Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Tyler R. Walshe, 21, of Shasta, Calif.
Spc. Walshe was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Spc. Jonathan D. Welch and Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu.
Spc. Tyler R. Walshe leaves a wife and young daughter who will have her first birthday this Veteran's Day. He also leaves his parents and three younger brothers behind.
He was known to his friends at Tyler Vietti, or Tyler Walshe-Vietti, as he chose to identify with his stepfather's name. He was a 2006 graduate of Central Valley High School in Shasta, California, where he was a star athelete. He was an all-league pitcher, played defensive end, and was backup quarterback for the Central Valley Falcons’ team that went on to win the Northern Section’s Division II title.
Central Valley grad killed in Afghanistan
Note: This is an updated story from the one that appears in the Sept. 2 issue of the Bulletin.
By JIM DYAR and RON HARRINGTON
Tyler Vietti, 21, a 2006 Central Valley High School graduate, was killed in action while serving in the U.S. military in Afghanistan, his father Paul said in an email to the Bulletin Tuesday night.
Paul Vietti, who apologized and said it was just too hard for him to talk about what happened but that he was more than happy to answer questions via email, said his son was on a mission with his troops when he got out of the vehicle and was hit by an IED (bomb).
“He currently is being flown back to the states,” Vietti said in the email. “There will be a ceremony for him on his home base in Ft. Lewis, Wash., where his wife and daughter live.”
Vietti said his son joined the army at the age of 18 and had just gone to Afghanistan about a month ago. He met his wife Kirsten while he was based in Ft. Lewis. Their daughter turns one-year-old in October, Vietti said.
Paul and his wife Dawn now live in Cottonwood. Tyler has three younger brothers – Eric, Cameron and Danny. Vietti said a ceremony will be held locally, probably sometime next week.
Vietti said they have received “a ton of calls and text messages” since news of Tyler’s death spread throughout the Gateway School District schools, the city of Shasta Lake and on the Internet where many MySpace pages were listing “R.I.P. Tyler Vietti” following name titles.
“We would just like to say thank you and we love you to obviously a lot of people who Tyler touched their lives,” he said in the email. “We are very proud of him.” The last sentence was all in caps with several exclamation points.
Tyler Vietti was a star athlete at Central Valley who played defensive end on the undefeated Northern Section champion football team in 2005. He also was an all-league pitcher who was part of the Falcons’ varsity squad for three years and pitched in the Lions All Star Game. And he played on the basketball team as well making him a three-sport athlete at the school.
“Tyler was a happy, fun-loving young man,” said Central Valley Baseball Coach Bob Anderson. “He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. He befriended everyone. He was a quality young man and so pleasant to people.”
In addition to playing defensive end, Vietti was also the Falcons’ backup quarterback on the 2005 team that went 12-0 and won the Northern Section’s Division II title.
“He was very honest and open, and just a great kid,” said Central Valley Football Coach Matt Hunsaker. “He was a throwing type of quarterback and we were a running team, but he said, ‘Coach, just put me where ever you want me to play.’ He was a big, tall lanky guy and fearless. He wasn’t afraid to do whatever we asked him to do.”
Army Spc. Tyler R. Walshe was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Welch
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Welch, 19, of Yorba Linda, Calif.
Spc. Welch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu and Spc. Tyler R. Walshe.
OC Register -- Flags at the Capitol building in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff tomorrow in honor of Army Spc. Jonathan Welch from Yorba Linda.
Welch died on Monday after a roadside bomb struck his unit in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan. He was 19-years-old.
“Maria and I are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Specialist Jonathan Welch. He fought courageously, putting himself in harm’s way as he served our country," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "We join all Californians in remembering his commitment and sacrifice.”
Welch joined the Army in March, 2007 and was stationed out of Fort Lewis, Wash. He was on his first deployment, and had been in Afghanistan since July.
The Associated Press is reporting that at least 49 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan last month, making August the deadliest months for troops since the American-led invasion in 2001.
Pfc. Jordan Brochu, a 20-year-old from Cumberland Maine, died with Welch in the attack.
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Welch was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Welch, 19, of Yorba Linda, Calif.
Spc. Welch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu and Spc. Tyler R. Walshe.
OC Register -- Flags at the Capitol building in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff tomorrow in honor of Army Spc. Jonathan Welch from Yorba Linda.
Welch died on Monday after a roadside bomb struck his unit in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan. He was 19-years-old.
“Maria and I are deeply saddened to learn of the death of Specialist Jonathan Welch. He fought courageously, putting himself in harm’s way as he served our country," Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "We join all Californians in remembering his commitment and sacrifice.”
Welch joined the Army in March, 2007 and was stationed out of Fort Lewis, Wash. He was on his first deployment, and had been in Afghanistan since July.
The Associated Press is reporting that at least 49 U.S. troops died in Afghanistan last month, making August the deadliest months for troops since the American-led invasion in 2001.
Pfc. Jordan Brochu, a 20-year-old from Cumberland Maine, died with Welch in the attack.
Army Spc. Jonathan D. Welch was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Army Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu, 20, of Cumberland, Maine
Pfc Brochu was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Spc. Jonathan D. Welch and Spc. Tyler R. Walshe.
Flags lowered in memory of Brochu
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Maine — Flags in Maine are flying at half-staff Sept. 10 in honor of a soldier from the state who was killed in combat in Afghanistan. Pfc. Jordan Brochu is also being honored with a memorial service in celebration of his life.
Brochu died Aug. 31 from wounds suffered in an improvised explosive device attack. Brochu moved to Maine while he was in high school, and his parents live in Oakland, outside of Waterville.
A memorial service will be held at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Waterville. A service with military honors for family and close friends will follow at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.
Gov. John Baldacci has ordered U.S. and Maine flags flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset.
Brochu was serving with an infantry battalion out of Fort Lewis, Wash.
Pfc. excelled putting shot, in the kitchen
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Maine — A soldier from Maine who was killed in Afghanistan was remembered as an outgoing high school student who excelled as an athlete and who loved to cook.
Pfc. Jordan Brochu was killed Aug. 31 in Afghanistan, according to Gov. John Baldacci’s office.
Brochu’s family moved to Maine for his senior year in high school. His coaches at Lake Region High School, where he graduated in 2008, told the Morning Sentinel of Waterville that Brochu played football and qualified for the state track meet as a discus thrower. He also was involved in culinary arts with a fondness for baking cookies.
In one season, Brochu went from not knowing how to throw a discus to having the best form of anyone that Lake Region track coach Chip Morton had coached.
“He was very dedicated and determined to succeed,” Morton said. “It’s hard to look at so short of a life as a success, but he lived life with a passion and he was loved by those who knew him.”
Brochu had been through some tough times in his life, but he was involved in school and fit in well, principal Roger Lowell said.
“To have a kid who goes through that and gets back into school and back on track and has a good senior year isn’t all that common,” Lowell said.
Brochu, 20, was serving with Company C, 1-17th Infantry Battalion of Fort Lewis, Wash. Additional details about his death were not available.
His parents live in Oakland, but they weren’t at their rural farmhouse Tuesday afternoon.
Army Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Army Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu, 20, of Cumberland, Maine
Pfc Brochu was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Spc. Jonathan D. Welch and Spc. Tyler R. Walshe.
Flags lowered in memory of Brochu
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Maine — Flags in Maine are flying at half-staff Sept. 10 in honor of a soldier from the state who was killed in combat in Afghanistan. Pfc. Jordan Brochu is also being honored with a memorial service in celebration of his life.
Brochu died Aug. 31 from wounds suffered in an improvised explosive device attack. Brochu moved to Maine while he was in high school, and his parents live in Oakland, outside of Waterville.
A memorial service will be held at Faith Evangelical Free Church in Waterville. A service with military honors for family and close friends will follow at the Maine Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery in Augusta.
Gov. John Baldacci has ordered U.S. and Maine flags flown at half staff from sunrise to sunset.
Brochu was serving with an infantry battalion out of Fort Lewis, Wash.
Pfc. excelled putting shot, in the kitchen
The Associated Press
OAKLAND, Maine — A soldier from Maine who was killed in Afghanistan was remembered as an outgoing high school student who excelled as an athlete and who loved to cook.
Pfc. Jordan Brochu was killed Aug. 31 in Afghanistan, according to Gov. John Baldacci’s office.
Brochu’s family moved to Maine for his senior year in high school. His coaches at Lake Region High School, where he graduated in 2008, told the Morning Sentinel of Waterville that Brochu played football and qualified for the state track meet as a discus thrower. He also was involved in culinary arts with a fondness for baking cookies.
In one season, Brochu went from not knowing how to throw a discus to having the best form of anyone that Lake Region track coach Chip Morton had coached.
“He was very dedicated and determined to succeed,” Morton said. “It’s hard to look at so short of a life as a success, but he lived life with a passion and he was loved by those who knew him.”
Brochu had been through some tough times in his life, but he was involved in school and fit in well, principal Roger Lowell said.
“To have a kid who goes through that and gets back into school and back on track and has a good senior year isn’t all that common,” Lowell said.
Brochu, 20, was serving with Company C, 1-17th Infantry Battalion of Fort Lewis, Wash. Additional details about his death were not available.
His parents live in Oakland, but they weren’t at their rural farmhouse Tuesday afternoon.
Army Pfc. Jordan M. Brochu was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, of Elyria, Ohio
LCpl Hall was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations.
The Plain Dealer -- LORAIN -- Three somber Marines stood in Lulu Hall's living room Monday. She knew what they had to tell her. But they kept silent.
They said they must wait until her husband, Delmar, arrived.
The 58-year-old mother asked them to sit. Politely, they declined.
The next 45 minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, her husband arrived from his job at the Avon Lake Ford plant, and the Marines told her what she had known since she saw them approach her front porch.
Her son, 31-year-old U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, was killed Monday while serving in Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.
"One of his duties was to go ahead of his unit and use a detector to check for bombs," said his sister Lora Hall, 37, of Lorain.
Hall had been on a foot patrol in Helmand province, where U.S. forces have been battling the Taliban, when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
Hall and his three older sisters grew up in Lorain. He played football for Southview High School in Lorain where he graduated in 1996, his family said.
Former Southview football coach Brian Joyner, who coached Hall during his senior year -- the only season Hall played -- remembered him as a "mentally tough" kid who had a good heart. He said Hall threw a 60-yard pass during a tryout.
"He was a kid who never threw a football, and he became our quarterback," Joyner said. "I still don't know what to say. I'm shocked."
For six years, Hall worked on the line at the Lorain Ford plant.
"He hated every day of it," Lulu Hall said.
He loved children as much as his two older sisters who are teachers in the Lorain school district. He wanted to get married and start a family.
But first, he wanted to return to school to become a registered nurse. A friend convinced him to join the Marines, his mother said.
"I tried everything to talk him out of enlisting. But he said it's something he had to do," his sister Lora said.
She recalled one of the last times her brother called from Afghanistan.
"I said, 'I just want you to know you're our hero.' He said, 'Yeah, but heroes die.' "
Lora Hall understood what he said.
"They don't want to be heroes. They want to make a difference, serve their country and come home alive," she said. "More than anything else in the world he wanted to come back alive and get married and have a family."
He did a tour last year in Iraq. The 6-foot-4 man dropped from 232 to 188 pounds.
He last returned home in April. Delmar and Lora Hall went to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to see him off. His mother did not.
"I couldn't do it again. It was so hard to see him go to Iraq," his mother said.
The Marine tried to comfort her: "I'll be home at Christmas, mom," she recalled him saying. "You gotta buy me a Christmas present."
He was scheduled to return Dec. 17. His final year in the military was to have been spent out of combat.
At Camp Lejeune, he posed for pictures with his father, his sister and members of his unit.
"He said one of the hardest things to do was to every time he leaves make peace with the world because he may never set foot on American soil again," his sister said.
Asked whether she thought he had made peace before leaving, she did not hesitate.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I'm sure he did."
Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, 31, of Elyria, Ohio
LCpl Hall was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Aug. 31, 2009 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations.
The Plain Dealer -- LORAIN -- Three somber Marines stood in Lulu Hall's living room Monday. She knew what they had to tell her. But they kept silent.
They said they must wait until her husband, Delmar, arrived.
The 58-year-old mother asked them to sit. Politely, they declined.
The next 45 minutes felt like an eternity.
Finally, her husband arrived from his job at the Avon Lake Ford plant, and the Marines told her what she had known since she saw them approach her front porch.
Her son, 31-year-old U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall, was killed Monday while serving in Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force.
"One of his duties was to go ahead of his unit and use a detector to check for bombs," said his sister Lora Hall, 37, of Lorain.
Hall had been on a foot patrol in Helmand province, where U.S. forces have been battling the Taliban, when he was killed by an improvised explosive device.
Hall and his three older sisters grew up in Lorain. He played football for Southview High School in Lorain where he graduated in 1996, his family said.
