (Calif.) Star.
Toner had been scheduled to be back on the mainland for leave with his wife, Brooke, tomorrow, said Dale Glenn, bishop for the Kailua 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Toner and his wife had been members of the church since they arrived in Kailua in 2006. The announcement of Toner’s death at Sunday church service devastated the congregation, Glenn said.
“He sacrificed for others, not just in his death,” Glenn said. “He was the guy, especially in our church ... who was always there.”
Toner never turned down a request for help and would provide his truck for moves, cook at church barbecues and organize sports for the kids, Glenn said.
Toner and his wife taught Sunday school and the children loved them like they were their parents, the pastor said.
“We saw the kids sneaking out [of church after the announcement] and we found them in the back room crying,” he said.
Toner was commissioned into the Navy in 2006 and entered training at Civil Engineer Corps Officer School, after which he went to Pearl Harbor.
Capt. Bret J. Muilenburg, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, said Toner was on a one-year assignment.
“He made a great difference while in Afghanistan just as he did while serving in Hawaii,” Muilenburg said. “Those he touched during his life will never forget his smile, sense of humor, competitive spirit, outstanding work ethic and love of country.”
The military refuted initial reports that the sailors were killed by an insurgent wearing an Afghan army uniform.
“He was not killed by an insurgent as the initial press release has stated. He was killed by an Afghanistan army personnel,” said Denise Emsley, spokeswoman for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii.
The incident is under investigation. Emsley said all Afghan army recruits are vetted prior to joining.
In addition to his wife, his survivors include his father and stepmother, Frank and Sharon Toner; his mother, Becky Toner; a sister, Amanda; and brothers, John and Michael.
Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV was killed in action on 3/27/09.
Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV, 26, of Narragansett, R.I.
assigned to Combined Security Transition Command — Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan. He died March 27, 2009 when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on personnel. Also killed was Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe.
Afghan soldier’s slaying of 2 officers stuns base
By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer
Lt. j.g. Francis “Frankie” Toner and Lt. Florence Bacong Choe were taking a Friday afternoon jog along a well-worn path on the outskirts of Forward Operating Base Shaheen in Afghanistan.
Then an Afghan Army soldier raised his military-issued weapon and fatally shot the two officers. A third Navy officer was also wounded in the shootings, said Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.
The Afghan soldier fatally shot himself moments after the killings, Mathias said.
The shooting stunned the sailors and soldiers living on the base, who are there to “mentor” the Afghan troops.
“I really hope that this incident doesn’t just pass as two more service members killed in Afghanistan. I want everyone to know how they died and why,” said Lt. Michael Lucrezio, a medical service corps officer assigned to the base.
“The simple fact is that they were murdered in cold blood. The guy who shot them wasn’t some random bad guy who snuck on base wearing a stolen uniform; he was an army soldier who had been vetted through the [Afghan National Army] recruiting process and trained to their basic standards,” Lucrezio said in an e-mail to Navy Times after the shooting.
Afghan officials expressed condolences for the deaths. Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was “saddened and deeply regretful this tragedy occurred,” and that the incident was under investigation, according to a military press release.
Meanwhile, back at home, a Navy chaplain and senior chief knocked on the door at the Toner’s family home in Rhode Island to relay news of the 26-year-old Seabee’s death.
“The irony is that he loved those people,” Sharon Toner, the officer’s stepmother, said of Toner in an interview. “His heart just went out to the children over there because they weren’t in school and they didn’t have shoes. The poverty over there really hit him hard.”
Toner’s family had expected him home for leave the following week, his stepmother said.
Toner was assigned to Naval Facility Hawaii at Pearl Harbor, where he lived with his wife, Brooke. He was on a one-year deployment to Afghanistan to help oversee reconstruction projects in an area north of the capital.
Choe, 35, was a medical service corps officer assigned to Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where she lived with her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the hospital, and their 3-year-old daughter, according to a statement from the hospital.
She was born at the same hospital while her father was a career sailor, said Sonja Hanson, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Choe contacted a Navy recruiter just days after Sept. 11, 2001, Hanson said. She also was on a one-year deployment in Afghanistan, where she helped run the medical station that served U.S. troops as well as Afghan troops and civilians, Mathias said.
Choe’s family declined requests for an interview, Hanson said.
The Toner family is planning a memorial service at the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, N.Y., where Toner earned his bachelor’s degree in 2006, his stepmother said.
Toner was voted prom king at his high school and played football in college, his family said. He sought a Navy career immediately after his graduation.
“He was going to do a full 20 years. His long-term goal was to someday work at the Pentagon. He loved, loved the Navy, loved the Seabees and he never had any thoughts about doing anything else,” his stepmother said.
Sharon Toner said her stepson’s death was a “freak event.”
“I don’t see that as a reflection on the Afghan people. In America we have people right here — you read it in the newspaper every day, people murdering other people and doing things like that. That doesn’t reflect on the society as a whole,” she said.
Flags to be flown at half-staff for slain sailor
The Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Gov. Don Carcieri has ordered U.S. and state flags flown at half-staff in honor of a sailor from Rhode Island who was killed in Afghanistan last week.
The Defense Department says Lt. j.g. Francis Toner and another sailor were fatally shot by an Afghan National Army soldier who opened fire at Camp Shaheen in northern Afghanistan.
The 26-year-old Narragansett man served as a garrison engineer. His family tells the Providence Journal that Toner taught young Afghans how to play softball and would ask family members back home to send clothes and shoes for the poorest children.
Toner attended the Merchant Marine Academy and shook hands with President George W. Bush at the graduation ceremony in 2006.
Flags will remain at half-staff until Toner is laid to rest.
Pearl Harbor community remembers Toner
By Eloise Aguiar
Honolulu Advertiser
A Pearl Harbor-based naval officer assigned to help train the Afghan military was fatally shot March 27 by an Afghan National Army soldier, the Pentagon said.
Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV, 26, of Narragansett, R.I., was one of two U.S. sailors killed by the soldier, who opened fire on personnel assigned to Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen in Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan.
Also killed was Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif., the Pentagon said.
Toner was born in Rhode Island and his family moved to Westlake Village, Calif., a Los Angeles suburb. The 2001 graduate of Westlake High School was a star running back for the school’s championship football team as well as homecoming king.
After high school he was recruited to play football at the Merchant Marine Academy, where he earned a degree in Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management. He became a Navy officer in 2006.
He was deployed in October to Afghanistan, where he tried to teach soldiers and children how to play softball, a relative said.
“He’d send us these videos and it was kind of funny because they thought you were supposed to hit people with the ball,” his aunt, Linda Moosekian, told the Ventura County (Calif.) Star.
Toner had been scheduled to be back on the mainland for leave with his wife, Brooke, tomorrow, said Dale Glenn, bishop for the Kailua 3rd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Toner and his wife had been members of the church since they arrived in Kailua in 2006. The announcement of Toner’s death at Sunday church service devastated the congregation, Glenn said.
“He sacrificed for others, not just in his death,” Glenn said. “He was the guy, especially in our church ... who was always there.”
Toner never turned down a request for help and would provide his truck for moves, cook at church barbecues and organize sports for the kids, Glenn said.
Toner and his wife taught Sunday school and the children loved them like they were their parents, the pastor said.
“We saw the kids sneaking out [of church after the announcement] and we found them in the back room crying,” he said.
Toner was commissioned into the Navy in 2006 and entered training at Civil Engineer Corps Officer School, after which he went to Pearl Harbor.
Capt. Bret J. Muilenburg, commander of Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii, said Toner was on a one-year assignment.
“He made a great difference while in Afghanistan just as he did while serving in Hawaii,” Muilenburg said. “Those he touched during his life will never forget his smile, sense of humor, competitive spirit, outstanding work ethic and love of country.”
The military refuted initial reports that the sailors were killed by an insurgent wearing an Afghan army uniform.
“He was not killed by an insurgent as the initial press release has stated. He was killed by an Afghanistan army personnel,” said Denise Emsley, spokeswoman for Naval Facilities Engineering Command Hawaii.
The incident is under investigation. Emsley said all Afghan army recruits are vetted prior to joining.
In addition to his wife, his survivors include his father and stepmother, Frank and Sharon Toner; his mother, Becky Toner; a sister, Amanda; and brothers, John and Michael.
Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV was killed in action on 3/27/09.
Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe
Remember Our Heroes
Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif.
Lt. Choe was assigned to Combined Security Transition Command — Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan. She died March 27, 2009 when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on personnel. Also killed was Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV.
Afghan soldier’s slaying of 2 officers stuns base
By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer
Lt. j.g. Francis “Frankie” Toner and Lt. Florence Bacong Choe were taking a Friday afternoon jog along a well-worn path on the outskirts of Forward Operating Base Shaheen in Afghanistan.
Then an Afghan Army soldier raised his military-issued weapon and fatally shot the two officers. A third Navy officer was also wounded in the shootings, said Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.
The Afghan soldier fatally shot himself moments after the killings, Mathias said.
The shooting stunned the sailors and soldiers living on the base, who are there to “mentor” the Afghan troops.
“I really hope that this incident doesn’t just pass as two more service members killed in Afghanistan. I want everyone to know how they died and why,” said Lt. Michael Lucrezio, a medical service corps officer assigned to the base.
“The simple fact is that they were murdered in cold blood. The guy who shot them wasn’t some random bad guy who snuck on base wearing a stolen uniform; he was an army soldier who had been vetted through the [Afghan National Army] recruiting process and trained to their basic standards,” Lucrezio said in an e-mail to Navy Times after the shooting.
Afghan officials expressed condolences for the deaths. Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was “saddened and deeply regretful this tragedy occurred,” and that the incident was under investigation, according to a military press release.
Meanwhile, back at home, a Navy chaplain and senior chief knocked on the door at the Toner’s family home in Rhode Island to relay news of the 26-year-old Seabee’s death.
“The irony is that he loved those people,” Sharon Toner, the officer’s stepmother, said of Toner in an interview. “His heart just went out to the children over there because they weren’t in school and they didn’t have shoes. The poverty over there really hit him hard.”
Toner’s family had expected him home for leave the following week, his stepmother said.
Toner was assigned to Naval Facility Hawaii at Pearl Harbor, where he lived with his wife, Brooke. He was on a one-year deployment to Afghanistan to help oversee reconstruction projects in an area north of the capital.
Choe, 35, was a medical service corps officer assigned to Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where she lived with her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the hospital, and their 3-year-old daughter, according to a statement from the hospital.
She was born at the same hospital while her father was a career sailor, said Sonja Hanson, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Choe contacted a Navy recruiter just days after Sept. 11, 2001, Hanson said. She also was on a one-year deployment in Afghanistan, where she helped run the medical station that served U.S. troops as well as Afghan troops and civilians, Mathias said.
Choe’s family declined requests for an interview, Hanson said.
The Toner family is planning a memorial service at the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, N.Y., where Toner earned his bachelor’s degree in 2006, his stepmother said.
Toner was voted prom king at his high school and played football in college, his family said. He sought a Navy career immediately after his graduation.
“He was going to do a full 20 years. His long-term goal was to someday work at the Pentagon. He loved, loved the Navy, loved the Seabees and he never had any thoughts about doing anything else,” his stepmother said.
Sharon Toner said her stepson’s death was a “freak event.”
“I don’t see that as a reflection on the Afghan people. In America we have people right here — you read it in the newspaper every day, people murdering other people and doing things like that. That doesn’t reflect on the society as a whole,” she said.
Officer ‘always had a smile on her face’
The Associated Press
Lt. Florence B. Choe was serving as a medical administration and logistics mentor to the Afghan National Army.
“She was a professional naval officer who was extremely smart and extremely pleasant,” said Sonja Hanson, a hospital spokeswoman who knew Lt. Choe.
Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif., was killed March 27 when an insurgent posing as an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire.
She was based at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, where she was born.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at San Diego in 1997, and a master’s degree in public health and health care administration in 2001 from San Diego State University. She was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps member in the Navy on Feb. 21, 2002.
“She always had a smile on her face, and everyone admired her. All of us at the Naval Medical Center are proud of her, and we are grieving for her,” said Hanson.
She is survived by her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the medical center, and her daughter, Kristin, 3.
Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe was killed in action on 3/27/09.
Larger Images
Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif.
Lt. Choe was assigned to Combined Security Transition Command — Afghanistan at Camp Shaheen, Mazar-E-Sharif, Afghanistan. She died March 27, 2009 when an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire on personnel. Also killed was Navy Lt. j.g. Francis L. Toner IV.
Afghan soldier’s slaying of 2 officers stuns base
By Andrew Tilghman
Staff writer
Lt. j.g. Francis “Frankie” Toner and Lt. Florence Bacong Choe were taking a Friday afternoon jog along a well-worn path on the outskirts of Forward Operating Base Shaheen in Afghanistan.
Then an Afghan Army soldier raised his military-issued weapon and fatally shot the two officers. A third Navy officer was also wounded in the shootings, said Air Force Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, a spokeswoman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan.
The Afghan soldier fatally shot himself moments after the killings, Mathias said.
The shooting stunned the sailors and soldiers living on the base, who are there to “mentor” the Afghan troops.
“I really hope that this incident doesn’t just pass as two more service members killed in Afghanistan. I want everyone to know how they died and why,” said Lt. Michael Lucrezio, a medical service corps officer assigned to the base.
“The simple fact is that they were murdered in cold blood. The guy who shot them wasn’t some random bad guy who snuck on base wearing a stolen uniform; he was an army soldier who had been vetted through the [Afghan National Army] recruiting process and trained to their basic standards,” Lucrezio said in an e-mail to Navy Times after the shooting.
Afghan officials expressed condolences for the deaths. Afghan Minister of Defense Abdul Rahim Wardak said he was “saddened and deeply regretful this tragedy occurred,” and that the incident was under investigation, according to a military press release.
Meanwhile, back at home, a Navy chaplain and senior chief knocked on the door at the Toner’s family home in Rhode Island to relay news of the 26-year-old Seabee’s death.
“The irony is that he loved those people,” Sharon Toner, the officer’s stepmother, said of Toner in an interview. “His heart just went out to the children over there because they weren’t in school and they didn’t have shoes. The poverty over there really hit him hard.”
Toner’s family had expected him home for leave the following week, his stepmother said.
Toner was assigned to Naval Facility Hawaii at Pearl Harbor, where he lived with his wife, Brooke. He was on a one-year deployment to Afghanistan to help oversee reconstruction projects in an area north of the capital.
Choe, 35, was a medical service corps officer assigned to Naval Medical Center in San Diego, where she lived with her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the hospital, and their 3-year-old daughter, according to a statement from the hospital.
She was born at the same hospital while her father was a career sailor, said Sonja Hanson, a spokeswoman for the hospital.
Choe contacted a Navy recruiter just days after Sept. 11, 2001, Hanson said. She also was on a one-year deployment in Afghanistan, where she helped run the medical station that served U.S. troops as well as Afghan troops and civilians, Mathias said.
Choe’s family declined requests for an interview, Hanson said.
The Toner family is planning a memorial service at the Merchant Marine Academy on Long Island, N.Y., where Toner earned his bachelor’s degree in 2006, his stepmother said.
Toner was voted prom king at his high school and played football in college, his family said. He sought a Navy career immediately after his graduation.
“He was going to do a full 20 years. His long-term goal was to someday work at the Pentagon. He loved, loved the Navy, loved the Seabees and he never had any thoughts about doing anything else,” his stepmother said.
Sharon Toner said her stepson’s death was a “freak event.”
“I don’t see that as a reflection on the Afghan people. In America we have people right here — you read it in the newspaper every day, people murdering other people and doing things like that. That doesn’t reflect on the society as a whole,” she said.
Officer ‘always had a smile on her face’
The Associated Press
Lt. Florence B. Choe was serving as a medical administration and logistics mentor to the Afghan National Army.
“She was a professional naval officer who was extremely smart and extremely pleasant,” said Sonja Hanson, a hospital spokeswoman who knew Lt. Choe.
Choe, 35, of El Cajon, Calif., was killed March 27 when an insurgent posing as an Afghan National Army soldier opened fire.
She was based at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, where she was born.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of California at San Diego in 1997, and a master’s degree in public health and health care administration in 2001 from San Diego State University. She was commissioned as a Medical Service Corps member in the Navy on Feb. 21, 2002.
“She always had a smile on her face, and everyone admired her. All of us at the Naval Medical Center are proud of her, and we are grieving for her,” said Hanson.
She is survived by her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Chong “Jay” Choe, a urology resident at the medical center, and her daughter, Kristin, 3.
Navy Lt. Florence B. Choe was killed in action on 3/27/09.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Army Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C.
SSgt. Futrell was assigned to the 13th Military Police Detachment, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; died March 25, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Futrell was Shafter-based MP
The Associated Press
HONOLULU — The military says a Hawaii-based soldier from South Carolina has died in Iraq after a non-combat incident.
The Pentagon said March 27 that Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C., died March 25 in Baghdad. Officials said the incident is being investigated, but no details have been released.
Futrell was assigned to a military police battalion at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
His mother, Vicki, said in an interview March 27 that her son always wanted to work in law enforcement and was working as a military police officer. She said he was on his second deployment to the region.
Futrell was a member of the 13th Military Police Detachment in the 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, based in Hawaii.
Family remembers fallen MP
The Associated Press
Staff Sgt Raphael A. Futrell loved his job as a military police officer, said his older brother, Capt. Wilson Winters.
“He liked being a police officer, anything that dealt with investigating,” Winters said. “He was a dual canine operator — bomb-sniffing dogs and attack dogs. He was certified in both. He enjoyed handling the dogs.”
Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C., died March 25 in Baghdad from non-combat related injuries. Known as “Ralph,” he was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Shafter.
“He did things around the house every time he would come home on leave,” single mom Vicki Futrell said of her younger son.
“He’d clean out my refrigerator, clean out my garage. He’d take care of my dogs.”
He also is survived by Chance, his 3-year-old son with his former wife, Angela.
His mother said she will remember the practical gifts he would give her, like the jug for ice water when she worked as a teller.
“Once when I was sick with the flu, he made macaroni and cheese,” she said. “He said, ‘This would be good for you,’ and that was the best macaroni and cheese.”
Army Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell was killed in a non-combat related incident on 3/25/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C.
SSgt. Futrell was assigned to the 13th Military Police Detachment, 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Fort Shafter, Hawaii; died March 25, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Futrell was Shafter-based MP
The Associated Press
HONOLULU — The military says a Hawaii-based soldier from South Carolina has died in Iraq after a non-combat incident.
The Pentagon said March 27 that Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C., died March 25 in Baghdad. Officials said the incident is being investigated, but no details have been released.
Futrell was assigned to a military police battalion at Fort Shafter, Hawaii.
His mother, Vicki, said in an interview March 27 that her son always wanted to work in law enforcement and was working as a military police officer. She said he was on his second deployment to the region.
Futrell was a member of the 13th Military Police Detachment in the 728th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, based in Hawaii.
Family remembers fallen MP
The Associated Press
Staff Sgt Raphael A. Futrell loved his job as a military police officer, said his older brother, Capt. Wilson Winters.
“He liked being a police officer, anything that dealt with investigating,” Winters said. “He was a dual canine operator — bomb-sniffing dogs and attack dogs. He was certified in both. He enjoyed handling the dogs.”
Futrell, 26, of Anderson, S.C., died March 25 in Baghdad from non-combat related injuries. Known as “Ralph,” he was a 2001 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Shafter.
“He did things around the house every time he would come home on leave,” single mom Vicki Futrell said of her younger son.
“He’d clean out my refrigerator, clean out my garage. He’d take care of my dogs.”
He also is survived by Chance, his 3-year-old son with his former wife, Angela.
His mother said she will remember the practical gifts he would give her, like the jug for ice water when she worked as a teller.