Former Southview football coach Brian Joyner, who coached Hall during his senior year -- the only season Hall played -- remembered him as a "mentally tough" kid who had a good heart. He said Hall threw a 60-yard pass during a tryout.
"He was a kid who never threw a football, and he became our quarterback," Joyner said. "I still don't know what to say. I'm shocked."
For six years, Hall worked on the line at the Lorain Ford plant.
"He hated every day of it," Lulu Hall said.
He loved children as much as his two older sisters who are teachers in the Lorain school district. He wanted to get married and start a family.
But first, he wanted to return to school to become a registered nurse. A friend convinced him to join the Marines, his mother said.
"I tried everything to talk him out of enlisting. But he said it's something he had to do," his sister Lora said.
She recalled one of the last times her brother called from Afghanistan.
"I said, 'I just want you to know you're our hero.' He said, 'Yeah, but heroes die.' "
Lora Hall understood what he said.
"They don't want to be heroes. They want to make a difference, serve their country and come home alive," she said. "More than anything else in the world he wanted to come back alive and get married and have a family."
He did a tour last year in Iraq. The 6-foot-4 man dropped from 232 to 188 pounds.
He last returned home in April. Delmar and Lora Hall went to Camp Lejeune, N.C., to see him off. His mother did not.
"I couldn't do it again. It was so hard to see him go to Iraq," his mother said.
The Marine tried to comfort her: "I'll be home at Christmas, mom," she recalled him saying. "You gotta buy me a Christmas present."
He was scheduled to return Dec. 17. His final year in the military was to have been spent out of combat.
At Camp Lejeune, he posed for pictures with his father, his sister and members of his unit.
"He said one of the hardest things to do was to every time he leaves make peace with the world because he may never set foot on American soil again," his sister said.
Asked whether she thought he had made peace before leaving, she did not hesitate.
"Yes," she said. "Yes, I'm sure he did."
Marine Lance Cpl. David R. Hall was killed in action on 8/31/09.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario, 19, of Monroe, Mich.
Pfc Hario was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; died Aug. 29, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces Aug. 28, 2009 while conducting combat operations.
Monroe Evening News -- Despite the dangers that awaited him, Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario of Monroe knew he wanted to be a Ranger because he was committed to excellence.
And when he achieved his goal, his confidence is his abilities only got stronger.
"He was on top of the world," his mother, Becky, said this morning. "He was always so sure of himself."
On Friday, Pfc. Hario, 19, a 2008 Monroe High School graduate, was shot in the neck during a mission in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. A medic attended to him immediately, but he died in the helicopter during emergency evacuation to a hospital.
"He always strived to be the best," Mrs. Hario said. "He wanted to be a Ranger because they're the best. Rangers all the way. He was on top of the world. He was always so sure of himself."
The news came Saturday when two members of the military approached the family home where an American flag hangs near the front door. At first Mrs. Hario wasn't sure who the two dark figures were standing outside.
As soon as she saw the dress uniforms, she knew.
"They don't come to give you good news," she said. "It's not even real to us."
A Monroe High School football player and wrestler, Pfc. Hario always was going to be a soldier, his parents said. Ever since he was a youngster, it was evident that their youngest of three boys was going to dedicate himself to his country.
As he got older, he enjoyed playing video games with military themes. He had a large American flag hanging in his bedroom, his parents said.
He enlisted when he was 17 and began basic training on July 5, 2008, at Fort Benning, Ga. He then finished his training as a Ranger. He was an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
Though they knew their son would be placed in dangerous situations, his parents always supported his decisions.
"I told my sons to follow their dreams," his father, James, said. "He was very committed."
"I felt really proud and scared at the same time," Mrs. Hario added.
Their oldest son, Spc. Robert Hario, 25, also is in the Army and is stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo. He and his family are expected home tonight. Their middle son, Mark, 22, is a student at Monroe County Community College.
Arrangements still are pending, but the Harios believe the funeral will not be held until next week. His flag-draped casket arrived today in the United States.
The Army released a statement stating that Pfc. Hario was mortally wounded during a combat operation on his first deployment "in support of the Global War on Terror." The battle lasted more than 20 hours.
Pfc. Hario's decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Parachutist Badge.
"As a Ranger, Pfc. Eric William Hario distinguished himself as a member of the Army's premier light-infantry unit, traveled to all corners of the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism, and fought valiantly to uphold the prestige, honor, and high 'esprit de corps' of the Ranger Regiment," the statement said.
Pfc. Hario had been deployed to Afghanistan only about three weeks ago, something his parents knew would happen.
"If you're a Ranger, you're going to Afghanistan," Mr. Hario said. "It was just a matter of time."
His parents know little of the firefight that claimed their son's life. They only know that he was on a mission and was struck down almost immediately after stepping off a helicopter. A second soldier was killed and three others were wounded. However, Mrs. Hario said she heard that the insurgents were overtaken during the long fight.
"Apparently they got what they deserved," she said.
It was only a day or two before the deadly battle that Mrs. Hario spoke to her son, a young man she described as funny, committed and happy. It was during that conversation that she felt her son had a premonition. She said he always spoke openly to her and she had an instinct that he was concerned about this mission.
It was the last time she spoke to him.
"I think he knew," Mrs. Hario said. "He said, 'I love you all very much. You're always in my heart.' "
Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario was killed in action on 8/29/09.
Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario, 19, of Monroe, Mich.
Pfc Hario was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; died Aug. 29, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces Aug. 28, 2009 while conducting combat operations.
Monroe Evening News -- Despite the dangers that awaited him, Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario of Monroe knew he wanted to be a Ranger because he was committed to excellence.
And when he achieved his goal, his confidence is his abilities only got stronger.
"He was on top of the world," his mother, Becky, said this morning. "He was always so sure of himself."
On Friday, Pfc. Hario, 19, a 2008 Monroe High School graduate, was shot in the neck during a mission in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. A medic attended to him immediately, but he died in the helicopter during emergency evacuation to a hospital.
"He always strived to be the best," Mrs. Hario said. "He wanted to be a Ranger because they're the best. Rangers all the way. He was on top of the world. He was always so sure of himself."
The news came Saturday when two members of the military approached the family home where an American flag hangs near the front door. At first Mrs. Hario wasn't sure who the two dark figures were standing outside.
As soon as she saw the dress uniforms, she knew.
"They don't come to give you good news," she said. "It's not even real to us."
A Monroe High School football player and wrestler, Pfc. Hario always was going to be a soldier, his parents said. Ever since he was a youngster, it was evident that their youngest of three boys was going to dedicate himself to his country.
As he got older, he enjoyed playing video games with military themes. He had a large American flag hanging in his bedroom, his parents said.
He enlisted when he was 17 and began basic training on July 5, 2008, at Fort Benning, Ga. He then finished his training as a Ranger. He was an infantryman assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
Though they knew their son would be placed in dangerous situations, his parents always supported his decisions.
"I told my sons to follow their dreams," his father, James, said. "He was very committed."
"I felt really proud and scared at the same time," Mrs. Hario added.
Their oldest son, Spc. Robert Hario, 25, also is in the Army and is stationed at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colo. He and his family are expected home tonight. Their middle son, Mark, 22, is a student at Monroe County Community College.
Arrangements still are pending, but the Harios believe the funeral will not be held until next week. His flag-draped casket arrived today in the United States.
The Army released a statement stating that Pfc. Hario was mortally wounded during a combat operation on his first deployment "in support of the Global War on Terror." The battle lasted more than 20 hours.
Pfc. Hario's decorations include the National Defense Service Medal and the Parachutist Badge.
"As a Ranger, Pfc. Eric William Hario distinguished himself as a member of the Army's premier light-infantry unit, traveled to all corners of the world in support of the Global War on Terrorism, and fought valiantly to uphold the prestige, honor, and high 'esprit de corps' of the Ranger Regiment," the statement said.
Pfc. Hario had been deployed to Afghanistan only about three weeks ago, something his parents knew would happen.
"If you're a Ranger, you're going to Afghanistan," Mr. Hario said. "It was just a matter of time."
His parents know little of the firefight that claimed their son's life. They only know that he was on a mission and was struck down almost immediately after stepping off a helicopter. A second soldier was killed and three others were wounded. However, Mrs. Hario said she heard that the insurgents were overtaken during the long fight.
"Apparently they got what they deserved," she said.
It was only a day or two before the deadly battle that Mrs. Hario spoke to her son, a young man she described as funny, committed and happy. It was during that conversation that she felt her son had a premonition. She said he always spoke openly to her and she had an instinct that he was concerned about this mission.
It was the last time she spoke to him.
"I think he knew," Mrs. Hario said. "He said, 'I love you all very much. You're always in my heart.' "
Army Pfc. Eric W. Hario was killed in action on 8/29/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke, 29, of Orlando, Fla.
SSgt Dahlke was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; died Aug. 29, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces Aug. 28, 2009 while conducting combat operations.
Orlando Sentinel -- You would never know by looking at Staff Sgt. Jason Dahlke that he was a U.S. Army Ranger, his father Roger Dahlke said.
The University of Central Florida graduate rarely talked about work. He was happy-go-lucky. Easy to talk to. Pleasant to be around. Still, Jason's passion was clear.
"'Dad,' he said. 'I love my job'," Roger Dahlke recalled his son saying during a recent visit with his parents at their Jacksonville home.
On Saturday, Jason, 29, died during a firefight in a rugged, mountainous area of Paktika province, Afghanistan, according to Army officials. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which is based at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
It was Jason's third deployment to Afghanistan, and sixth overall.
"It was what he wanted to do," Roger said of Jason's career as an Army Ranger. "We all knew the dangers and the risks."
A second soldier in the same regiment, Pfc. Eric W. Hario, 19, of Monroe, Mich., died that day during the same firefight.
Jason was born Nov. 8, 1979 in Tampa and raised in Jacksonville with his brother and three sisters. Even as a child, he was easy to get along with. He struck up conversations with his parents' friends, and hung out with peers who were outgoing like him.
"Everybody liked him. People were just drawn to him," Roger said.
Jason met his future wife, then named Niki Norvell, in grade school, his mother-in-law Stephanie Norvell said.
In high school, they re-connected. Jason was fun and adventurous. Niki loved him because he made her laugh, her sister Amy Jensen said.
They went to prom together. And when Niki moved to Orlando for college, Jason followed. He couldn't do without her.
"It was one of those high school romances," Norvell said.
Jason thought about going into law-enforcement and majored in criminal justice at UCF. Around his third year of college, the young man began to talk to his father about joining the military, Roger said.
Jason graduated from UCF in early 2004, Jensen said. That May he enlisted.
In June 2005 Jason became a Ranger. Three months later, Jason and Niki got married.
"In her words, 'he was the best,'" Jensen recalled Niki saying.
Jason said little to his parents about his job. Doing so could end his career as a Ranger.
Jason won a Purple Heart and two Army Commendation Medals, according to Army officials, but never mentioned them to his parents.
"We didn't know anything until we searched on the Internet. There was his picture, getting a Purple Heart," Roger said.
They didn't know where he was serving, either.
On Saturday, Army officials knocked on Roger's door, bearing the news of Jason's death. They didn't need to speak.
"I opened the door and I saw them standing there. I knew," Roger said. "It's just a sad thing."
Army Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke was killed in action on 8/29/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke, 29, of Orlando, Fla.
SSgt Dahlke was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; died Aug. 29, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was shot by enemy forces Aug. 28, 2009 while conducting combat operations.
Orlando Sentinel -- You would never know by looking at Staff Sgt. Jason Dahlke that he was a U.S. Army Ranger, his father Roger Dahlke said.
The University of Central Florida graduate rarely talked about work. He was happy-go-lucky. Easy to talk to. Pleasant to be around. Still, Jason's passion was clear.
"'Dad,' he said. 'I love my job'," Roger Dahlke recalled his son saying during a recent visit with his parents at their Jacksonville home.
On Saturday, Jason, 29, died during a firefight in a rugged, mountainous area of Paktika province, Afghanistan, according to Army officials. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which is based at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.
It was Jason's third deployment to Afghanistan, and sixth overall.
"It was what he wanted to do," Roger said of Jason's career as an Army Ranger. "We all knew the dangers and the risks."
A second soldier in the same regiment, Pfc. Eric W. Hario, 19, of Monroe, Mich., died that day during the same firefight.
Jason was born Nov. 8, 1979 in Tampa and raised in Jacksonville with his brother and three sisters. Even as a child, he was easy to get along with. He struck up conversations with his parents' friends, and hung out with peers who were outgoing like him.
"Everybody liked him. People were just drawn to him," Roger said.
Jason met his future wife, then named Niki Norvell, in grade school, his mother-in-law Stephanie Norvell said.
In high school, they re-connected. Jason was fun and adventurous. Niki loved him because he made her laugh, her sister Amy Jensen said.
They went to prom together. And when Niki moved to Orlando for college, Jason followed. He couldn't do without her.