“Once when I was sick with the flu, he made macaroni and cheese,” she said. “He said, ‘This would be good for you,’ and that was the best macaroni and cheese.”
Army Staff Sgt. Raphael A. Futrell was killed in a non-combat related incident on 3/25/09.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Army Spc. Adam J. Hardt
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Adam J. Hardt, 19, of Avondale, Ariz.
Spc. Hardt was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died March 22, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Airborne in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Father: Soldier was shot
The Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa man says the military has told him his 19-year-old son has been killed in Afghanistan.
Dudley Pearson says the Army told him March 22 that his son, Spc. Adam J. Hardt, was shot to death.
The military confirmed the death March 23, saying that Hardt died “as a result of non-combat-related injuries.”
A spokeswoman could not specify the manner of the death, and added that the matter was under investigation.
Hardt’s home of record is Avondale, Ariz., according to the military. Attempts to reach nearby family members were not successful.
He joined the Army in 2007 and trained at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Gordon, Ga., before being assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y., in April 2008.
Army Spc. Adam J. Hardt died in a non-combat related incident on 3/22/09.
Army Spc. Adam J. Hardt, 19, of Avondale, Ariz.
Spc. Hardt was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died March 22, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Airborne in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Father: Soldier was shot
The Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa man says the military has told him his 19-year-old son has been killed in Afghanistan.
Dudley Pearson says the Army told him March 22 that his son, Spc. Adam J. Hardt, was shot to death.
The military confirmed the death March 23, saying that Hardt died “as a result of non-combat-related injuries.”
A spokeswoman could not specify the manner of the death, and added that the matter was under investigation.
Hardt’s home of record is Avondale, Ariz., according to the military. Attempts to reach nearby family members were not successful.
He joined the Army in 2007 and trained at Fort Benning, Ga., and Fort Gordon, Ga., before being assigned to Fort Drum, N.Y., in April 2008.
Army Spc. Adam J. Hardt died in a non-combat related incident on 3/22/09.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M.
Sgt. Escobedo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment in Schweinfurt, Germany; died March 20, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident, which happened the previous night at Forward Operating Base Kalsu in Baghdad, Iraq.
Iraq incident kills soldier from NM
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Defense Department has announced that a soldier from Albuquerque has died of injuries suffered during a non-combat incident at a base in Iraq.
The department identified him as Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo Jr., 32. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment in Schweinfurt, Germany.
The circumstances surrounding the incident at the Forward Operating Base Kalsu in Iskandariyah are under investigation. The department said Escobedo died March 20, the day after the incident.
Flags at half-staff
The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. — Gov. Bill Richardson has ordered flags to fly at half-staff Friday and Saturday in honor of an Albuquerque soldier who died of injuries suffered during a non-combat incident in Iraq.
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo, 32, was a field artillery forward observer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment based in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Escobedo died March 20, the day after he was injured during a non-combat incident at a base south of Baghdad. The Defense Department did not release details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Escobedo left behind a wife, a daughter and two sons.
Richardson says Escobedo’s patriotism, bravery and dedication will always be remembered.
Former Marine found new home in Army
The Associated Press
Staff Sgt. Shawn Johnson, a close friend of Jose R. Escobedo Jr., smiled during his eulogy, remembering Escobedo’s humor. When he would see a soldier doing something that he disliked, he would say something like that wouldn’t happen in the Marine Corps.
“I would just respond by saying, ‘You’re not a Marine anymore,’ ” Johnson said.
“ ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,’ would be Jose’s response,” recalled Johnson.
Escobedo, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., died March 20 in Baghdad of injuries from a non-combat incident while in Iskandariyah. He was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
Escobedo attended high school in Albuquerque and joined the Marines after graduation, serving 11 years with the Corps. He briefly left the service and then joined the Army in 2007.
Johnson said he would miss playing pickup basketball with him.
“He was always the one little guy on the basketball court going against a giant,” Johnson said.
He is survived by his wife, Angelica, and their three children, Elvida, 9; Jose, 4; and Mikey, 2.
“You can really see a reflection of his character in his family,” Johnson said following the ceremony.
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo was killed in a non-combat related incident on 3/20/09.
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M.
Sgt. Escobedo was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment in Schweinfurt, Germany; died March 20, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident, which happened the previous night at Forward Operating Base Kalsu in Baghdad, Iraq.
Iraq incident kills soldier from NM
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Defense Department has announced that a soldier from Albuquerque has died of injuries suffered during a non-combat incident at a base in Iraq.
The department identified him as Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo Jr., 32. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment in Schweinfurt, Germany.
The circumstances surrounding the incident at the Forward Operating Base Kalsu in Iskandariyah are under investigation. The department said Escobedo died March 20, the day after the incident.
Flags at half-staff
The Associated Press
SANTA FE, N.M. — Gov. Bill Richardson has ordered flags to fly at half-staff Friday and Saturday in honor of an Albuquerque soldier who died of injuries suffered during a non-combat incident in Iraq.
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo, 32, was a field artillery forward observer assigned to the 1st Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment based in Schweinfurt, Germany.
Escobedo died March 20, the day after he was injured during a non-combat incident at a base south of Baghdad. The Defense Department did not release details about the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Escobedo left behind a wife, a daughter and two sons.
Richardson says Escobedo’s patriotism, bravery and dedication will always be remembered.
Former Marine found new home in Army
The Associated Press
Staff Sgt. Shawn Johnson, a close friend of Jose R. Escobedo Jr., smiled during his eulogy, remembering Escobedo’s humor. When he would see a soldier doing something that he disliked, he would say something like that wouldn’t happen in the Marine Corps.
“I would just respond by saying, ‘You’re not a Marine anymore,’ ” Johnson said.
“ ‘Once a Marine, always a Marine,’ would be Jose’s response,” recalled Johnson.
Escobedo, 32, of Albuquerque, N.M., died March 20 in Baghdad of injuries from a non-combat incident while in Iskandariyah. He was assigned to Schweinfurt, Germany.
Escobedo attended high school in Albuquerque and joined the Marines after graduation, serving 11 years with the Corps. He briefly left the service and then joined the Army in 2007.
Johnson said he would miss playing pickup basketball with him.
“He was always the one little guy on the basketball court going against a giant,” Johnson said.
He is survived by his wife, Angelica, and their three children, Elvida, 9; Jose, 4; and Mikey, 2.
“You can really see a reflection of his character in his family,” Johnson said following the ceremony.
Army Sgt. Jose R. Escobedo was killed in a non-combat related incident on 3/20/09.
Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary
Remember Our Heroes
Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary, 22, of Rome, N.Y.
LCpl. Geary was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 20, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Funeral planned for Marine killed overseas
The Associated Press
ROME, N.Y. — A Marine corporal killed in combat Friday in Afghanistan was planning to marry his fiancee when he returned from his tour in May, his father said.
Funeral services for fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary of Rome will be held in St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, said his father, Michael Geary. Other details for the services were not yet available.
Rome Mayor James Brown said the city would provide a police escort and flags will be at half-staff the day of funeral.
The 22-year-old Marine planned to bring his fiancee, Rachel Patterson, from North Carolina to Rome and surprise her by marrying immediately instead of waiting, said the elder Geary.
Being a Marine was what Daniel Geary wanted to do, and that goal helped give him the drive to go back and complete high school after dropping out for a year, his father said. He graduated from Rome Free Academy in 2006.
“He wanted to get his diploma so he could go into the military,” Michael Geary said.
It was Daniel Geary's second tour of duty, and he was going to sign on for a third, his father said. The first tour was in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The middle child of seven in his family, Geary was remembered by people who knew him as very outgoing and fun-loving, but also responsible and family oriented.
“We’re very proud off him,” said John Conners, Geary’s godfather and commander of Rome’s Henry P. Smith American Legion Post. “He saw his duty and he did it, and he paid the cost.”
Family friend Della Pray, who got to know him when she served as his Air Force Junior ROTC instructor at Rome Free Academy, said Geary had many friends.
“Quiet wasn’t in his vocabulary,” she said. “He was a prankster. We were always playing jokes on each other.”
Geary “liked to bowl. He loved life. He enjoyed being with his friends,” commented his father. He said his son helped him buy the family’s current home in Rome, where they have lived since 2005.
Craig Vogel, owner of King Pin Lanes, said the Gearys were “a bowling family.” The bowling alley was “kind of subdued” Saturday night because of the sad news.
As a child, Daniel Geary made news in March 1995 when he awakened his father when a fire began in their apartment and pulled his 4-year-old sister from a burning bedroom.
Hundreds mourn N.Y. Marine who died in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
ROME, N.Y. — An upstate New York community is mourning a Marine killed in Afghanistan two months before he was to get married.
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Rome to pay respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Geary. The 22-year-old died last week when a bomb hit his Humvee.
His flag-draped coffin was carried up the steps of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church as bells pealed. Geary is being buried with full military honors.
He joined the Marines after graduating from high school. He was on was his second tour of duty, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. His family says he wanted to sign on for a third tour. The first was in Iraq.
Geary planned to get married in May.
Fallen Marine remembered for his energy
The Associated Press
Della Pray, who got to know Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary when she served as his Air Force ROTC instructor, said he had many friends.
“Quiet wasn’t in his vocabulary,” she said. “He was a prankster. We were always playing jokes on each other.”
Geary, 22, of Rome, N.Y., died March 20 while supporting combat operations in Farah province. He was a 2006 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
“Daniel was proud of his roots and proud of his family,” Rome Mayor James Brown said. “The people of Rome will never forget Daniel Geary.”
Geary was 18 when he joined the military and has been described by his father, Michael, as a “frisky, young juvenile prankster.”
He had planned to marry his fiancee once his current tour ended, and possibly take some college courses.
He was on his second tour his first was in Iraq.
Geary made news in March 1995, when the then-8-year-old was credited with helping save his 4-year-old sister Elise after she accidentally started a bedroom fire while playing with a lighter.
He also is survived by his mother, Aggie.
Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary was killed in action on 3/20/09.
Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary, 22, of Rome, N.Y.
LCpl. Geary was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 20, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Funeral planned for Marine killed overseas
The Associated Press
ROME, N.Y. — A Marine corporal killed in combat Friday in Afghanistan was planning to marry his fiancee when he returned from his tour in May, his father said.
Funeral services for fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary of Rome will be held in St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church, said his father, Michael Geary. Other details for the services were not yet available.
Rome Mayor James Brown said the city would provide a police escort and flags will be at half-staff the day of funeral.
The 22-year-old Marine planned to bring his fiancee, Rachel Patterson, from North Carolina to Rome and surprise her by marrying immediately instead of waiting, said the elder Geary.
Being a Marine was what Daniel Geary wanted to do, and that goal helped give him the drive to go back and complete high school after dropping out for a year, his father said. He graduated from Rome Free Academy in 2006.
“He wanted to get his diploma so he could go into the military,” Michael Geary said.
It was Daniel Geary's second tour of duty, and he was going to sign on for a third, his father said. The first tour was in Iraq. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The middle child of seven in his family, Geary was remembered by people who knew him as very outgoing and fun-loving, but also responsible and family oriented.
“We’re very proud off him,” said John Conners, Geary’s godfather and commander of Rome’s Henry P. Smith American Legion Post. “He saw his duty and he did it, and he paid the cost.”
Family friend Della Pray, who got to know him when she served as his Air Force Junior ROTC instructor at Rome Free Academy, said Geary had many friends.
“Quiet wasn’t in his vocabulary,” she said. “He was a prankster. We were always playing jokes on each other.”
Geary “liked to bowl. He loved life. He enjoyed being with his friends,” commented his father. He said his son helped him buy the family’s current home in Rome, where they have lived since 2005.
Craig Vogel, owner of King Pin Lanes, said the Gearys were “a bowling family.” The bowling alley was “kind of subdued” Saturday night because of the sad news.
As a child, Daniel Geary made news in March 1995 when he awakened his father when a fire began in their apartment and pulled his 4-year-old sister from a burning bedroom.
Hundreds mourn N.Y. Marine who died in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
ROME, N.Y. — An upstate New York community is mourning a Marine killed in Afghanistan two months before he was to get married.
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday in Rome to pay respects to Marine Lance Cpl. Daniel Geary. The 22-year-old died last week when a bomb hit his Humvee.
His flag-draped coffin was carried up the steps of St. Peter’s Roman Catholic Church as bells pealed. Geary is being buried with full military honors.
He joined the Marines after graduating from high school. He was on was his second tour of duty, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. His family says he wanted to sign on for a third tour. The first was in Iraq.
Geary planned to get married in May.
Fallen Marine remembered for his energy
The Associated Press
Della Pray, who got to know Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary when she served as his Air Force ROTC instructor, said he had many friends.
“Quiet wasn’t in his vocabulary,” she said. “He was a prankster. We were always playing jokes on each other.”
Geary, 22, of Rome, N.Y., died March 20 while supporting combat operations in Farah province. He was a 2006 high school graduate and was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
“Daniel was proud of his roots and proud of his family,” Rome Mayor James Brown said. “The people of Rome will never forget Daniel Geary.”
Geary was 18 when he joined the military and has been described by his father, Michael, as a “frisky, young juvenile prankster.”
He had planned to marry his fiancee once his current tour ended, and possibly take some college courses.
He was on his second tour his first was in Iraq.
Geary made news in March 1995, when the then-8-year-old was credited with helping save his 4-year-old sister Elise after she accidentally started a bedroom fire while playing with a lighter.
He also is survived by his mother, Aggie.
Lance Cpl. Daniel J. Geary was killed in action on 3/20/09.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Army Cpl. Gary L. Moore
Remember Our Heroes
Army Cpl. Gary L. Moore, 25, of Del City, Okla.
Cpl. Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas; died March 16, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an explosive device struck his vehicle.
Del City soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
DEL CITY, Okla. — Military officials say a soldier from Del City has been killed in Iraq.
Officials announced Wednesday that 25-year-old Cpl. Gary L. Moore died Monday when a bomb hit his vehicle in Baghdad.
Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Officials at Fort Bliss say Moore was a military policeman who joined the Army in January 2007 and was appointed to the rank of corporal in January.
Moore was previously stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and deployed to Iraq with his company in June 2008 to help provide training and oversight of the Iraqi police force.
Fort Bliss officials say Moore’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Purple Heart, which was awarded posthumously.
Friend describes fallen soldier
Tulsa (Okla.) World
TULSA, Okla. — A friend of a Del City soldier killed in Iraq described him as a religious young man who loved knowing that he was defending his country.
Cpl. Gary L. Moore, 25, of Del City died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad, according to the military.
A military police officer, Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Amber Rudd of El Paso, Texas, said she first met Moore more than two years ago when he began attending Sunday school classes at the Hillcrest Baptist Church in El Paso, which is near Fort Bliss.
“He was an amazing guy,” the 22-year-old Rudd said. “He was always smiling, always there for everyone.
“He was a friendly soul, and he had tons of friends,” she said.
Moore “loved the military, loved being a MP, and he loved knowing he was protecting our country,” she said.
Moore and the rest of his Fort Bliss outfit deployed to Iraq in June to provide training and oversight of Iraqi police.
Rudd said she last talked to Moore last week, and “he said he couldn’t wait to come home.”
Rudd said Moore loved playing football and volleyball and was engaged to be married.
At the Southwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, a spokeswoman said Moore and his fiancée were planning a marriage ceremony there this summer.
Rudd said Moore’s family lives in Del City. The family could not be reached for comment.
Rudd was shocked and stunned when she heard the news that Moore had been killed, she said.
“It hit me hard, especially since I had just talked to him on Thursday,” she said. “I’ve done my fair share of crying since then.”
“He was just one amazing person,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Before heading to Fort Bliss, Moore had been at Fort Leonard Wood, southwest of Rolla, Mo.
Moore was just promoted from specialist to corporal in January, Fort Bliss officials said.
Fiancée: Moore ‘loved life’
Tulsa (Okla.) World
OKLAHOMA CITY — The fiancée of a soldier from Del City who died in Iraq said she spoke to him using a Webcam just days before he died.
One of the subjects Randi Ivie and Army Cpl. Gary Lee Moore talked about during their hour-long conversation was their wedding, which was planned for later this year at Southwest Baptist Church, Ivie said. She said they ended by vowing their love to one another.
Moore, 25, died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad, according to the military. The military police officer was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Ivie said Moore, a 2003 graduate of Westmoore High School who ran track and cross country, enjoyed serving his country and police work. She said he had worked as a security guard at Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City before joining the military in January 2007.
“He loved life,” she said. “He wasn’t a stranger to anyone. He always had a good smile and a strong handshake.”
Among his other traits, she said, Moore was blunt “without being rude, so everyone always knew what was on his mind.” She also said he “had a deep love for the Lord.”
Moore would continually make comments while watching a movie, she said, and loved food, “especially Italian food.”
Before heading to Fort Bliss, Moore had been at Fort Leonard Wood, southwest of Rolla, Mo. He and his company were deployed to Iraq in June 2008 to help provide training and oversight of the Iraqi police force.
Ivie said funeral arrangements for Moore still are pending but that the service likely would be held at Southwest Baptist Church.
Funeral held for Del City soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — A Del City soldier who died last week in Iraq was recalled Tuesday by those at the church he attended as a hero and a committed Christian.
Hundreds gathered for the funeral for Cpl. Gary Moore at Southwest Baptist Church. The 25-year-old died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad.
The church’s head pastor, Sam Davison, said everyone at Southwest Baptist took pride in Moore.
“Gary was 38 years younger than me, but he was one of my heroes,” Davison said. “I’m proud of the service that he rendered. I’m proud of his bravery. I’m proud of Gary.”
Moore was a 2003 graduate of Westmoore High School who joined the military in January 2007. He was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Brig. Gen. David Phillips, the chief of the military police corps, praised members of that unit for their service and accomplishments in Iraq. He said people in Baghdad are beginning to experience normal lives again because of the work of Moore and others.
“This past fall, when the elementary schools reopened, young girls were able to go to school,” Phillips said.
Moore was engaged to be married later this year to Randi Ivie.
“I can’t think of Gary without thinking of Randi,” said Jason Gaddis, one of the church’s ministers. “It was during a college and career activity in 2003 that they met and became basically inseparable.”
Army Cpl. Gary L. Moore was killed in action on 3/16/09.
Army Cpl. Gary L. Moore, 25, of Del City, Okla.
Cpl. Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion, Fort Bliss, Texas; died March 16, 2009 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when an explosive device struck his vehicle.
Del City soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
DEL CITY, Okla. — Military officials say a soldier from Del City has been killed in Iraq.
Officials announced Wednesday that 25-year-old Cpl. Gary L. Moore died Monday when a bomb hit his vehicle in Baghdad.
Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion in Fort Bliss, Texas.
Officials at Fort Bliss say Moore was a military policeman who joined the Army in January 2007 and was appointed to the rank of corporal in January.
Moore was previously stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and deployed to Iraq with his company in June 2008 to help provide training and oversight of the Iraqi police force.
Fort Bliss officials say Moore’s awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Purple Heart, which was awarded posthumously.
Friend describes fallen soldier
Tulsa (Okla.) World
TULSA, Okla. — A friend of a Del City soldier killed in Iraq described him as a religious young man who loved knowing that he was defending his country.
Cpl. Gary L. Moore, 25, of Del City died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad, according to the military.
A military police officer, Moore was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Amber Rudd of El Paso, Texas, said she first met Moore more than two years ago when he began attending Sunday school classes at the Hillcrest Baptist Church in El Paso, which is near Fort Bliss.
“He was an amazing guy,” the 22-year-old Rudd said. “He was always smiling, always there for everyone.
“He was a friendly soul, and he had tons of friends,” she said.
Moore “loved the military, loved being a MP, and he loved knowing he was protecting our country,” she said.