"It was one of those high school romances," Norvell said.
Jason thought about going into law-enforcement and majored in criminal justice at UCF. Around his third year of college, the young man began to talk to his father about joining the military, Roger said.
Jason graduated from UCF in early 2004, Jensen said. That May he enlisted.
In June 2005 Jason became a Ranger. Three months later, Jason and Niki got married.
"In her words, 'he was the best,'" Jensen recalled Niki saying.
Jason said little to his parents about his job. Doing so could end his career as a Ranger.
Jason won a Purple Heart and two Army Commendation Medals, according to Army officials, but never mentioned them to his parents.
"We didn't know anything until we searched on the Internet. There was his picture, getting a Purple Heart," Roger said.
They didn't know where he was serving, either.
On Saturday, Army officials knocked on Roger's door, bearing the news of Jason's death. They didn't need to speak.
"I opened the door and I saw them standing there. I knew," Roger said. "It's just a sad thing."
Army Staff Sgt. Jason S. Dahlke was killed in action on 8/29/09.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III, 22, of Columbia, S.C.
Spc. Wheeler was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
WLTX -- Columbia (WLTX) - A Midlands family is mourning the loss of a hero tonight. Twenty-two-year-old Abraham Wheeler died in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan.
"He's a good boy. He was a good boy and I know that God knows what he's doing," says Wheeler's aunt, Catherine Thomas.
For Thomas and other family members, that idea has come to the ultimate test. Her nephew Abraham, known to them as Rod, was killed just two days ago. "I was sitting there and my brother called me and he told me he had bad news. When he told me, I was trying to hold myself together, but I couldn't, so I just fell apart," she says, "What was in my head was his being so young. His life is gone and he's just getting started."
The army was how Rod had planned to start his adulthood. "He had it together, what he he wanted to do. He wanted to go to school, but he said he was going in the service and then when he came out, he would be able to go, knowing that he father couldn't send him," says Thomas.
His father, along with his mother and younger brother Travis, are leaning on extended family like Thomas. "We're a loving family. We love each other very much," she says.
Of course, their memories help too, especially those from just a few weeks ago when he was home on leave. Thomas says of her nephew, "Everybody loves him. He laughs all the time, the biggest pretty smile."
"We was expecting him back in October and so we were all looking forward to that and we was praying that he would be able to make it back," says Thomas.
It's that activity that's been continuous through it all. "We can question Him, but He's in control, so we're just praying that we can hold it together," she says.
Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III, 22, of Columbia, S.C.
Spc. Wheeler was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
WLTX -- Columbia (WLTX) - A Midlands family is mourning the loss of a hero tonight. Twenty-two-year-old Abraham Wheeler died in the line of duty while serving in Afghanistan.
"He's a good boy. He was a good boy and I know that God knows what he's doing," says Wheeler's aunt, Catherine Thomas.
For Thomas and other family members, that idea has come to the ultimate test. Her nephew Abraham, known to them as Rod, was killed just two days ago. "I was sitting there and my brother called me and he told me he had bad news. When he told me, I was trying to hold myself together, but I couldn't, so I just fell apart," she says, "What was in my head was his being so young. His life is gone and he's just getting started."
The army was how Rod had planned to start his adulthood. "He had it together, what he he wanted to do. He wanted to go to school, but he said he was going in the service and then when he came out, he would be able to go, knowing that he father couldn't send him," says Thomas.
His father, along with his mother and younger brother Travis, are leaning on extended family like Thomas. "We're a loving family. We love each other very much," she says.
Of course, their memories help too, especially those from just a few weeks ago when he was home on leave. Thomas says of her nephew, "Everybody loves him. He laughs all the time, the biggest pretty smile."
"We was expecting him back in October and so we were all looking forward to that and we was praying that he would be able to make it back," says Thomas.
It's that activity that's been continuous through it all. "We can question Him, but He's in control, so we're just praying that we can hold it together," she says.
Army Spc. Abraham S. Wheeler III was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, of Mondovi, Wis.
Sgt. Werner was assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, Portland, Ore.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Rashid, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. Also killed was Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks.
2 Oregon guardsmen killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon National Guard has identified two soldiers killed when a convoy they were guarding was attacked in Iraq.
Pfc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died Aug. 28 when the convoy was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.
Werner was on his third deployment with the Oregon National Guard. He had been awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife Casey and son Charles of Amboy, Wash.
Marks, of Monmouth, was a graduate of Central High School. He is survived by his parents and stepfather, and his sister and brother.
Both were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, of Mondovi, Wis.
Sgt. Werner was assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, Portland, Ore.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Rashid, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. Also killed was Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks.
2 Oregon guardsmen killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon National Guard has identified two soldiers killed when a convoy they were guarding was attacked in Iraq.
Pfc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died Aug. 28 when the convoy was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.
Werner was on his third deployment with the Oregon National Guard. He had been awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife Casey and son Charles of Amboy, Wash.
Marks, of Monmouth, was a graduate of Central High School. He is survived by his parents and stepfather, and his sister and brother.
Both were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, of Monmouth, Ore.
Spc. Marks was assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, Portland, Ore.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Rashid, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. Also killed was Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner.
2 Oregon guardsmen killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon National Guard has identified two soldiers killed when a convoy they were guarding was attacked in Iraq.
Pfc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died Aug. 28 when the convoy was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.
Werner was on his third deployment with the Oregon National Guard. He had been awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife Casey and son Charles of Amboy, Wash.
Marks, of Monmouth, was a graduate of Central High School. He is survived by his parents and stepfather, and his sister and brother.
Both were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Marks wanted to study Japanese, finance
The Associated Press
MONMOUTH, Ore. — Relatives of an Oregon teenager killed in Iraq remember Taylor Marks as a young man who didn’t want to go into debt, so he went into the National Guard.
His stepfather says the 19-year-old from Monmouth planned to go to the University of Oregon to study finance and Japanese.
He decided to join the Guard to raise college money.
Marks was guarding a convoy Aug. 28 when an armor-piercing projectile struck. He and 38-year-old Sgt. Earl Werner of Amboy, Wash., died. They are the first fatalities in the deployment of about 2,400 Oregon-based soldiers this summer.
“He didn’t want to incur any debt, and he didn’t want us to incur any debt,” said Marks’ stepfather, Don Mack of Monmouth. “He came home and told us that he was going to join the Guard to help pay for his school.”
Marks was born in Salem and raised in Monmouth. On the night of his high school graduation, in late May 2008, Marks told the Statesman Journal that he planned to continue working at his job at a Chevron station, then enter the National Guard in August.
“I’m a little bit nervous, but I’ve got some big plans to look forward to,” Marks said then.
He ended up going to National Guard training with a friend.
The Oregon Military Department said he was contracted to go to the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio in California, but made the decision to defer his schooling to deploy with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
The military department says he has been promoted posthumously from private first class to specialist.
Werner, 38, was on his third deployment with the Oregon Guard. He had won the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
A third soldier, 24-year-old Specialist Reid Walch of Redmond, was seriously wounded by shrapnel. He was evacuated to a combat support hospital for treatment, Capt. Stephen Bomar said.
Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, of Monmouth, Ore.
Spc. Marks was assigned to the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Oregon Army National Guard, Portland, Ore.; died Aug. 28, 2009 in Rashid, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an explosively formed penetrator. Also killed was Army Sgt. Earl D. Werner.
2 Oregon guardsmen killed in Iraq
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Oregon National Guard has identified two soldiers killed when a convoy they were guarding was attacked in Iraq.
Pfc. Taylor D. Marks, 19, and a decorated veteran, Sgt. Earl D. Werner, 38, died Aug. 28 when the convoy was struck by an explosively formed penetrator, or EFP, an armor-piercing explosive that turns into a projectile when detonated.
Werner was on his third deployment with the Oregon National Guard. He had been awarded the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
He is survived by his wife Casey and son Charles of Amboy, Wash.
Marks, of Monmouth, was a graduate of Central High School. He is survived by his parents and stepfather, and his sister and brother.
Both were serving with the 41st Special Troops Battalion, 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
Marks wanted to study Japanese, finance
The Associated Press
MONMOUTH, Ore. — Relatives of an Oregon teenager killed in Iraq remember Taylor Marks as a young man who didn’t want to go into debt, so he went into the National Guard.
His stepfather says the 19-year-old from Monmouth planned to go to the University of Oregon to study finance and Japanese.
He decided to join the Guard to raise college money.
Marks was guarding a convoy Aug. 28 when an armor-piercing projectile struck. He and 38-year-old Sgt. Earl Werner of Amboy, Wash., died. They are the first fatalities in the deployment of about 2,400 Oregon-based soldiers this summer.
“He didn’t want to incur any debt, and he didn’t want us to incur any debt,” said Marks’ stepfather, Don Mack of Monmouth. “He came home and told us that he was going to join the Guard to help pay for his school.”
Marks was born in Salem and raised in Monmouth. On the night of his high school graduation, in late May 2008, Marks told the Statesman Journal that he planned to continue working at his job at a Chevron station, then enter the National Guard in August.
“I’m a little bit nervous, but I’ve got some big plans to look forward to,” Marks said then.
He ended up going to National Guard training with a friend.
The Oregon Military Department said he was contracted to go to the Defense Language Institute at the Presidio in California, but made the decision to defer his schooling to deploy with the 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
The military department says he has been promoted posthumously from private first class to specialist.
Werner, 38, was on his third deployment with the Oregon Guard. He had won the Bronze Star, two Army Commendation Medals and the Combat Action Badge.
A third soldier, 24-year-old Specialist Reid Walch of Redmond, was seriously wounded by shrapnel. He was evacuated to a combat support hospital for treatment, Capt. Stephen Bomar said.
Army Spc. Taylor D. Marks was killed in action on 8/28/09.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Army Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes, 18, of Hammond, La.
Pfc. Wildes was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Aug. 27, 2009 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Colorado Springs Gazette -- A Fort Carson soldier died when insurgents bombed a convoy in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced today.
Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes, 18, of Hammond, La., was killed Thursday by the roadside bomb that struck a convoy from the 4th Brigade Combat Team. The brigade, part of Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Division, went to Afghanistan in May to patrol a four-province area along the Pakistan border.
“He was a sweet kid,” his mother Mary Wildes said. “He didn’t like me saying that, but he was a kid. I treated him like a baby. But he was my baby.”
Mary Wildes last spoke with her son the day before his death. They chatted on Myspace instant messenger, and Wildes told him she loved him but she didn’t want to waste his allotted 30 minutes on the computer.
Matthew Wildes joined the Army in April 2008. It was a decision his parents tried to sway him from, but he was determined. He took his GED in order to enter the Army as soon as possible, his mother said.
Halfway through basic training, Matthew Wildes was sent home with stress fractures in his legs. He spent his month of recovery anxious to get back and disappointed he wouldn’t be graduating with the soldiers he started with.
He carried that loyalty to the battlefield, Mary Wildes said.
Fort Carson has lost 264 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 10 killed since June in a rash of Afghan attacks.
Wildes arrived at Fort Carson in October after basic training where he learned to be an infantryman, the Army said.
Army Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes was killed in action on 8/27/09.
Army Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes, 18, of Hammond, La.
Pfc. Wildes was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Aug. 27, 2009 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Colorado Springs Gazette -- A Fort Carson soldier died when insurgents bombed a convoy in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced today.
Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes, 18, of Hammond, La., was killed Thursday by the roadside bomb that struck a convoy from the 4th Brigade Combat Team. The brigade, part of Fort Carson’s 4th Infantry Division, went to Afghanistan in May to patrol a four-province area along the Pakistan border.
“He was a sweet kid,” his mother Mary Wildes said. “He didn’t like me saying that, but he was a kid. I treated him like a baby. But he was my baby.”
Mary Wildes last spoke with her son the day before his death. They chatted on Myspace instant messenger, and Wildes told him she loved him but she didn’t want to waste his allotted 30 minutes on the computer.
Matthew Wildes joined the Army in April 2008. It was a decision his parents tried to sway him from, but he was determined. He took his GED in order to enter the Army as soon as possible, his mother said.
Halfway through basic training, Matthew Wildes was sent home with stress fractures in his legs. He spent his month of recovery anxious to get back and disappointed he wouldn’t be graduating with the soldiers he started with.
He carried that loyalty to the battlefield, Mary Wildes said.
Fort Carson has lost 264 soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, including 10 killed since June in a rash of Afghan attacks.
Wildes arrived at Fort Carson in October after basic training where he learned to be an infantryman, the Army said.
Army Pfc. Matthew E. Wildes was killed in action on 8/27/09.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss, 27, of Murray, Utah
SSgt Curtiss was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 26, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack.
‘He felt we were in danger’
The Associated Press
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — A candlelight vigil has been scheduled for Aug. 31 for a Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss, 27, of Murray was fatally shot Aug. 25 in a firefight as his unit tried to clear a group of insurgents out of a hospital in Paktika province, Army spokesman Nathan Banks said.