Moore and the rest of his Fort Bliss outfit deployed to Iraq in June to provide training and oversight of Iraqi police.
Rudd said she last talked to Moore last week, and “he said he couldn’t wait to come home.”
Rudd said Moore loved playing football and volleyball and was engaged to be married.
At the Southwest Baptist Church in Oklahoma City, a spokeswoman said Moore and his fiancée were planning a marriage ceremony there this summer.
Rudd said Moore’s family lives in Del City. The family could not be reached for comment.
Rudd was shocked and stunned when she heard the news that Moore had been killed, she said.
“It hit me hard, especially since I had just talked to him on Thursday,” she said. “I’ve done my fair share of crying since then.”
“He was just one amazing person,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Before heading to Fort Bliss, Moore had been at Fort Leonard Wood, southwest of Rolla, Mo.
Moore was just promoted from specialist to corporal in January, Fort Bliss officials said.
Fiancée: Moore ‘loved life’
Tulsa (Okla.) World
OKLAHOMA CITY — The fiancée of a soldier from Del City who died in Iraq said she spoke to him using a Webcam just days before he died.
One of the subjects Randi Ivie and Army Cpl. Gary Lee Moore talked about during their hour-long conversation was their wedding, which was planned for later this year at Southwest Baptist Church, Ivie said. She said they ended by vowing their love to one another.
Moore, 25, died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad, according to the military. The military police officer was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Ivie said Moore, a 2003 graduate of Westmoore High School who ran track and cross country, enjoyed serving his country and police work. She said he had worked as a security guard at Quail Springs Mall in Oklahoma City before joining the military in January 2007.
“He loved life,” she said. “He wasn’t a stranger to anyone. He always had a good smile and a strong handshake.”
Among his other traits, she said, Moore was blunt “without being rude, so everyone always knew what was on his mind.” She also said he “had a deep love for the Lord.”
Moore would continually make comments while watching a movie, she said, and loved food, “especially Italian food.”
Before heading to Fort Bliss, Moore had been at Fort Leonard Wood, southwest of Rolla, Mo. He and his company were deployed to Iraq in June 2008 to help provide training and oversight of the Iraqi police force.
Ivie said funeral arrangements for Moore still are pending but that the service likely would be held at Southwest Baptist Church.
Funeral held for Del City soldier killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — A Del City soldier who died last week in Iraq was recalled Tuesday by those at the church he attended as a hero and a committed Christian.
Hundreds gathered for the funeral for Cpl. Gary Moore at Southwest Baptist Church. The 25-year-old died March 16 when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle in Baghdad.
The church’s head pastor, Sam Davison, said everyone at Southwest Baptist took pride in Moore.
“Gary was 38 years younger than me, but he was one of my heroes,” Davison said. “I’m proud of the service that he rendered. I’m proud of his bravery. I’m proud of Gary.”
Moore was a 2003 graduate of Westmoore High School who joined the military in January 2007. He was assigned to the 978th Military Police Company, 93rd Military Police Battalion at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Brig. Gen. David Phillips, the chief of the military police corps, praised members of that unit for their service and accomplishments in Iraq. He said people in Baghdad are beginning to experience normal lives again because of the work of Moore and others.
“This past fall, when the elementary schools reopened, young girls were able to go to school,” Phillips said.
Moore was engaged to be married later this year to Randi Ivie.
“I can’t think of Gary without thinking of Randi,” said Jason Gaddis, one of the church’s ministers. “It was during a college and career activity in 2003 that they met and became basically inseparable.”
Army Cpl. Gary L. Moore was killed in action on 3/16/09.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles
Remember Our Heroes
Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles, 24, of Tucson, Ariz.
SSgt. Bowles was assigned to the 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; died March 15, 2009 of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
Tucson High grad killed in Afghanistan
By Sheryl Kornman
Tucson Citizen
Tucson High School graduate Timothy Bowles, 24, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday after he volunteered to take the spot of a “comrade who was ill,” said his father, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Louis Bowles.
Bowles, an Air Force staff sergeant, was sent to Afghanistan in November, his father said.
It was his first tour in a war zone. He was a fire engine mechanic, the senior Bowles said.
“He volunteered to go on that mission that day to take the place of a comrade who was sick. I just learned that today (Monday),” he said.
Bowles and four other airmen were killed by a roadside bomb in Eastern Afghanistan, according to an Air Force release and an article Monday in The New York Times. The names and hometowns of the other victims were not immediately available.
Bowles was assigned to the 755th Air Expeditionary Group’s Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team in Jalalabad, his father said. His home base was Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska.
Louis Bowles said his son was sent to Afghanistan at the same time his sister’s husband was sent to Iraq.
The senior Bowles said his son worked at the Tucson Medical Center cafeteria while taking classes at Pima Community College for a year after his 2002 graduation from Tucson High.
“He never said what he was studying.”
When Timothy enlisted in the Air Force, Bowles said he was “stunned” but “I was all for it.”
He said Louis confided in his mother, Lisa, that he was unhappy at times growing up, as his father left for one deployment after another.
He didn’t understand his father’s military career was what took him away from home.
“He didn’t comprehend why I had to leave. He thought, ‘Dad was mad at us,’” he said.
The elder Bowles served in the first Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, he said.
In addition to his parents, who now live in Glorietta, N.M., he is survived by his older sister, Heather Ketchmark, who lives at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.
Timothy Bowles would have completed six years in the Air Force on May 13, his father said.
Fallen airman was ‘always unselfish’
The Associated Press
As a youngster growing up on base, Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles took a special interest in elderly veterans who attended chapel services on Sundays.
He made a point of paying attention to them and assisting them if they needed help, said his father, Air Force retiree Louis Bowles. “He was loving and loyal, a son you could trust.”
Bowles, 24, born in Anchorage, Alaska, and raised in Tucson, Ariz., died March 15 near Kot after his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base and volunteered for his final mission to take an ill colleague’s place on patrol.
“That was Tim,” Air Force retiree Louis Bowles said of his son’s offer to fill in for someone. “He was always unselfish, wanting to help people any way he could.”
Bowles graduated from Tucson High School in 2002 and attended Pima Community College before joining the Air Force.
“Raised in a military family, he knew the cost of freedom. He did not falter and he did not fail,” said Col. Richard Walberg.
He also is also survived by his mother, Lisa.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles was killed in action on 3/15/09.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles, 24, of Tucson, Ariz.
SSgt. Bowles was assigned to the 3rd Logistics Readiness Squadron, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska; died March 15, 2009 of wounds sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
Tucson High grad killed in Afghanistan
By Sheryl Kornman
Tucson Citizen
Tucson High School graduate Timothy Bowles, 24, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday after he volunteered to take the spot of a “comrade who was ill,” said his father, retired Air Force Master Sgt. Louis Bowles.
Bowles, an Air Force staff sergeant, was sent to Afghanistan in November, his father said.
It was his first tour in a war zone. He was a fire engine mechanic, the senior Bowles said.
“He volunteered to go on that mission that day to take the place of a comrade who was sick. I just learned that today (Monday),” he said.
Bowles and four other airmen were killed by a roadside bomb in Eastern Afghanistan, according to an Air Force release and an article Monday in The New York Times. The names and hometowns of the other victims were not immediately available.
Bowles was assigned to the 755th Air Expeditionary Group’s Nangarhar Provincial Reconstruction Team in Jalalabad, his father said. His home base was Elmendorf Air Force Base near Anchorage, Alaska.
Louis Bowles said his son was sent to Afghanistan at the same time his sister’s husband was sent to Iraq.
The senior Bowles said his son worked at the Tucson Medical Center cafeteria while taking classes at Pima Community College for a year after his 2002 graduation from Tucson High.
“He never said what he was studying.”
When Timothy enlisted in the Air Force, Bowles said he was “stunned” but “I was all for it.”
He said Louis confided in his mother, Lisa, that he was unhappy at times growing up, as his father left for one deployment after another.
He didn’t understand his father’s military career was what took him away from home.
“He didn’t comprehend why I had to leave. He thought, ‘Dad was mad at us,’” he said.
The elder Bowles served in the first Gulf War in 1990 and 1991, he said.
In addition to his parents, who now live in Glorietta, N.M., he is survived by his older sister, Heather Ketchmark, who lives at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.
Timothy Bowles would have completed six years in the Air Force on May 13, his father said.
Fallen airman was ‘always unselfish’
The Associated Press
As a youngster growing up on base, Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles took a special interest in elderly veterans who attended chapel services on Sundays.
He made a point of paying attention to them and assisting them if they needed help, said his father, Air Force retiree Louis Bowles. “He was loving and loyal, a son you could trust.”
Bowles, 24, born in Anchorage, Alaska, and raised in Tucson, Ariz., died March 15 near Kot after his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to Elmendorf Air Force Base and volunteered for his final mission to take an ill colleague’s place on patrol.
“That was Tim,” Air Force retiree Louis Bowles said of his son’s offer to fill in for someone. “He was always unselfish, wanting to help people any way he could.”
Bowles graduated from Tucson High School in 2002 and attended Pima Community College before joining the Air Force.
“Raised in a military family, he knew the cost of freedom. He did not falter and he did not fail,” said Col. Richard Walberg.
He also is also survived by his mother, Lisa.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Timothy L. Bowles was killed in action on 3/15/09.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Marine Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor, 37, of Tomball, Texas.
SSgt. Taylor was assigned to the 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II MEF Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 14, 2009 in a non-hostile incident in Kabul province, Afghanistan.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A Camp Lejeune Marine died Saturday in Afghanistan, according to a II Marine Expeditionary Force press release. The incident is under investigation.
Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor, 37, of Tomball, Texas, died in Kabul province as a result of a non-hostile incident, according to the press release. He was a counter-intelligence specialist with 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II MEF Headquarters Group.
Taylor joined the Marine Corps on Dec. 9, 1989. He deployed twice to Iraq, from February to October 2004, and from March to October 2007.
His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon.
Marine Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor died in a non-hostile incident on 3/14/09.
Marine Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor, 37, of Tomball, Texas.
SSgt. Taylor was assigned to the 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II MEF Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 14, 2009 in a non-hostile incident in Kabul province, Afghanistan.
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A Camp Lejeune Marine died Saturday in Afghanistan, according to a II Marine Expeditionary Force press release. The incident is under investigation.
Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor, 37, of Tomball, Texas, died in Kabul province as a result of a non-hostile incident, according to the press release. He was a counter-intelligence specialist with 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II MEF Headquarters Group.
Taylor joined the Marine Corps on Dec. 9, 1989. He deployed twice to Iraq, from February to October 2004, and from March to October 2007.
His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon.
Marine Staff Sgt. Archie A. Taylor died in a non-hostile incident on 3/14/09.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone, 21, of Ocala, Fla.
LCpl. Malone was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 10, 2009 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Saqlawiyah, Iraq.
Visit to Lejeune inspired Lance Corporal to become Marine
Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone wanted to be a Marine throughout his childhood. But it was at the age of 11, during a visit to Camp Lejeune, where his big sister was a Marine, that the dream took root.
“He never wanted to be a hero,” said his sister, Jennifer Hopper. “He just wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself. He wanted to help people. He wanted to protect people.”
Malone, 21, of Ocala, Fla., was killed in a non-hostile incident March 10 in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
Even in Iraq, he was constantly online and on the phone with friends and family catching up. He sent his friend, Clare Canon, three dozen roses on Valentine’s Day.
Even on the day he died, Patrick made a flurry of calls to family members to say hello and to apologize for missing his grandmother’s birthday party.
Malone’s eclectic interests included reading philosophy and meditating. He loved adventure, too. For his 22nd birthday in May, Hopper planned to take him sky diving near her home when he came to visit during a scheduled break.
Patrick is survived by his parents, Neida and Damian.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone was killed by a non-hostile incident on 3/10/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone, 21, of Ocala, Fla.
LCpl. Malone was assigned to 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died March 10, 2009 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Saqlawiyah, Iraq.
Visit to Lejeune inspired Lance Corporal to become Marine
Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone wanted to be a Marine throughout his childhood. But it was at the age of 11, during a visit to Camp Lejeune, where his big sister was a Marine, that the dream took root.
“He never wanted to be a hero,” said his sister, Jennifer Hopper. “He just wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself. He wanted to help people. He wanted to protect people.”
Malone, 21, of Ocala, Fla., was killed in a non-hostile incident March 10 in Anbar province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.
Even in Iraq, he was constantly online and on the phone with friends and family catching up. He sent his friend, Clare Canon, three dozen roses on Valentine’s Day.
Even on the day he died, Patrick made a flurry of calls to family members to say hello and to apologize for missing his grandmother’s birthday party.
Malone’s eclectic interests included reading philosophy and meditating. He loved adventure, too. For his 22nd birthday in May, Hopper planned to take him sky diving near her home when he came to visit during a scheduled break.
Patrick is survived by his parents, Neida and Damian.
Marine Lance Cpl. Patrick A. Malone was killed by a non-hostile incident on 3/10/09.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
Army Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II, 27, of Auburn, N.Y.
Pfc. Davoe was assigned to 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died March 8, 2009 in Kandau Kalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.
Father: Son loved adventure
The Associated Press
FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska — The father of an Alaska-based soldier from Auburn, N.Y., who’s been killed in Afghanistan says his son loved adventure.
Patrick Devoe Sr. says his son, Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II, “had a great love for life.”
The 27-year-old Fort Richardson soldier was killed March 8 by a roadside bomb in Kandau Kalay. He joined the Army in January 2008.
He was assigned in July to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, at the Anchorage base.
Devoe’s father says his son spent a few years as a contractor and studied culinary arts at a New York state university.
He is survived by a girlfriend and 1-year-old daughter.
Hundreds gather for fallen soldier’s send-off
The Associated Press
AUBURN, N.Y. — Family and friends remembered a central New York soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month as someone who made those around him laugh and feel good.
As many as 300 people gathered March 16 at St. Mary’s Church for a memorial service for Army Pfc. Patrick Devoe II, who was killed March 8 by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Kandau Kalay.
Devoe’s smile “would light up a room, his laugh was infectious,” said Army Maj. Kevin Swab, reading a letter from one of Devoe’s friends.
Many people wept as Devoe’s flag-draped coffin was brought out of the church. Police and members of the Patriot Guard stood by to escort Devoe’s coffin to a private burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Owasco. A bell rang at Auburn’s Memorial City Hall in Devoe’s honor as the funeral procession passed.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jason Cooper, 19, of Auburn stood outside the church with his mother, Cindy, to salute the fallen soldier. Neither knew the 27-year-old Devoe.
“But we lost a brother and I wanted to pay my respects,” said Cooper, who just returned Saturday from a seven-month deployment to Iraq and is heading to Afghanistan in November.
Devoe joined the Army last year and was planning to make a career of it, his family said.
“He loved it. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him,” said Patrick Devoe Sr.
Devoe was assigned to the airborne division of the 40th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Richardson in Alaska. He had been in Afghanistan for less than a month when he was killed.
“If it wasn’t him, it would be someone else. I’m not upset about it. It’s the way of life, I guess,” his father said. “They’re soldiers. They know what they’re getting into. There’s always that chance no matter who you are.”
Susan-Kealoha Capone said she was worried when her son enlisted in January 2008, but said she was proud of his decision to serve his country. Like any mother, Capone said, she feared the worst.
“I was scared to death because of something like this. But in the long run, it was his decision and I am very proud of the choice he made,” Capone said.
Pat Devoe said his son loved collecting baseball cards and enjoyed playing goalie on youth soccer teams and camping with his family as a youngster. He was working construction when he decided to enlist.
Joe Devoe said his brother always seemed happy.
“He just had no cares in the world. You could talk to him about anything in the world,” Joe said.
Devoe spent three weeks at home on leave in December. Capone said it was the first time her son was able to spend time with his 16-month-old daughter. He cherished the opportunity and doted on her.
Capone said when her son left, she promised him to show his daughter pictures of her father to keep his memory alive. She plans to follow through on that promise.
“When she gets older, she’ll know. She’ll know what kind of dad, what kind of person he was. She’ll know all about him,” Capone said.
Fallen soldier was looking to make Army his career
The Associated Press
Pfc. Patrick A. DeVoe II loved eating and he loved preparing dishes.
Devoe even loved food enough to briefly study culinary arts before joining the Army.
“He could take cottage cheese and burgers, mix them together, and make it sound good,” said his mother, Susan-Kealoha Capone.
DeVoe, 27, of Auburn, N.Y., died March 8 in Kandau Kalay when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Richardson.
DeVoe joined the Army last year and was planning to make a career of it, said his father, Patrick DeVoe. “He wanted to be a lifer. He loved it. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him,” he said.
DeVoe loved collecting baseball cards and enjoyed playing goalie on youth soccer teams and camping with his family as a youngster.
He was working construction when he decided to enlist.
“He was really kind, smart and funny. He could always make you laugh. No matter what, he could always make you smile,” said Kimberly Harkness, the soldier’s aunt.
He also is survived by his stepmother, Karen, and a 16-month old daughter, Jazzibell.
Army Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II was killed in action on 3/8/09.
Army Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II, 27, of Auburn, N.Y.
Pfc. Davoe was assigned to 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died March 8, 2009 in Kandau Kalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.
Father: Son loved adventure
The Associated Press
FORT RICHARDSON, Alaska — The father of an Alaska-based soldier from Auburn, N.Y., who’s been killed in Afghanistan says his son loved adventure.
Patrick Devoe Sr. says his son, Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II, “had a great love for life.”
The 27-year-old Fort Richardson soldier was killed March 8 by a roadside bomb in Kandau Kalay. He joined the Army in January 2008.
He was assigned in July to the 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, at the Anchorage base.
Devoe’s father says his son spent a few years as a contractor and studied culinary arts at a New York state university.
He is survived by a girlfriend and 1-year-old daughter.
Hundreds gather for fallen soldier’s send-off
The Associated Press
AUBURN, N.Y. — Family and friends remembered a central New York soldier killed in Afghanistan earlier this month as someone who made those around him laugh and feel good.
As many as 300 people gathered March 16 at St. Mary’s Church for a memorial service for Army Pfc. Patrick Devoe II, who was killed March 8 by a roadside bomb while on patrol in Kandau Kalay.
Devoe’s smile “would light up a room, his laugh was infectious,” said Army Maj. Kevin Swab, reading a letter from one of Devoe’s friends.
Many people wept as Devoe’s flag-draped coffin was brought out of the church. Police and members of the Patriot Guard stood by to escort Devoe’s coffin to a private burial at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Owasco. A bell rang at Auburn’s Memorial City Hall in Devoe’s honor as the funeral procession passed.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jason Cooper, 19, of Auburn stood outside the church with his mother, Cindy, to salute the fallen soldier. Neither knew the 27-year-old Devoe.
“But we lost a brother and I wanted to pay my respects,” said Cooper, who just returned Saturday from a seven-month deployment to Iraq and is heading to Afghanistan in November.
Devoe joined the Army last year and was planning to make a career of it, his family said.
“He loved it. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him,” said Patrick Devoe Sr.
Devoe was assigned to the airborne division of the 40th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Richardson in Alaska. He had been in Afghanistan for less than a month when he was killed.
“If it wasn’t him, it would be someone else. I’m not upset about it. It’s the way of life, I guess,” his father said. “They’re soldiers. They know what they’re getting into. There’s always that chance no matter who you are.”
Susan-Kealoha Capone said she was worried when her son enlisted in January 2008, but said she was proud of his decision to serve his country. Like any mother, Capone said, she feared the worst.
“I was scared to death because of something like this. But in the long run, it was his decision and I am very proud of the choice he made,” Capone said.
Pat Devoe said his son loved collecting baseball cards and enjoyed playing goalie on youth soccer teams and camping with his family as a youngster. He was working construction when he decided to enlist.
Joe Devoe said his brother always seemed happy.