Curtiss is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a 9-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter.
Curtiss had two prior tours of duty in Iraq and told his mother that the situation he found in his most recent deployment in Afghanistan was “brutal.”
“He didn’t say much more than that,” his mother, Ruth Serrano of South Ogden, told the Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t know if he wasn’t allowed to, or if he just didn’t want to worry people. I don’t know.”
Forty-seven U.S. service members died in August in Afghanistan, the most since the start of the eight-year war.
Curtiss, who enlisted in the Army the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
“He felt we were in danger and he wanted to do something to help,” said his sister, Lynn Burr of Arizona.
Vigil for Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — Friends and family of a Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan held a vigil to remember him on the lawn of his mother’s home.
Kurt Curtiss, 27, died Aug. 26 in Paktika Province in Afghanistan. He was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack.
Ruth Serrano on Sept. 1 recalled seeing her son at Christmas. She said he was handsome and well-mannered but that something was wrong and he wouldn’t talk about it.
Curtiss, of Murray, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. He left behind had a wife and two young children.
Curtiss went to Afghanistan in December. He had already served two tours in Iraq.
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss was killed in action on 8/26/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss, 27, of Murray, Utah
SSgt Curtiss was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 26, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack.
‘He felt we were in danger’
The Associated Press
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — A candlelight vigil has been scheduled for Aug. 31 for a Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan.
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt Curtiss, 27, of Murray was fatally shot Aug. 25 in a firefight as his unit tried to clear a group of insurgents out of a hospital in Paktika province, Army spokesman Nathan Banks said.
Curtiss is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, a 9-year-old son and a 6-year-old daughter.
Curtiss had two prior tours of duty in Iraq and told his mother that the situation he found in his most recent deployment in Afghanistan was “brutal.”
“He didn’t say much more than that,” his mother, Ruth Serrano of South Ogden, told the Salt Lake Tribune. “I don’t know if he wasn’t allowed to, or if he just didn’t want to worry people. I don’t know.”
Forty-seven U.S. service members died in August in Afghanistan, the most since the start of the eight-year war.
Curtiss, who enlisted in the Army the day after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.
“He felt we were in danger and he wanted to do something to help,” said his sister, Lynn Burr of Arizona.
Vigil for Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
SOUTH OGDEN, Utah — Friends and family of a Utah soldier killed in Afghanistan held a vigil to remember him on the lawn of his mother’s home.
Kurt Curtiss, 27, died Aug. 26 in Paktika Province in Afghanistan. He was shot while his unit was supporting Afghan security forces during an enemy attack.
Ruth Serrano on Sept. 1 recalled seeing her son at Christmas. She said he was handsome and well-mannered but that something was wrong and he wouldn’t talk about it.
Curtiss, of Murray, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska. He left behind had a wife and two young children.
Curtiss went to Afghanistan in December. He had already served two tours in Iraq.
Army Staff Sgt. Kurt R. Curtiss was killed in action on 8/26/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, 20, of San Clemente, Calif.;
LCpl Hogan was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Aug. 26, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
OC Register -- The remains of a San Clemente Marine killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today and are expected in Southern California in the middle of next week.
Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, 20, was on a foot patrol Wednesday morning at the time of the blast that also injured several other Marines, said a spokesman for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.
Family members were planning to be on hand for the transfer at Dover today.
Associated Press photographs showed the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Civilian Human Resources Patricia Adams, along with other military officials, looking on as Donald's remains arrived at the base. Pictures also showed a team carrying the transfer case off of a transport airplane.
Donald joined the Marines soon after graduating in 2007 from Tesoro High School, where he ran cross country.
"He was like most kids, in that he just enjoyed his life without a lot of concern about the future," said Donald's father Jim Hogan in an e-mail. "He had planned on making a career out of the Marines. He had told me that his goal was to attain or surpass my father's rank of Gunnery Sergeant."
A career Marine, Donald's grandfather James Hogan Sr. retired as a gunnery sergeant and was a veteran of three wars – World War II, Korean and Vietnam.
Donald, who wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, talked with high school coaches and friends on the cross country team about joining the Marines.
"It's all he talked about the last couple of months in school," recalled Rachel Nama, 19, who ran junior varsity cross country at Tesoro with Donald and remembered him as always very encouraging.
"During our runs we'd do a lot of hill runs and he would always be the last one, right behind me and always pushing me," she said, with a laugh. "I really appreciate him for that. He was always one to push you and not one to leave you behind."
In an account posted online at marineparents.com, a Marine mom who said that her son was in the same foot patrol as Donald, said his actions on the day of his death were heroic.
The mother wrote: "Dear Hogan Family, my son was one of the Marines with your dear son that fateful day. My son was walking directly behind LCpl Hogan and watched him save the life of a fellow Marine that was directly in front of him and in the path of the IED (improvised explosive device). Your son was a hero to many Marines that day, including my own and there are no words to describe the emotions I am going through and I cannot begin to fathom the unmeasureable grief that you are struggling to deal with now.
Lance Corporal Donald J. Hogan was and will forever be a fallen hero and his memory will be held closely to the hearts of my son, us and all his Marines.
Semper Fidelis LCpl Hogan."
A 1st Marine Division spokesman at Camp Pendleton could not immediately provide details of the incident that took Donald's life.
This was Donald's first tour of duty and he deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in the past few months, division spokesman Cpl. Shawn Coolman said.
He was on foot patrol in the Nawa District of Helmand province when an improvised explosive device blew up nearby, Coolman said. Donald He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan was killed in action on 8/26/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, 20, of San Clemente, Calif.;
LCpl Hogan was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Aug. 26, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
OC Register -- The remains of a San Clemente Marine killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware today and are expected in Southern California in the middle of next week.
Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan, 20, was on a foot patrol Wednesday morning at the time of the blast that also injured several other Marines, said a spokesman for the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.
Family members were planning to be on hand for the transfer at Dover today.
Associated Press photographs showed the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Civilian Human Resources Patricia Adams, along with other military officials, looking on as Donald's remains arrived at the base. Pictures also showed a team carrying the transfer case off of a transport airplane.
Donald joined the Marines soon after graduating in 2007 from Tesoro High School, where he ran cross country.
"He was like most kids, in that he just enjoyed his life without a lot of concern about the future," said Donald's father Jim Hogan in an e-mail. "He had planned on making a career out of the Marines. He had told me that his goal was to attain or surpass my father's rank of Gunnery Sergeant."
A career Marine, Donald's grandfather James Hogan Sr. retired as a gunnery sergeant and was a veteran of three wars – World War II, Korean and Vietnam.
Donald, who wanted to follow in his grandfather's footsteps, talked with high school coaches and friends on the cross country team about joining the Marines.
"It's all he talked about the last couple of months in school," recalled Rachel Nama, 19, who ran junior varsity cross country at Tesoro with Donald and remembered him as always very encouraging.
"During our runs we'd do a lot of hill runs and he would always be the last one, right behind me and always pushing me," she said, with a laugh. "I really appreciate him for that. He was always one to push you and not one to leave you behind."
In an account posted online at marineparents.com, a Marine mom who said that her son was in the same foot patrol as Donald, said his actions on the day of his death were heroic.
The mother wrote: "Dear Hogan Family, my son was one of the Marines with your dear son that fateful day. My son was walking directly behind LCpl Hogan and watched him save the life of a fellow Marine that was directly in front of him and in the path of the IED (improvised explosive device). Your son was a hero to many Marines that day, including my own and there are no words to describe the emotions I am going through and I cannot begin to fathom the unmeasureable grief that you are struggling to deal with now.
Lance Corporal Donald J. Hogan was and will forever be a fallen hero and his memory will be held closely to the hearts of my son, us and all his Marines.
Semper Fidelis LCpl Hogan."
A 1st Marine Division spokesman at Camp Pendleton could not immediately provide details of the incident that took Donald's life.
This was Donald's first tour of duty and he deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in the past few months, division spokesman Cpl. Shawn Coolman said.
He was on foot patrol in the Nawa District of Helmand province when an improvised explosive device blew up nearby, Coolman said. Donald He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton.
Marine Lance Cpl. Donald J. Hogan was killed in action on 8/26/09.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins
Remember Our Heroes
Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona
Capt. Jenkins was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Leaves behind 9-week-old daughter
By Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic via Gannett News Service
Cory Jenkins didn’t have to join the Army and serve in Afghanistan.
Jenkins, 28, a graduate of Brigham Young University and A.T. Still University’s physician’s-assistant program, had offers for a much safer job in the private sector.
But his father, Stanley Jenkins, 60, of Mesa, said his son chose the Army to gain intense experience treating trauma injuries. It was a choice that cost Cory Jenkins his life on Tuesday.
Capt. Cory Jenkins, the father of a 9-week-old daughter, was killed along with three other men when their Stryker armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.
“He wanted to be in trauma. He said, ‘You can’t get any better experience than in the military,’ ” Stanley Jenkins recalled Thursday afternoon in front of his home.
Jenkins said he is glad that his son at least got to know his daughter, Reagan, for a month. His wife, Brooke, gave birth a month before Jenkins deployed.
“They postponed the deployment. Fortunately, he was here when she was born” at Fort Lewis, Wash., Stanley Jenkins said.
As a physician’s assistant, his son would have normally worked at a MASH unit. The family doesn’t understand why Cory Jenkins was in the field instead, but they plan to ask an Army casualty assistance officer for an explanation.
“That’s why we were feeling safe,” Stanley Jenkins said. “He should have been out of harm’s way.”
He said his son always was interested in joining the military and thought he was doing the right thing by helping injured soldiers in Afghanistan.
But his son’s choice always worried him as a father.
“We didn’t encourage him,” Stanley Jenkins said.
On Thursday afternoon, Stanley Jenkins and his cousin, Chuck Jenkins, 62, stood on their quiet east Mesa street lined with American flags as neighbors demonstrated their support. A flag on the Jenkins’ front lawn bore a black sash, a traditional honor for a fallen soldier.
“He was the most comfortable person I knew with himself. He knew who he was,” Chuck Jenkins said. “He was comfortable being him.”
Before joining the military, Cory Jenkins had served as a Scoutmaster. He also was an Eagle Scout. His family said he had a great sense of humor, and kids especially loved to be around him.
“Cory was so much fun to be around,” Chuck Jenkins said. “He could take any situation and make fun.”
Because Chuck Jenkins served in Vietnam, Cory would often ask him what it was like to serve in the military.
“I didn’t encourage him, I didn’t discourage him,” Chuck Jenkins said. “I answered his questions.”
Cory Jenkins, a runner and volleyball player, “was the epitome of military,” standing straight in uniform, Chuck Jenkins said. “He was proud.”
Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona
Capt. Jenkins was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Leaves behind 9-week-old daughter
By Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic via Gannett News Service
Cory Jenkins didn’t have to join the Army and serve in Afghanistan.
Jenkins, 28, a graduate of Brigham Young University and A.T. Still University’s physician’s-assistant program, had offers for a much safer job in the private sector.
But his father, Stanley Jenkins, 60, of Mesa, said his son chose the Army to gain intense experience treating trauma injuries. It was a choice that cost Cory Jenkins his life on Tuesday.
Capt. Cory Jenkins, the father of a 9-week-old daughter, was killed along with three other men when their Stryker armored vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device.
“He wanted to be in trauma. He said, ‘You can’t get any better experience than in the military,’ ” Stanley Jenkins recalled Thursday afternoon in front of his home.
Jenkins said he is glad that his son at least got to know his daughter, Reagan, for a month. His wife, Brooke, gave birth a month before Jenkins deployed.
“They postponed the deployment. Fortunately, he was here when she was born” at Fort Lewis, Wash., Stanley Jenkins said.
As a physician’s assistant, his son would have normally worked at a MASH unit. The family doesn’t understand why Cory Jenkins was in the field instead, but they plan to ask an Army casualty assistance officer for an explanation.
“That’s why we were feeling safe,” Stanley Jenkins said. “He should have been out of harm’s way.”
He said his son always was interested in joining the military and thought he was doing the right thing by helping injured soldiers in Afghanistan.
But his son’s choice always worried him as a father.
“We didn’t encourage him,” Stanley Jenkins said.
On Thursday afternoon, Stanley Jenkins and his cousin, Chuck Jenkins, 62, stood on their quiet east Mesa street lined with American flags as neighbors demonstrated their support. A flag on the Jenkins’ front lawn bore a black sash, a traditional honor for a fallen soldier.
“He was the most comfortable person I knew with himself. He knew who he was,” Chuck Jenkins said. “He was comfortable being him.”
Before joining the military, Cory Jenkins had served as a Scoutmaster. He also was an Eagle Scout. His family said he had a great sense of humor, and kids especially loved to be around him.
“Cory was so much fun to be around,” Chuck Jenkins said. “He could take any situation and make fun.”
Because Chuck Jenkins served in Vietnam, Cory would often ask him what it was like to serve in the military.
“I didn’t encourage him, I didn’t discourage him,” Chuck Jenkins said. “I answered his questions.”
Cory Jenkins, a runner and volleyball player, “was the epitome of military,” standing straight in uniform, Chuck Jenkins said. “He was proud.”
Army Capt. Cory J. Jenkins was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Capt. John L. Hallett III
Remember Our Heroes
Army Capt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California
Capt. Hallett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Contra Costa Times -- CONCORD — He grew up here, playing basketball at St. Agnes Elementary School and water polo at De La Salle High School. He was a delivery boy for this newspaper.
Capt. John Hallett III, 30, died Tuesday in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the Army said Thursday.
He arrived there in July. His daughter Heidi was born earlier this month.
He never got to hold her.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., he married his wife Lisa in 2004, three weeks before he left for a 13-month stint in Iraq. The couple has two sons, Jackson, 4, and Bryce, 2. Lisa is also from Concord, though she now lives in DuPont, Wash., just outside Fort Lewis, where Hallett's Stryker brigade was based.
The Army released a statement from his wife Friday afternoon.
"Captain John Louis Hallett III was an amazing father, devoted and joyful husband, thoughtful son, loving brother, and inspiring friend. ... He was a patient teacher to our children.
"He had the warmest and most genuine smile. John would always make people laugh by his clever ways and kind humor ...
"Words fail to begin to describe John's true spirit. John's amazing example and memories will live in and guide his three young children."
At West Point, Hallett was captain of the water polo team in his senior year, said a family member who declined to be named. The Army encouraged the family not to speak with the media.
His parents still live in Concord, where Hallett's two younger brothers also grew up.
Hallett believed in what he was doing, the relative said.
Funeral arrangements are pending, the family member said.
Hallett and three other soldiers were killed in the blast, according to a news release from Fort Lewis. Since the war began in 2001, 806 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, according to icasualties.org.
Also killed were: 30-year-old Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, of Arizona; Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.; and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Another American military death Friday in eastern Afghanistan made August the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly eight-year war, The Associated Press reported.
Army Capt. John L. Hallett III was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Capt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California
Capt. Hallett was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Contra Costa Times -- CONCORD — He grew up here, playing basketball at St. Agnes Elementary School and water polo at De La Salle High School. He was a delivery boy for this newspaper.
Capt. John Hallett III, 30, died Tuesday in Afghanistan when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, the Army said Thursday.
He arrived there in July. His daughter Heidi was born earlier this month.
He never got to hold her.
A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., he married his wife Lisa in 2004, three weeks before he left for a 13-month stint in Iraq. The couple has two sons, Jackson, 4, and Bryce, 2. Lisa is also from Concord, though she now lives in DuPont, Wash., just outside Fort Lewis, where Hallett's Stryker brigade was based.
The Army released a statement from his wife Friday afternoon.
"Captain John Louis Hallett III was an amazing father, devoted and joyful husband, thoughtful son, loving brother, and inspiring friend. ... He was a patient teacher to our children.
"He had the warmest and most genuine smile. John would always make people laugh by his clever ways and kind humor ...
"Words fail to begin to describe John's true spirit. John's amazing example and memories will live in and guide his three young children."
At West Point, Hallett was captain of the water polo team in his senior year, said a family member who declined to be named. The Army encouraged the family not to speak with the media.
His parents still live in Concord, where Hallett's two younger brothers also grew up.
Hallett believed in what he was doing, the relative said.
Funeral arrangements are pending, the family member said.
Hallett and three other soldiers were killed in the blast, according to a news release from Fort Lewis. Since the war began in 2001, 806 American soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan, according to icasualties.org.
Also killed were: 30-year-old Capt. Cory J. Jenkins, of Arizona; Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.; and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
Another American military death Friday in eastern Afghanistan made August the deadliest month for U.S. forces in the nearly eight-year war, The Associated Press reported.
Army Capt. John L. Hallett III was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
SFC Sawyer was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Kirksville Daily Express and Daily News -- AFGHANISTAN – A Laredo, Mo., soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to the release, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo., was one of four soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Laredo is located approximately 12 miles southeast of Trenton, Mo.
Sawyer was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., along with the three other soldiers killed: Cpt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California; Cpt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona; and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
According to unit records from the Fort Lewis Public Affairs Office, Sawyer enlisted Dec. 30, 1992 and reported to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for basic training March 8, 1993. He then reported to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for Advanced Individual Training as a health care specialist.
Sawyer served in many locations during his military career, including Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Hood, Texas; Kaiserslautum, Germany; Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion; Camp Kasey, Korea; and Fort Lewis, Wash. His overseas service time includes three years in Germany, a one-year tour in Korea, and deployments to Kosovo and Cuba.
Sawyer’s civilian and military education include a high school diploma, two years (60 or more semester hours) of college credit, the Health Care Specialist qualification course (1993), Warrior Leader Course (1996), Defense Language Institute “Gateway to Germany” course (1997), Hazardous Materials transport course (1997), Basic NCO course (1998), Unit Prevention Leader course (1999), Equal Opportunity Program Manager course (2000), Recruiting Management course (2002), Advanced NCO course (2003), Emergency Medical Technician- Ambulance course (2005), Tactical Combat Medical Care course (2007), and the FBCB2: Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below course (2007).
His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal (six awards), Army Achievement Medal (eight awards), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal (five awards), National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NCO Professional Develop-ment Ribbon (three awards), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, US Army Recruiter Badge-Gold with two Sapphire Achievement Stars, Expert Field Medical Badge, and the Drivers and Mechanics Badge.
According to the Trenton Republican-Times, Sawyer was a graduate of Grundy R-5 High School.
His father, Ron, resides in Laredo, and his mother, Judy Thompson, is a resident of Commerce, Okla.
His grandfather, Dale Sawyer, lives in Trenton, and his grandmother, Grace Parsons, is of Chillicothe, Mo.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
SFC Sawyer was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams.
Kirksville Daily Express and Daily News -- AFGHANISTAN – A Laredo, Mo., soldier was killed in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Defense.
According to the release, Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo., was one of four soldiers killed when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Laredo is located approximately 12 miles southeast of Trenton, Mo.
Sawyer was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., along with the three other soldiers killed: Cpt. John L. Hallett III, 30, of California; Cpt. Cory J. Jenkins, 30, of Arizona; and Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
According to unit records from the Fort Lewis Public Affairs Office, Sawyer enlisted Dec. 30, 1992 and reported to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., for basic training March 8, 1993. He then reported to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for Advanced Individual Training as a health care specialist.
Sawyer served in many locations during his military career, including Fort Carson, Colo.; Fort Hood, Texas; Kaiserslautum, Germany; Los Angeles Recruiting Battalion; Camp Kasey, Korea; and Fort Lewis, Wash. His overseas service time includes three years in Germany, a one-year tour in Korea, and deployments to Kosovo and Cuba.
Sawyer’s civilian and military education include a high school diploma, two years (60 or more semester hours) of college credit, the Health Care Specialist qualification course (1993), Warrior Leader Course (1996), Defense Language Institute “Gateway to Germany” course (1997), Hazardous Materials transport course (1997), Basic NCO course (1998), Unit Prevention Leader course (1999), Equal Opportunity Program Manager course (2000), Recruiting Management course (2002), Advanced NCO course (2003), Emergency Medical Technician- Ambulance course (2005), Tactical Combat Medical Care course (2007), and the FBCB2: Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below course (2007).
His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal (six awards), Army Achievement Medal (eight awards), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Army Superior Unit Award, U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal (five awards), National Defense Service Medal (two awards), Korea Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal with Bronze Service Star, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, NCO Professional Develop-ment Ribbon (three awards), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, US Army Recruiter Badge-Gold with two Sapphire Achievement Stars, Expert Field Medical Badge, and the Drivers and Mechanics Badge.
According to the Trenton Republican-Times, Sawyer was a graduate of Grundy R-5 High School.
His father, Ron, resides in Laredo, and his mother, Judy Thompson, is a resident of Commerce, Okla.
His grandfather, Dale Sawyer, lives in Trenton, and his grandmother, Grace Parsons, is of Chillicothe, Mo.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer was killed in action on 8/25/09.
Army Pfc. Dennis M. Williams
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
Pfc. Williams was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins and Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer.
Wash. soldier among 4 killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — The Army says a 24-year-old soldier from Federal Way, Wash., was among four members of a Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade who were killed in southern Afghanistan.
Killed Tuesday was Pfc. Dennis M. Williams. Fort Lewis says Williams enlisted in Seattle in October 2007. This was his first deployment.
Also killed were: 30-year-old Capt. John L. Hallett III of California; 30-year-old Capt. Cory J. Jenkins of Arizona; and 38-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
All died of wounds suffered when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
One family reels at the loss of Fort Lewis soldier, 24
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, one month into his first deployment. Now his extended family is coping, grieving and reminiscing all at the same time. It is a scene that's played out all over the country — that's been played out over and over, for nearly eight years — as families reel from the wartime loss of loved ones.
By Maureen O'Hagan
Seattle Times staff reporter
Fed. Way soldier one of 4 from Ft. Lewis killed in Afghanistan
Kathy Anderson feeds her great-grandson formula from a bottle, shifting him from one arm to the other as relatives descend on her Federal Way home. In and out, all day long. The phone's ringing; the TV's on; the room gets hot.
Baby Grant eats, oblivious to the chaos. He is 2 months old, and he already lost his father.
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, one month into his first deployment. The details are sketchy. He, along with three others from Fort Lewis' Stryker Brigade, was killed by an improvised explosive device.
"I feel robbed," said David Williams, Dennis' older brother.
"I'm so confused, I don't hardly know my own name," Kathy said.
It is a scene that's played out all over the country — that's been played out over and over, for nearly eight years — as families reel from the wartime loss of loved ones. Over the past 11 days, six soldiers from Fort Lewis have been killed in Afghanistan.
In living rooms like this one, families gather, share stories, and grieve.
Kathy's clan is particularly close-knit. The family is everywhere in this maze of cul-de-sacs not far from Interstate 5. Dennis lived here with his wife, Maria, and two kids, Grant and 18-month-old Alaina. David and his family live here, too. So does their dad, and an aunt. Dennis' mother, Cindy Teifke, lives in Buckley, Pierce County.
Friday afternoon, there were kids galore huddled on Kathy's living-room floor.
"That's all I have left of my little brother," David said. "Grant and Alaina."
Dennis graduated from Federal Way High School in 2003, got a job in the IT department of Poulsbo RV and then became a security guard at Fisher Plaza in Seattle.
"He was very proud of that job," David recalled. "He looked sharp in his uniform. That's when it started to grind on him." Denny, as his family called him, really wanted to enlist.
His father had been in the Army, and his grandfathers had been Marines. Denny had always pictured himself as a military man. He aimed to go into law enforcement after discharge.
"We had him about talked out of it 10 times," David recalled. "But he went. He wanted to provide for his wife and kids."
He enlisted in October 2007.
In Denny's official Army picture, he looks serious. But he was the family clown. Everybody talks about the eyebrow.
Denny would come in, straight-faced, then all he'd have to do was arch his eyebrow and he'd send everyone into stitches. His grandfather, Vern Anderson, said Denny loved to call them as a goof, putting on a fake voice and feeding them some kind of crazy story. They fell for it every time.
"He was mischief," Kathy said.
Grant starts to cry. "Your mama's going to be back tomorrow," Kathy tells him.
She and Denny's dad have flown East, to retrieve his body.
More relatives arrive. Baby Grant spits up. Someone changes his diaper.
David gets back after taking off down the street for a mini-emergency: His 5-year-old daughter was screaming bloody murder. She had got her thick legs stuck in a baby swing set.
David realizes that a care package had been on its way to Denny when the family got the news that he was gone. Other packages were ready to go. A Superman shirt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters memorabilia, his favorite soups and popcorn and hot chocolate.
Denny loved the military, but doubts could creep in.
"Not because he was scared," David was quick to say. "He wanted to know, what and why? Why are we here and what are we doing?"
As he left for deployment a month ago, Kathy saw the doubts surfacing.
"As he backed out of the driveway, he said, 'Grandma, I might never see you again,' " she recalled. "I said, 'Denny don't be silly.' "
Kathy said she feels dizzy. She woke up Friday morning and felt she didn't have any tears left. "Since I've quit crying, I'm heavy," she said. "My head is full of webs. My body feels numb."
She thinks about the other times when her house is chaos: Christmas.
"Denny always put up my Christmas lights," she said, choking back tears.
"Don't worry, Grandma," David said. "I'll put 'em up for you."
Army Pfc. Dennis M. Williams was killed in action on 8/25/09.
For Larger Images
Army Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, Wash.