“He just had no cares in the world. You could talk to him about anything in the world,” Joe said.
Devoe spent three weeks at home on leave in December. Capone said it was the first time her son was able to spend time with his 16-month-old daughter. He cherished the opportunity and doted on her.
Capone said when her son left, she promised him to show his daughter pictures of her father to keep his memory alive. She plans to follow through on that promise.
“When she gets older, she’ll know. She’ll know what kind of dad, what kind of person he was. She’ll know all about him,” Capone said.
Fallen soldier was looking to make Army his career
The Associated Press
Pfc. Patrick A. DeVoe II loved eating and he loved preparing dishes.
Devoe even loved food enough to briefly study culinary arts before joining the Army.
“He could take cottage cheese and burgers, mix them together, and make it sound good,” said his mother, Susan-Kealoha Capone.
DeVoe, 27, of Auburn, N.Y., died March 8 in Kandau Kalay when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device. He was a 2000 high school graduate and was assigned to Fort Richardson.
DeVoe joined the Army last year and was planning to make a career of it, said his father, Patrick DeVoe. “He wanted to be a lifer. He loved it. He said it was the best thing that ever happened to him,” he said.
DeVoe loved collecting baseball cards and enjoyed playing goalie on youth soccer teams and camping with his family as a youngster.
He was working construction when he decided to enlist.
“He was really kind, smart and funny. He could always make you laugh. No matter what, he could always make you smile,” said Kimberly Harkness, the soldier’s aunt.
He also is survived by his stepmother, Karen, and a 16-month old daughter, Jazzibell.
Army Pfc. Patrick A. Devoe II was killed in action on 3/8/09.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Army Spc. Patrick E. Welsh
Remember Our Heroes
Spec. Patrick Welsh was anything but the stereotypical macho cop while serving as a military police officer in Iraq.
“Welshey was probably the most laid-back guy in the squad,” Staff Sgt. Anthony Gravseth, Welsh’s squad leader, said Monday. “Nothing bothered him. He just did his thing. You gave him a task and he completed it. No complaints. He was Mr. Dependable.”
Welsh, a 24-year-old Grand Forks resident, died Friday in a one-car rollover accident along I-29 about 15 miles north of Fargo.
His death came just two months after he and about 100 soldiers from the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 191st Military Police Company returned to the state after serving in Iraq for a year.
“He was looking forward to coming home. He wanted to spend some time with his baby girl. He wanted to provide the best possible life for her,” said Gravseth, who lives in Bismarck.
Most of his fellow soldiers didn’t know his daughter, Arista, by name. But they knew of her.
“He talked about her a lot,” Gravseth said. “He always called her ‘baby girl.’”
The 191st MP Company is based in Fargo with detachments in Mayville and Bismarck, although its members come from 40 different cities.
The 191st received its mobilization order in October 2007 and began active duty in January 2008. In its year in Iraq to perform military police, security and maneuver support operations, the company completed almost 1,300 missions and traveled more than 120,000 miles.
Among the company’s accomplishments were assisting in 74 detainee releases and training 346 Iraqi police in a rigorous, 15-day training program that incorporated weapons training, Iraqi law, police tactics and physical training.
Welsh’s squad was assigned to what were called pit missions, serving as a police transition team for the Iraqi police, Gravseth said.
“Welshey and the rest of our guys who were gunners and drivers held a very important mission — security and transportation between the base and the police department in Baghdad,” Gravseth said. “All the other gunners leaned on Welshey.”
Upon his return to the United States in January, Welsh was quoted in an article in the Herald: “I am looking forward to seeing my daughter, family and friends,” he said. “I am also looking forward to going back to college and earning my degree.”
He was studying criminal justice at UND when he was deployed.
“The largest change I have seen in Baghdad from start to finish is the Iraqi Security Forces are doing an excellent job on providing better security,” he said in that article.
Welsh graduated from Red River High School in 2003. He joined the North Dakota National Guard in 2005 and was assigned to a Combat Engineering Unit in Carrington, N.D. He later volunteered to become part of the 191st MP Company.
“He was one of those guys who was always in a good mood. He was a hell of a soldier,” said Spec. Nick Johansen, Fargo, who served with Welsh in Iraq.
Johansen, who plans to study criminal justice at North Dakota State University, has four years left to serve in the National Guard. He learned about the accident Saturday.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to hear,” he said. “He was like all the rest of us. Everybody’s always talking about what they want to do when they got home. Now, he won’t get that chance.”
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/109929/
Specialist Patrick E. Welsh, 24, Grand Forks, ND beloved father, son & brother, died March 6, 2009, as the result of a tragic car accident.
Patrick Edward Welsh was born November 15, 1984 the son of Michael and Stacy (Greendahl) Welsh in Grand Forks. He attended Viking Elementary School, Schroeder Middle School, Red River High School and graduated in 2003. He joined the North Dakota National Guard in 2005 and was assigned to the Combat Engineering Unit in Carrington, ND. He volunteered with the 191st Military Police Company of Mayville, ND and was deployed to Iraq, January 2008 thru January 2009. During his deployment, he was awarded the combat action badge for direct participation in combat operations.
Patrick will be remembered most for proudly serving his country and his love and devotion to his daughter, Arista. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.
He is survived by, his daughter, Arista Welsh, Grand Forks, ND and Arista’s mother Charlene Two Bulls; parents, Michael and Stacy Welsh, Grand Forks, ND; brothers Jason, WI, Justin, Grand Forks, ND Brandon (Ericka)Omaha, NE, Brody (fiancee, Amanda Hoffman), Ft. Drum, NY; sisters, Katie Welsh (fiancé, Dick Rothenberger), Grand Forks, ND, Piper Welsh, Grand Forks, ND; nephews, Brady Moncada, Bradin Welsh; grandparents, Myrle Welsh, Austin, MN, Marlys Greendahl, Fargo, ND; many aunts, uncles and cousins; special friend, Kelly Keomany.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather, William Greendahl and grandmother, Patricia Welsh.
Mass of Christian Burial: 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 12, 2009 in St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Grand Forks, ND.
Visitation: 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. vigil service and 4:30 p.m. rosary service in the Gregory J. Norman Funeral Chapel. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the liturgy in the church on Thursday.
Burial: Calvary Cemetery, Grand Forks, ND in the spring.
Military Honors: Members of the American Legion Post 157; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3817 and North Dakota National Guard.
Army Spc. Patrick E. Welsh died as the result of a tragic car accident on 3/6/09.
Spec. Patrick Welsh was anything but the stereotypical macho cop while serving as a military police officer in Iraq.
“Welshey was probably the most laid-back guy in the squad,” Staff Sgt. Anthony Gravseth, Welsh’s squad leader, said Monday. “Nothing bothered him. He just did his thing. You gave him a task and he completed it. No complaints. He was Mr. Dependable.”
Welsh, a 24-year-old Grand Forks resident, died Friday in a one-car rollover accident along I-29 about 15 miles north of Fargo.
His death came just two months after he and about 100 soldiers from the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 191st Military Police Company returned to the state after serving in Iraq for a year.
“He was looking forward to coming home. He wanted to spend some time with his baby girl. He wanted to provide the best possible life for her,” said Gravseth, who lives in Bismarck.
Most of his fellow soldiers didn’t know his daughter, Arista, by name. But they knew of her.
“He talked about her a lot,” Gravseth said. “He always called her ‘baby girl.’”
The 191st MP Company is based in Fargo with detachments in Mayville and Bismarck, although its members come from 40 different cities.
The 191st received its mobilization order in October 2007 and began active duty in January 2008. In its year in Iraq to perform military police, security and maneuver support operations, the company completed almost 1,300 missions and traveled more than 120,000 miles.
Among the company’s accomplishments were assisting in 74 detainee releases and training 346 Iraqi police in a rigorous, 15-day training program that incorporated weapons training, Iraqi law, police tactics and physical training.
Welsh’s squad was assigned to what were called pit missions, serving as a police transition team for the Iraqi police, Gravseth said.
“Welshey and the rest of our guys who were gunners and drivers held a very important mission — security and transportation between the base and the police department in Baghdad,” Gravseth said. “All the other gunners leaned on Welshey.”
Upon his return to the United States in January, Welsh was quoted in an article in the Herald: “I am looking forward to seeing my daughter, family and friends,” he said. “I am also looking forward to going back to college and earning my degree.”
He was studying criminal justice at UND when he was deployed.
“The largest change I have seen in Baghdad from start to finish is the Iraqi Security Forces are doing an excellent job on providing better security,” he said in that article.
Welsh graduated from Red River High School in 2003. He joined the North Dakota National Guard in 2005 and was assigned to a Combat Engineering Unit in Carrington, N.D. He later volunteered to become part of the 191st MP Company.
“He was one of those guys who was always in a good mood. He was a hell of a soldier,” said Spec. Nick Johansen, Fargo, who served with Welsh in Iraq.
Johansen, who plans to study criminal justice at North Dakota State University, has four years left to serve in the National Guard. He learned about the accident Saturday.
“It wasn’t something I wanted to hear,” he said. “He was like all the rest of us. Everybody’s always talking about what they want to do when they got home. Now, he won’t get that chance.”
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/109929/
Specialist Patrick E. Welsh, 24, Grand Forks, ND beloved father, son & brother, died March 6, 2009, as the result of a tragic car accident.
Patrick Edward Welsh was born November 15, 1984 the son of Michael and Stacy (Greendahl) Welsh in Grand Forks. He attended Viking Elementary School, Schroeder Middle School, Red River High School and graduated in 2003. He joined the North Dakota National Guard in 2005 and was assigned to the Combat Engineering Unit in Carrington, ND. He volunteered with the 191st Military Police Company of Mayville, ND and was deployed to Iraq, January 2008 thru January 2009. During his deployment, he was awarded the combat action badge for direct participation in combat operations.
Patrick will be remembered most for proudly serving his country and his love and devotion to his daughter, Arista. He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.