Pfc. Williams was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 25, 2009 in southern Afghanistan of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. Also killed were Capt. John L. Hallett III, Capt. Cory J. Jenkins and Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer.
Wash. soldier among 4 killed in Afghanistan
The Associated Press
FORT LEWIS, Wash. — The Army says a 24-year-old soldier from Federal Way, Wash., was among four members of a Fort Lewis-based Stryker brigade who were killed in southern Afghanistan.
Killed Tuesday was Pfc. Dennis M. Williams. Fort Lewis says Williams enlisted in Seattle in October 2007. This was his first deployment.
Also killed were: 30-year-old Capt. John L. Hallett III of California; 30-year-old Capt. Cory J. Jenkins of Arizona; and 38-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Ronald W. Sawyer, 38, of Trenton, Mo.
All died of wounds suffered when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division.
One family reels at the loss of Fort Lewis soldier, 24
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, of Federal Way, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, one month into his first deployment. Now his extended family is coping, grieving and reminiscing all at the same time. It is a scene that's played out all over the country — that's been played out over and over, for nearly eight years — as families reel from the wartime loss of loved ones.
By Maureen O'Hagan
Seattle Times staff reporter
Fed. Way soldier one of 4 from Ft. Lewis killed in Afghanistan
Kathy Anderson feeds her great-grandson formula from a bottle, shifting him from one arm to the other as relatives descend on her Federal Way home. In and out, all day long. The phone's ringing; the TV's on; the room gets hot.
Baby Grant eats, oblivious to the chaos. He is 2 months old, and he already lost his father.
Pfc. Dennis M. Williams, 24, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, one month into his first deployment. The details are sketchy. He, along with three others from Fort Lewis' Stryker Brigade, was killed by an improvised explosive device.
"I feel robbed," said David Williams, Dennis' older brother.
"I'm so confused, I don't hardly know my own name," Kathy said.
It is a scene that's played out all over the country — that's been played out over and over, for nearly eight years — as families reel from the wartime loss of loved ones. Over the past 11 days, six soldiers from Fort Lewis have been killed in Afghanistan.
In living rooms like this one, families gather, share stories, and grieve.
Kathy's clan is particularly close-knit. The family is everywhere in this maze of cul-de-sacs not far from Interstate 5. Dennis lived here with his wife, Maria, and two kids, Grant and 18-month-old Alaina. David and his family live here, too. So does their dad, and an aunt. Dennis' mother, Cindy Teifke, lives in Buckley, Pierce County.
Friday afternoon, there were kids galore huddled on Kathy's living-room floor.
"That's all I have left of my little brother," David said. "Grant and Alaina."
Dennis graduated from Federal Way High School in 2003, got a job in the IT department of Poulsbo RV and then became a security guard at Fisher Plaza in Seattle.
"He was very proud of that job," David recalled. "He looked sharp in his uniform. That's when it started to grind on him." Denny, as his family called him, really wanted to enlist.
His father had been in the Army, and his grandfathers had been Marines. Denny had always pictured himself as a military man. He aimed to go into law enforcement after discharge.
"We had him about talked out of it 10 times," David recalled. "But he went. He wanted to provide for his wife and kids."
He enlisted in October 2007.
In Denny's official Army picture, he looks serious. But he was the family clown. Everybody talks about the eyebrow.
Denny would come in, straight-faced, then all he'd have to do was arch his eyebrow and he'd send everyone into stitches. His grandfather, Vern Anderson, said Denny loved to call them as a goof, putting on a fake voice and feeding them some kind of crazy story. They fell for it every time.
"He was mischief," Kathy said.
Grant starts to cry. "Your mama's going to be back tomorrow," Kathy tells him.
She and Denny's dad have flown East, to retrieve his body.
More relatives arrive. Baby Grant spits up. Someone changes his diaper.
David gets back after taking off down the street for a mini-emergency: His 5-year-old daughter was screaming bloody murder. She had got her thick legs stuck in a baby swing set.
David realizes that a care package had been on its way to Denny when the family got the news that he was gone. Other packages were ready to go. A Superman shirt, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Ghostbusters memorabilia, his favorite soups and popcorn and hot chocolate.
Denny loved the military, but doubts could creep in.
"Not because he was scared," David was quick to say. "He wanted to know, what and why? Why are we here and what are we doing?"
As he left for deployment a month ago, Kathy saw the doubts surfacing.
"As he backed out of the driveway, he said, 'Grandma, I might never see you again,' " she recalled. "I said, 'Denny don't be silly.' "
Kathy said she feels dizzy. She woke up Friday morning and felt she didn't have any tears left. "Since I've quit crying, I'm heavy," she said. "My head is full of webs. My body feels numb."
She thinks about the other times when her house is chaos: Christmas.
"Denny always put up my Christmas lights," she said, choking back tears.
"Don't worry, Grandma," David said. "I'll put 'em up for you."
Army Pfc. Dennis M. Williams was killed in action on 8/25/09.
For Larger Images
Navy Capt. Michael Scott Speicher
Remember Our Heroes
Speicher Hailed as Hero, Laid to Rest in Hometown
Story Number: NNS090814-23
Release Date: 8/14/2009 6:36:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Gay, Naval Public Affairs Support Element East, Detachment Southeast
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Thousands of people, both military and civilians, showed their respects as the remains of the first casualty of Desert Storm, Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, were brought to Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville after being found in Iraq after 18 years.
The remains arrived at the NAS Jacksonville flight line Aug. 13 and were then taken by motorcade to All Saints Chapel on base, where they remained overnight for people to give their final respects for the fallen Navy pilot.
"I think his return is symbolic of the Navy's desire to never forget a lost shipmate and to always continue to pursue and find those that are missing or lost," said Rear Adm. Townsend Alexander, commander, Navy Region Southeast.
The following day the flag-draped casket left the chapel in a police escorted procession en route to Speicher's interment ceremony. During the trip the motorcade made stops at Speicher's church, his high school, the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall and Cecil Field, the military base where Speicher was last stationed before the war.
"It is a very significant day," said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, the official escorting officer for Speicher's remains. "I was in a squadron with Scott Speicher, and we were flying together the night he was shot down, and this is a bittersweet day for us in that we are glad that we finally have a resolution of his status and that we are bringing him home to his family, but it's also a sad day in that now we know we lost a shipmate."
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton attended a ceremony that was held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall in Speicher's honor.
"At a time in our nation's history when we need heroes more than ever, Captain Speicher reminds us we need not look any farther than those brave Americans who serve in our armed forces. He represents the best of the best," said Crist. "I am honored to speak for almost twenty million fellow Floridians when I say we thank Captain Speicher for his commitment and his dedication to our country and our people and our freedom. We are deeply grateful for his sacrifice."
Thomas Fuller, the pastor of Lakeshore Methodist Church where Speicher taught Sunday school, was outside the church where people lined the streets to honor Speicher as the procession passed.
"I think that [Speicher] has kind of become an instrument of change," said Fuller. "I have been blessed in all the commitment the military, in recent months and days, has made in regards to never leaving anyone behind, and that is very important."
Speicher was laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Jacksonville Memorial Gardens Cemetery as his squadron, the Sunliners of VFA-81, flew overhead in a missing-man formation.
For more news from the fleet visit www.navy.mil.
Funeral Arrangement Finalized for Captain Speicher
By
Tiffany Griffith
@ August 7, 2009 6:20 PM Permalink | Comments (0)
Funeral arrangement have been finalized for Captain Scott Speicher, the local navy pilot who's body had been missing since the start of the first Iraq War, 18 years ago.
The public memorial for Captain Speicher will be held on Friday, August 14th, from 9am - 9:45am at the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Wall on East Adams Street.
According to Jacksonville's Office of Military Affairs:
A memorial procession for Captain Scott Speicher will leave Naval Air Station Jacksonville at 9 a.m. on Friday, August 14, 2009. It will proceed to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall before continuing to a number of other locations significant to Captain Speicher.
A musical prelude at the Veterans Memorial Wall will begin at 9 a.m. with a posting of the colors by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department at 9:15 a.m. It is anticipated that the procession will pass the location at between 9:15 and 9:45 a.m. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will conduct a 21-gun salute and play taps to conclude the ceremony. The public is invited to attend. Free parking available.
Other locations planned by the family along the route include Forrest High School, Lake Shore United Methodist Church and Cecil Field. The procession will be recognized by groups at these locations respectively.
Specific details regarding the route will be release by the family early next week.
In addition, at the request of the family, MAVDSD is collecting the bracelets worn by those who supported the Speicher family over the years as they hoped for Captain Speicher's safe return. The collected bracelets will be buried with Captain Speicher. Bracelets must be returned to the MAVDSD by Wednesday, Aug. 12 for inclusion.
For additional information, contact Bob Buehn or Harrison Conyers in the Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division at 904-630-3680.
Speicher Hailed as Hero, Laid to Rest in Hometown
Story Number: NNS090814-23
Release Date: 8/14/2009 6:36:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Daniel Gay, Naval Public Affairs Support Element East, Detachment Southeast
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (NNS) -- Thousands of people, both military and civilians, showed their respects as the remains of the first casualty of Desert Storm, Capt. Michael Scott Speicher, were brought to Naval Air Station (NAS) Jacksonville after being found in Iraq after 18 years.
The remains arrived at the NAS Jacksonville flight line Aug. 13 and were then taken by motorcade to All Saints Chapel on base, where they remained overnight for people to give their final respects for the fallen Navy pilot.
"I think his return is symbolic of the Navy's desire to never forget a lost shipmate and to always continue to pursue and find those that are missing or lost," said Rear Adm. Townsend Alexander, commander, Navy Region Southeast.
The following day the flag-draped casket left the chapel in a police escorted procession en route to Speicher's interment ceremony. During the trip the motorcade made stops at Speicher's church, his high school, the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall and Cecil Field, the military base where Speicher was last stationed before the war.
"It is a very significant day," said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, the official escorting officer for Speicher's remains. "I was in a squadron with Scott Speicher, and we were flying together the night he was shot down, and this is a bittersweet day for us in that we are glad that we finally have a resolution of his status and that we are bringing him home to his family, but it's also a sad day in that now we know we lost a shipmate."
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton attended a ceremony that was held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall in Speicher's honor.
"At a time in our nation's history when we need heroes more than ever, Captain Speicher reminds us we need not look any farther than those brave Americans who serve in our armed forces. He represents the best of the best," said Crist. "I am honored to speak for almost twenty million fellow Floridians when I say we thank Captain Speicher for his commitment and his dedication to our country and our people and our freedom. We are deeply grateful for his sacrifice."
Thomas Fuller, the pastor of Lakeshore Methodist Church where Speicher taught Sunday school, was outside the church where people lined the streets to honor Speicher as the procession passed.
"I think that [Speicher] has kind of become an instrument of change," said Fuller. "I have been blessed in all the commitment the military, in recent months and days, has made in regards to never leaving anyone behind, and that is very important."
Speicher was laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Jacksonville Memorial Gardens Cemetery as his squadron, the Sunliners of VFA-81, flew overhead in a missing-man formation.
For more news from the fleet visit www.navy.mil.
Funeral Arrangement Finalized for Captain Speicher
By
Tiffany Griffith
@ August 7, 2009 6:20 PM Permalink | Comments (0)
Funeral arrangement have been finalized for Captain Scott Speicher, the local navy pilot who's body had been missing since the start of the first Iraq War, 18 years ago.
The public memorial for Captain Speicher will be held on Friday, August 14th, from 9am - 9:45am at the Jacksonville Veteran's Memorial Wall on East Adams Street.
According to Jacksonville's Office of Military Affairs:
A memorial procession for Captain Scott Speicher will leave Naval Air Station Jacksonville at 9 a.m. on Friday, August 14, 2009. It will proceed to the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Wall before continuing to a number of other locations significant to Captain Speicher.
A musical prelude at the Veterans Memorial Wall will begin at 9 a.m. with a posting of the colors by the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department at 9:15 a.m. It is anticipated that the procession will pass the location at between 9:15 and 9:45 a.m. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office will conduct a 21-gun salute and play taps to conclude the ceremony. The public is invited to attend. Free parking available.
Other locations planned by the family along the route include Forrest High School, Lake Shore United Methodist Church and Cecil Field. The procession will be recognized by groups at these locations respectively.
Specific details regarding the route will be release by the family early next week.
In addition, at the request of the family, MAVDSD is collecting the bracelets worn by those who supported the Speicher family over the years as they hoped for Captain Speicher's safe return. The collected bracelets will be buried with Captain Speicher. Bracelets must be returned to the MAVDSD by Wednesday, Aug. 12 for inclusion.
For additional information, contact Bob Buehn or Harrison Conyers in the Military Affairs, Veterans and Disabled Services Division at 904-630-3680.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Army Cpl. Darby T. Morin
Remember Our Heroes
Army Cpl. Darby T. Morin, 25, of Victoria, Canada
Cpl. Morin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 22, 2009 in Logar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.
The Globe and Mail -- A fallen soldier from Saskatchewan's Big River First Nation will be remembered as a brave role model and loving father.
United States Army Sergeant Darby Morin, 25, died early Saturday morning when the driver of the vehicle he was travelling in lost control, causing a rollover near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Heavy fog blanketed the road at the time of the crash. Sgt. Morin was wearing his seatbelt, but was unconscious when military medics arrived on scene.
Sgt. Morin was the nephew of Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish.
Mr. Whitefish, reached on his cellphone in Delaware on Monday afternoon, was preparing for Sgt. Morin's body to arrive back in the United States at the Dover Air Force Base.
"You never think it would happen," Mr. Whitefish said. "Of course he was at risk every day, but a lot of young men and women come home. Unfortunately, others don't, and he was one that didn't."
Sgt. Morin and his wife, Veronica, had two sons, Christian, 3, and Blue Sky, 19 months.
"He was a great father and he loved his wife and his children," Mr. Whitefish said. "He was very compassionate."
Sgt. Morin's decision to enlist in the U.S. Army immediately after graduating from Big River First Nation High School came from an admiration for its advanced technology, according to his uncle.
Sgt. Morin spent four years stationed at Fort Eustis, Va., before being transferred to Fort Drum, N.Y., in April, 2008.
In December he was deployed to the Charkh District in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
"He wanted to be a role model; he wanted to show kids they could be much more than being in a gang or whatever," Mr. Whitefish said.
The nuclear, biological and chemical non-commissioned officer also served as the unofficial barber amongst the troops.
Mr. Whitefish remembered that when Sgt. Morin came home for a visit, the young men in the area would line up to get their hair cut just like his.
Army Cpl. Darby T. Morin was killed in action on 8/22/09.
Army Cpl. Darby T. Morin, 25, of Victoria, Canada
Cpl. Morin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 22, 2009 in Logar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.
The Globe and Mail -- A fallen soldier from Saskatchewan's Big River First Nation will be remembered as a brave role model and loving father.
United States Army Sergeant Darby Morin, 25, died early Saturday morning when the driver of the vehicle he was travelling in lost control, causing a rollover near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
Heavy fog blanketed the road at the time of the crash. Sgt. Morin was wearing his seatbelt, but was unconscious when military medics arrived on scene.
Sgt. Morin was the nephew of Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Vice-Chief Lyle Whitefish.
Mr. Whitefish, reached on his cellphone in Delaware on Monday afternoon, was preparing for Sgt. Morin's body to arrive back in the United States at the Dover Air Force Base.
"You never think it would happen," Mr. Whitefish said. "Of course he was at risk every day, but a lot of young men and women come home. Unfortunately, others don't, and he was one that didn't."
Sgt. Morin and his wife, Veronica, had two sons, Christian, 3, and Blue Sky, 19 months.
"He was a great father and he loved his wife and his children," Mr. Whitefish said. "He was very compassionate."
Sgt. Morin's decision to enlist in the U.S. Army immediately after graduating from Big River First Nation High School came from an admiration for its advanced technology, according to his uncle.
Sgt. Morin spent four years stationed at Fort Eustis, Va., before being transferred to Fort Drum, N.Y., in April, 2008.
In December he was deployed to the Charkh District in Logar Province, Afghanistan.
"He wanted to be a role model; he wanted to show kids they could be much more than being in a gang or whatever," Mr. Whitefish said.
The nuclear, biological and chemical non-commissioned officer also served as the unofficial barber amongst the troops.
Mr. Whitefish remembered that when Sgt. Morin came home for a visit, the young men in the area would line up to get their hair cut just like his.
Army Cpl. Darby T. Morin was killed in action on 8/22/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco, 29, of Somerville, N.J.
SSgt. Lobosco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Aug. 22, 2009 in Yakhchal, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit.
Andrew Lobosco, the son of a Forks Township woman, killed in Afghanistan combat
by Colin McEvoy
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco, 29, the son of Forks Township resident Bonnie Lobosco, was killed Saturday during combat in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Lobosco, who was born in Somerville, N.J., died in the town of Yakhchal from wounds he suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit, according to a Department of Defense news release.
Lobosco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. His body was transported today to Dover Air Force Base.
Bonnie Lobosco, who lives in the 500 block of Biltmore Avenue, was not available for comment. Nancy Kopin, a neighbor and friend of the family, said Bonnie spoke of her son often and described him as a "wonderful" and "happy-go-lucky guy."
"A mother has to have this possibility in the back of her mind when her son goes to war, but you never think it's going to happen so close to home," Kopin said this afternoon, fighting back tears. "This just never should have happened."
Kopin had not met Andrew Lobosco because he has been serving in the military since the family moved to Forks Township about three years ago, she said.
Andrew Lobosco was not in a relationship, Kopin said, but had previously said he wanted to get married and have children because he was the last man in his family to carry on the Lobosco name.
Lobosco's twin sister lives in Minnesota, Kopin said.
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco was killed in action on 8/22/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco, 29, of Somerville, N.J.
SSgt. Lobosco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Aug. 22, 2009 in Yakhchal, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit.
Andrew Lobosco, the son of a Forks Township woman, killed in Afghanistan combat
by Colin McEvoy
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco, 29, the son of Forks Township resident Bonnie Lobosco, was killed Saturday during combat in Afghanistan, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.
Lobosco, who was born in Somerville, N.J., died in the town of Yakhchal from wounds he suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit, according to a Department of Defense news release.
Lobosco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. His body was transported today to Dover Air Force Base.
Bonnie Lobosco, who lives in the 500 block of Biltmore Avenue, was not available for comment. Nancy Kopin, a neighbor and friend of the family, said Bonnie spoke of her son often and described him as a "wonderful" and "happy-go-lucky guy."
"A mother has to have this possibility in the back of her mind when her son goes to war, but you never think it's going to happen so close to home," Kopin said this afternoon, fighting back tears. "This just never should have happened."
Kopin had not met Andrew Lobosco because he has been serving in the military since the family moved to Forks Township about three years ago, she said.
Andrew Lobosco was not in a relationship, Kopin said, but had previously said he wanted to get married and have children because he was the last man in his family to carry on the Lobosco name.
Lobosco's twin sister lives in Minnesota, Kopin said.
Army Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco was killed in action on 8/22/09.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram, 25, of Pearl, Miss.
Sgt. Ingram was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Aug. 21, 2009 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and his unit came under small fire from enemy forces.
Slain Miss. soldier known as leader
By Jerry Mitchell
(Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger
Army Sgt. Matthew Ingram, killed in an apparent ambush in Afghanistan, is being remembered as a leader who loved his country, a father who loved his family and a small-town Mississippian who wanted to see the world.
The 25-year-old Newton County native already had a Purple Heart for injuries he suffered in his second tour of duty in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan in May.
His mother, Patricia, said Army officials called with the news of his death. “It’s the worst news that anybody had ever told me,” she said, “but this is what he wanted to do.”
No date has been set for funeral services in Newton County, where he grew up. He is survived by his wife, Holly, and their 10-month-old daughter, Chloe, who lived with him near Fort Carson, Colo, where he was stationed.
Ingram was killed Friday in Afghanistan, where fighting is so fierce that Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the situation as “serious and deteriorating.”
With 44 killed, July was the deadliest month for American forces in Afghanistan since the conflict began.
Ingram died from wounds he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. According to the Department of Defense, his unit was under small arms fire from enemy forces when the blast occurred.
Ingram was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson.
His mother said the initial report military officials gave was enemy forces had ambushed her son and other soldiers who had been called out at 3 a.m.
“Matthew was the first one hit,” she said.
She said Army officials said they are going to continue to investigate what happened but that it wasn’t the first time soldiers had been ambushed there.
“They told me I should be very proud, that he went down as a hero,” she said.
Even as a child, Matthew was the one giving the orders, she said. “He’s always been a leader, not a follower.”
He would tell his brother, five years older, what to do, she said.
And he was bright. When he was in kindergarten, his classroom had a plastic replica of a human body. He was able to remove the organs and return them to the right locations, naming each one, she said. “The teacher told me Matthew might be a doctor one day.”
When he got older, he found he could miss a few days of school and still keep up, she said. “He was very smart.”
Eventually, those misses became more permanent, and he dropped out during his senior year at Newton County High School, where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
Principal Ken Stringer said Matthew was never loud or a troublemaker. “The ones who made the racket I knew,” he said.
Although he dropped out of school, Ingram was filled with ambitions and dreams beyond the discount store where he worked, his mother said. “He didn’t want to be mediocre.”
He saw the Army as a way to pay for his college, she said.
He saw other advantages to military service, too, she said. “He wanted to see the world. He said, ‘When I get older, I want to go to a big town and live in a big town.’“
He may have been influenced, too, by his mother’s fiance, Harry Hastings, who retired as a full colonel in the Army medical service corps.
“He talked about how happy he was when he joined,” Hastings said.
Matthew joined the Army the summer of 2003 and did basic training at Fort Benning. His mother and Hastings visited him there on parents’ day, and at Matthew’s request, Hastings wore his uniform.
Ingram was reassigned to South Korea, where he spent 10 months before his entire brigade was deployed to Iraq, where he spent a year.
While visiting back home, Matthew enjoyed the hobbies of paintball and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, his mother said.
Stationed later in Colorado, he met his future wife, Holly, in Colorado Springs. They married in 2006.
He became a sergeant before returning for a second tour in Iraq. He didn’t get back home until early 2007.
Hastings remembers he and Matthew’s mother visiting the young couple after he returned, and Matthew pushing a medal out onto the table.
It was a Purple Heart, he said. “That was his most prized possession.”
Matthew never discussed what happened beyond an explosion inside a Humvee that injured his foot and ankle, he said. “Most likely it was a roadside bomb or a grenade.”
In May, Matthew had to leave for Afghanistan, and this time he didn’t want to go “because of his little baby,” his mother said. “He said, ‘You know, Mama, I might not come back this time.’ “
He worried about not seeing his daughter again.
Though grieved by his death, his mother said she’s comforted by a Native American saying that people “never die as long as you mention their name. Their spirit lives on forever.”
Services set for Ingram
The Associated Press
HICKORY, Miss. — Services are scheduled Aug. 29 for a 25-year-old soldier from Mississippi who was killed Aug. 21 during combat in Afghanistan.
Services for Army Sgt. Matthew Ingram are 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at Antioch Christian Church, three miles south of Hickory on Mississippi Highway 503.
The Department of Defense says Ingram died from wounds suffered Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The blast occurred while his unit was under small-arms fire from enemy forces.
Ingram was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Ingram is survived by his wife, Holly, and their 10-month-old baby.
Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram was killed in action on 8/21/09.
Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram, 25, of Pearl, Miss.
Sgt. Ingram was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.; died Aug. 21, 2009 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and his unit came under small fire from enemy forces.
Slain Miss. soldier known as leader
By Jerry Mitchell
(Jackson, Miss.) Clarion Ledger
Army Sgt. Matthew Ingram, killed in an apparent ambush in Afghanistan, is being remembered as a leader who loved his country, a father who loved his family and a small-town Mississippian who wanted to see the world.
The 25-year-old Newton County native already had a Purple Heart for injuries he suffered in his second tour of duty in Iraq before being sent to Afghanistan in May.
His mother, Patricia, said Army officials called with the news of his death. “It’s the worst news that anybody had ever told me,” she said, “but this is what he wanted to do.”
No date has been set for funeral services in Newton County, where he grew up. He is survived by his wife, Holly, and their 10-month-old daughter, Chloe, who lived with him near Fort Carson, Colo, where he was stationed.
Ingram was killed Friday in Afghanistan, where fighting is so fierce that Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the situation as “serious and deteriorating.”
With 44 killed, July was the deadliest month for American forces in Afghanistan since the conflict began.
Ingram died from wounds he suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. According to the Department of Defense, his unit was under small arms fire from enemy forces when the blast occurred.
Ingram was a member of the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Carson.
His mother said the initial report military officials gave was enemy forces had ambushed her son and other soldiers who had been called out at 3 a.m.
“Matthew was the first one hit,” she said.
She said Army officials said they are going to continue to investigate what happened but that it wasn’t the first time soldiers had been ambushed there.
“They told me I should be very proud, that he went down as a hero,” she said.
Even as a child, Matthew was the one giving the orders, she said. “He’s always been a leader, not a follower.”
He would tell his brother, five years older, what to do, she said.
And he was bright. When he was in kindergarten, his classroom had a plastic replica of a human body. He was able to remove the organs and return them to the right locations, naming each one, she said. “The teacher told me Matthew might be a doctor one day.”
When he got older, he found he could miss a few days of school and still keep up, she said. “He was very smart.”
Eventually, those misses became more permanent, and he dropped out during his senior year at Newton County High School, where he was a member of the Future Farmers of America.
Principal Ken Stringer said Matthew was never loud or a troublemaker. “The ones who made the racket I knew,” he said.