He is survived by, his daughter, Arista Welsh, Grand Forks, ND and Arista’s mother Charlene Two Bulls; parents, Michael and Stacy Welsh, Grand Forks, ND; brothers Jason, WI, Justin, Grand Forks, ND Brandon (Ericka)Omaha, NE, Brody (fiancee, Amanda Hoffman), Ft. Drum, NY; sisters, Katie Welsh (fiancé, Dick Rothenberger), Grand Forks, ND, Piper Welsh, Grand Forks, ND; nephews, Brady Moncada, Bradin Welsh; grandparents, Myrle Welsh, Austin, MN, Marlys Greendahl, Fargo, ND; many aunts, uncles and cousins; special friend, Kelly Keomany.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather, William Greendahl and grandmother, Patricia Welsh.
Mass of Christian Burial: 10:00 a.m. Thursday, March 12, 2009 in St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Grand Forks, ND.
Visitation: 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday with a 7:00 p.m. vigil service and 4:30 p.m. rosary service in the Gregory J. Norman Funeral Chapel. Visitation will continue one hour prior to the liturgy in the church on Thursday.
Burial: Calvary Cemetery, Grand Forks, ND in the spring.
Military Honors: Members of the American Legion Post 157; Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3817 and North Dakota National Guard.
Army Spc. Patrick E. Welsh died as the result of a tragic car accident on 3/6/09.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Army Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, Fla.
Spc. Sarandrea was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 3, 2009 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire.
Husband recalls soldier killed in mortar attack
Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea and her husband met in Kuwait during a prior deployment. Alejandro “Alex” Sarandrea told the young woman she looked familiar.
She said she didn’t recognize him. But when the two met again, “We started talking. It turned out we were both from Miami, from almost the same region,” Sarandrea said.
“We ended up getting married out there,” he said.
Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, died March 3 in Mosul of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire. She was assigned to Fort Hood.
Sarandrea, who graduated from Coral Gables High School, was stationed in Mosul, where she worked as a supply specialist performing logistical support for her battalion, said her husband.
She was walking from her office, perhaps to get her gear, when she was hit by shrapnel from incoming mortar, her husband said.
The shrapnel pierced her liver and severed one of her main arteries, said Sarandrea.
“I know what a wonderful person she was,” Sarandrea said. “I will always carry her memory in my heart.”
Army Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea was killed in action on 3/3/09.
Army Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, Fla.
Spc. Sarandrea was assigned to the 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 3, 2009 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire.
Husband recalls soldier killed in mortar attack
Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea and her husband met in Kuwait during a prior deployment. Alejandro “Alex” Sarandrea told the young woman she looked familiar.
She said she didn’t recognize him. But when the two met again, “We started talking. It turned out we were both from Miami, from almost the same region,” Sarandrea said.
“We ended up getting married out there,” he said.
Sarandrea, 22, of Miami, died March 3 in Mosul of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked her forward operating base with mortar fire. She was assigned to Fort Hood.
Sarandrea, who graduated from Coral Gables High School, was stationed in Mosul, where she worked as a supply specialist performing logistical support for her battalion, said her husband.
She was walking from her office, perhaps to get her gear, when she was hit by shrapnel from incoming mortar, her husband said.
The shrapnel pierced her liver and severed one of her main arteries, said Sarandrea.
“I know what a wonderful person she was,” Sarandrea said. “I will always carry her memory in my heart.”
Army Spc. Jessica Y. Sarandrea was killed in action on 3/3/09.
Monday, March 02, 2009
Army Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed, 23, of Chesterfield, Va.
Sgt. Reed was assigned to the 411th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 2, 2009 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a grenade in Taji, Iraq.
Sergeant remembered as motivated, ‘tenacious’ individual
Growing up, Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed “was short for his size and rather chunky,” said his father, Mark Reed. As a teenager, Jeffrey resolved to do something about it. He lost 40 pounds through a combination of exercise and a strict diet.
That helped him on the soccer field, where he played for his high school team. His father recalled the end of a close game.
“Jeffrey just got the ball and dribbled through the whole team,” Mark Reed said.
Reed, 23, of Chesterfield, Va., died March 2 of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a grenade in Taji. He was assigned to Fort Hood.
Reed joined the Army shortly after he graduated in 2004, following the example of his older brother, who left college to sign up with the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
His father described his son as “tenacious,” someone who wouldn’t back down until he reached his goal.
In Iraq, he noticed Iraqi children playing soccer with paper bags and soda bottles when he first arrived in the country. He organized friends and family back home to collect soccer balls for the children.
He also is survived by his wife, Ashley.
Army Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed was killed in action on 3/2/09.
Army Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed, 23, of Chesterfield, Va.
Sgt. Reed was assigned to the 411th Military Police Company, 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas; died March 2, 2009 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a grenade in Taji, Iraq.
Sergeant remembered as motivated, ‘tenacious’ individual
Growing up, Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed “was short for his size and rather chunky,” said his father, Mark Reed. As a teenager, Jeffrey resolved to do something about it. He lost 40 pounds through a combination of exercise and a strict diet.
That helped him on the soccer field, where he played for his high school team. His father recalled the end of a close game.
“Jeffrey just got the ball and dribbled through the whole team,” Mark Reed said.
Reed, 23, of Chesterfield, Va., died March 2 of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck by a grenade in Taji. He was assigned to Fort Hood.
Reed joined the Army shortly after he graduated in 2004, following the example of his older brother, who left college to sign up with the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
His father described his son as “tenacious,” someone who wouldn’t back down until he reached his goal.
In Iraq, he noticed Iraqi children playing soccer with paper bags and soda bottles when he first arrived in the country. He organized friends and family back home to collect soccer balls for the children.
He also is survived by his wife, Ashley.
Army Sgt. Jeffrey A. Reed was killed in action on 3/2/09.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Army Sgt. Simone A. Robinson
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Simone A. Robinson, 21, of Dixmoor, Ill.
Sgt Robinson was assigned to the 634th Brigade Support Battalion of the Illinois Army National Guard, Crestwood, Ill.; died March 1, 2009 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near her security post Jan. 17 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Illinois soldier dies after Afghanistan attack
The Associated Press
ROBBINS, Ill. — An Illinois Army National Guard soldier from the Chicago suburb of Robbins has died of wounds she sustained in an attack in Afghanistan in January.
Military officials say 21-year-old Spc. Simone Robinson died Sunday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
She and four other Illinois Army National Guard soldiers were wounded on Jan. 17 in an attack by an improvised explosive device.
Robinson joined the Illinois Army National Guard in December 2004. Her unit was deployed in August 2008. It was her first deployment.
She graduated from Thornton High School in south suburban Harvey. She’s survived by a 2-year-old daughter.
Robinson was assigned to Company G, 634th Brigade Support Battalion in Crestwood.
‘A go-getter’ who kept others laughing
The Associated Press
On the night Sgt. Simone A. Robinson departed for war, she held her 2-year-old baby Nyzia on her lap. She played with her until the last moment, then handed her to her mother, who would care for the girl while Robinson was away.
“She said, ‘Hurry and put her in the car,”’ said her mother, Regina Byther. “She tried to be tough, but she was hurt to leave her baby.”
Robinson, 21, of Dixmoor, Ill., died March 1 at Brooke Army Medical Center of wounds from an improvised explosive device that detonated near her security post on Jan. 17 in Kabul. She was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Crestwood, Ill.
“She kept me laughing and others around her,” said Amanda Manson, a friend since eighth grade. “She would help you when you came to her if you had problems with your work. I don’t think she ever got bad grades.”
Her father, Charles Robinson, remembered the way she made him laugh and how she sang in the choir at St. Luke Baptist Church, and the time she corrected the way he pronounced “aromatherapy.”
“A go-getter. Always wanted to accomplish this and accomplish that,” he said. “My baby girl.”
Army Sgt. Simone A. Robinson died 3/1/09 from combat related injuries received in January 2009.
Army Sgt. Simone A. Robinson, 21, of Dixmoor, Ill.
Sgt Robinson was assigned to the 634th Brigade Support Battalion of the Illinois Army National Guard, Crestwood, Ill.; died March 1, 2009 at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near her security post Jan. 17 in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Illinois soldier dies after Afghanistan attack
The Associated Press
ROBBINS, Ill. — An Illinois Army National Guard soldier from the Chicago suburb of Robbins has died of wounds she sustained in an attack in Afghanistan in January.
Military officials say 21-year-old Spc. Simone Robinson died Sunday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.
She and four other Illinois Army National Guard soldiers were wounded on Jan. 17 in an attack by an improvised explosive device.
Robinson joined the Illinois Army National Guard in December 2004. Her unit was deployed in August 2008. It was her first deployment.
She graduated from Thornton High School in south suburban Harvey. She’s survived by a 2-year-old daughter.
Robinson was assigned to Company G, 634th Brigade Support Battalion in Crestwood.
‘A go-getter’ who kept others laughing
The Associated Press
On the night Sgt. Simone A. Robinson departed for war, she held her 2-year-old baby Nyzia on her lap. She played with her until the last moment, then handed her to her mother, who would care for the girl while Robinson was away.
“She said, ‘Hurry and put her in the car,”’ said her mother, Regina Byther. “She tried to be tough, but she was hurt to leave her baby.”
Robinson, 21, of Dixmoor, Ill., died March 1 at Brooke Army Medical Center of wounds from an improvised explosive device that detonated near her security post on Jan. 17 in Kabul. She was a 2005 high school graduate and was assigned to Crestwood, Ill.
“She kept me laughing and others around her,” said Amanda Manson, a friend since eighth grade. “She would help you when you came to her if you had problems with your work. I don’t think she ever got bad grades.”
Her father, Charles Robinson, remembered the way she made him laugh and how she sang in the choir at St. Luke Baptist Church, and the time she corrected the way he pronounced “aromatherapy.”
“A go-getter. Always wanted to accomplish this and accomplish that,” he said. “My baby girl.”
Army Sgt. Simone A. Robinson died 3/1/09 from combat related injuries received in January 2009.
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