Although he dropped out of school, Ingram was filled with ambitions and dreams beyond the discount store where he worked, his mother said. “He didn’t want to be mediocre.”
He saw the Army as a way to pay for his college, she said.
He saw other advantages to military service, too, she said. “He wanted to see the world. He said, ‘When I get older, I want to go to a big town and live in a big town.’“
He may have been influenced, too, by his mother’s fiance, Harry Hastings, who retired as a full colonel in the Army medical service corps.
“He talked about how happy he was when he joined,” Hastings said.
Matthew joined the Army the summer of 2003 and did basic training at Fort Benning. His mother and Hastings visited him there on parents’ day, and at Matthew’s request, Hastings wore his uniform.
Ingram was reassigned to South Korea, where he spent 10 months before his entire brigade was deployed to Iraq, where he spent a year.
While visiting back home, Matthew enjoyed the hobbies of paintball and riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle, his mother said.
Stationed later in Colorado, he met his future wife, Holly, in Colorado Springs. They married in 2006.
He became a sergeant before returning for a second tour in Iraq. He didn’t get back home until early 2007.
Hastings remembers he and Matthew’s mother visiting the young couple after he returned, and Matthew pushing a medal out onto the table.
It was a Purple Heart, he said. “That was his most prized possession.”
Matthew never discussed what happened beyond an explosion inside a Humvee that injured his foot and ankle, he said. “Most likely it was a roadside bomb or a grenade.”
In May, Matthew had to leave for Afghanistan, and this time he didn’t want to go “because of his little baby,” his mother said. “He said, ‘You know, Mama, I might not come back this time.’ “
He worried about not seeing his daughter again.
Though grieved by his death, his mother said she’s comforted by a Native American saying that people “never die as long as you mention their name. Their spirit lives on forever.”
Services set for Ingram
The Associated Press
HICKORY, Miss. — Services are scheduled Aug. 29 for a 25-year-old soldier from Mississippi who was killed Aug. 21 during combat in Afghanistan.
Services for Army Sgt. Matthew Ingram are 2 p.m. Aug. 29 at Antioch Christian Church, three miles south of Hickory on Mississippi Highway 503.
The Department of Defense says Ingram died from wounds suffered Aug. 20 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. The blast occurred while his unit was under small-arms fire from enemy forces.
Ingram was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
Ingram is survived by his wife, Holly, and their 10-month-old baby.
Army Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram was killed in action on 8/21/09.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Army Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton, 21, of Oak Park, Calif.
Pfc. Wolverton was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 20, 2009 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire.
Agoura Hills Acorn -- Pfc. Brian Wolverton, a 21-year-old Oak Park resident, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Aug. 20. The 2006 Oak Park High School graduate died from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Kumar province.
Wolverton attended Moorpark College and returned to Oak Park High in 2008 to help coach the hurdlers on the school’s track team. Wolverton ran track all four years in high school.
“He was a vocal, enthusiastic coach who motivated his runners to find personal success,” said Kevin Smith, the Oak Park track coach. “He developed a devoted following among his charges. They affectionately called him Wolvie or Coach Wolvie.”
Smith recalled the time Wolverton visited the team after completing boot camp. Wolverton wore his full uniform.
“Brian was enormously proud to serve his country,” Smith said. “He profoundly believed he had an obligation to make the world a better place.”
Lyle Greenberg, an assistant track coach, described Wolverton as a serious, mature young man who often stayed after practice picking up empty water bottles and other items left by fellow athletes.
“It is important to remember and reflect upon Brian’s contribution, his commitment and his sacrifice,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg recalled the quote Wolverton chose to go with his senior photo in the high school’s 2006 yearbook: “Courage is facing your fear; with no fear there is no courage,” Wolverton said.
“Once Brian decided that he wanted to do something, he usually worked very hard to achieve his goals or at least gave it his best efforts,” said his mother, Miriam Wolverton.
The Wolverton family still lives in Oak Park. Smith credited parents Chris and Miriam with being strong special education advocates and supporting the track teams and the fundraising effort to renovate the track several years ago.
Wolverton’s brother Michael, will be a senior at Oak Park High this fall.
“In our small community, with only one middle school and one high school, so many students, athletes, teachers, coaches and others impact each other, and it is only when we have a communitywide loss that we recognize how fragile we are and how dramatic our loss can be,” Greenberg said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement expressing sadness over Wolverton’s death. Flags were flown at half-staff in Sacramento.
A funeral service will be held at Pierce Brothers, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, at 10 a.m., Sat., Aug. 29.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Wolverton’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Army Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton was killed in action on 8/20/09.
Army Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton, 21, of Oak Park, Calif.
Pfc. Wolverton was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 20, 2009 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire.
Agoura Hills Acorn -- Pfc. Brian Wolverton, a 21-year-old Oak Park resident, was killed in action in Afghanistan on Aug. 20. The 2006 Oak Park High School graduate died from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit in Kumar province.
Wolverton attended Moorpark College and returned to Oak Park High in 2008 to help coach the hurdlers on the school’s track team. Wolverton ran track all four years in high school.
“He was a vocal, enthusiastic coach who motivated his runners to find personal success,” said Kevin Smith, the Oak Park track coach. “He developed a devoted following among his charges. They affectionately called him Wolvie or Coach Wolvie.”
Smith recalled the time Wolverton visited the team after completing boot camp. Wolverton wore his full uniform.
“Brian was enormously proud to serve his country,” Smith said. “He profoundly believed he had an obligation to make the world a better place.”
Lyle Greenberg, an assistant track coach, described Wolverton as a serious, mature young man who often stayed after practice picking up empty water bottles and other items left by fellow athletes.
“It is important to remember and reflect upon Brian’s contribution, his commitment and his sacrifice,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg recalled the quote Wolverton chose to go with his senior photo in the high school’s 2006 yearbook: “Courage is facing your fear; with no fear there is no courage,” Wolverton said.
“Once Brian decided that he wanted to do something, he usually worked very hard to achieve his goals or at least gave it his best efforts,” said his mother, Miriam Wolverton.
The Wolverton family still lives in Oak Park. Smith credited parents Chris and Miriam with being strong special education advocates and supporting the track teams and the fundraising effort to renovate the track several years ago.
Wolverton’s brother Michael, will be a senior at Oak Park High this fall.
“In our small community, with only one middle school and one high school, so many students, athletes, teachers, coaches and others impact each other, and it is only when we have a communitywide loss that we recognize how fragile we are and how dramatic our loss can be,” Greenberg said.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a statement expressing sadness over Wolverton’s death. Flags were flown at half-staff in Sacramento.
A funeral service will be held at Pierce Brothers, 5600 Lindero Canyon Road, Westlake Village, at 10 a.m., Sat., Aug. 29.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Wolverton’s name to the Wounded Warrior Project, www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Army Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton was killed in action on 8/20/09.
Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, of Boscawen, N.H.
Spc. Pellerin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 20, 2009 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Boston Herald -- CONCORD, N.H. — A 21-year-old Army soldier from Boscawen was killed in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Pentagon officials say Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, died Thursday in Wardak Province from wounds suffered in the attack.
He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
The Concord Monitor reports that Pellerin, a 2006 Concord High School graduate, left for his first tour in Afghanistan in January.
Josh Bisson, a childhood friend and the best man at Pellerin’s wedding, said Pellerin was scheduled to return to the United States on Dec. 15.
He said Pellerin married 21-year-old Chelsey Pellerin, his high school sweetheart and "the love of his life," in July 2008, adding that the two hoped to move to New York when Pellerin returned.
Bisson described his friend as a funny man who loved American muscle cars and had decided to join the military in hopes of "doing something good" for other people.
"He’d give the shirt off his back for anyone," Bisson said. "Everyone he met he was friends with. He had no rough edges, everybody loved him."
Louis Chouinard of Littleton, Pellerin’s grandfather, said the young soldier "had it in his mind that he wanted to make a difference, so that’s why he did what he did," Chouinard said. "He was just a great kid."
Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin was killed in action on 8/20/09.
Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, of Boscawen, N.H.
Spc. Pellerin was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Aug. 20, 2009 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle.
Boston Herald -- CONCORD, N.H. — A 21-year-old Army soldier from Boscawen was killed in Afghanistan when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle, the Pentagon said Saturday.
Pentagon officials say Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, died Thursday in Wardak Province from wounds suffered in the attack.
He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
The Concord Monitor reports that Pellerin, a 2006 Concord High School graduate, left for his first tour in Afghanistan in January.
Josh Bisson, a childhood friend and the best man at Pellerin’s wedding, said Pellerin was scheduled to return to the United States on Dec. 15.
He said Pellerin married 21-year-old Chelsey Pellerin, his high school sweetheart and "the love of his life," in July 2008, adding that the two hoped to move to New York when Pellerin returned.
Bisson described his friend as a funny man who loved American muscle cars and had decided to join the military in hopes of "doing something good" for other people.
"He’d give the shirt off his back for anyone," Bisson said. "Everyone he met he was friends with. He had no rough edges, everybody loved him."
Louis Chouinard of Littleton, Pellerin’s grandfather, said the young soldier "had it in his mind that he wanted to make a difference, so that’s why he did what he did," Chouinard said. "He was just a great kid."
Army Spc. Justin R. Pellerin was killed in action on 8/20/09.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terrance W. Geer
Remember Our Heroes
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Army on Friday identified four members of an elite special operations unit killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado.
Those killed in Wednesday's crash were Chief Warrant Officers 4 Terrance Geer, 40, of Casper, Wyo.; and Robert Johnson, 41, of Seattle; and Staff Sgts. Paul Jackson, 33, of Lancaster, Md., and Chad Tucker, 28, of Titusville, Fla.
Geer's wife, Gina, said in a statement released by the Army that the family appreciates the outpouring of support from the community.
"While we sincerely appreciate the nation's interest in Terrance's life and his contributions to our great nation, we ask that the media respect our privacy and allow us time to grieve," she said.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, created more than 20 years ago after a failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran.
Army Special Operations Command officials said their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive.
Each of the highly decorated soldiers had extensive combat experience and had completed the Army's most rigorous schools and training programs.
Their elite aviation unit is home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, who focus on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
Using the cover of nightfall and keeping low to the ground to avoid radar detection, the pilots often navigate through enemy territory and bad weather to safely deliver and retrieve soldiers.
Army special forces leaders recognized the need for a highly trained aviation unit after an operation failed to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980 and resulted in two helicopter crashes and eight deaths.
The new team was first called Task Force 160, and it began training its pilots to operate in low-light situations, including using night-vision equipment and infrared devices, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a defense analysis Web site. The soldiers' special capabilities earned them the name Night Stalkers.
In 1993, during fighting in Somalia, two helicopters piloted by Night Stalkers were shot down in Mogadishu. The subsequent rescue was made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."
The unit has had a large role in Iraq and Afghanistan and has suffered several casualties.
In 2005, eight members of the unit were killed along with eight Navy SEALs after their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade, making it the single deadliest attack on U.S. forces in the country at that time.
More recently, five Night Stalkers were among eight service members killed in February 2007 when a Chinook crashed in southern Afghanistan.
Currently the regiment has four battalions, two based at Fort Campbell, one at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., and one at Fort Lewis, Wash. They use a variety of helicopters including Black Hawks, Chinooks and AH-6 Little Birds.
Tim Cash, president of the Night Stalkers Association, a nonprofit group that provides scholarships and other support for the unit's soldiers and their families, described its members as "quiet professionals" who wanted their privacy to mourn the fallen soldiers.
Maj. Brandon A. Bissell, a spokesman for the unit at Fort Campbell, said a memorial for the fallen soldiers is planned, but wouldn't discuss further details.
Geer was a native of Casper, Wyo., and entered the Navy in February 1989. After serving five years in the U.S. Navy, Geer was accepted into the Army Warrant Officer Program at Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1994. Upon graduation from the UH-1 Course in 1995, Geer was assigned to the 82nd Air Ambulance Medical Company at Fort Riley, Kan., as an Aero Medical Evacuation Pilot and Instructor Pilot. In 1998, after completing the Instrument Flight Examiner Course, Geer was assigned to the Combat Maneuver Training Center at Hohenfels, Germany, as a Standardization Instructor Pilot. After a successful assessment in 2002, Geer was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as an Instructor Pilot and Aviation Safety Officer.
He was a combat veteran with 12 deployments, 11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
His awards included the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals for valor, seven Air Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Valorous Unit Award, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, three Southwest Asia Service Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Iraqi Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Government of Saudi Arabia), Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait), Navy Aircrew Insignia Badge, and Senior Aviator Badge.
Geer is survived by his wife, Gina Geer, and his son and daughter, Braden and Emma of Clarksville, Tenn.; and his mother, Barbara Geer, of Toledo, Ohio.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terrance Geer, 40, a native of Casper, Wyo., joined the Navy in 1989 and was accepted into the Army Warrant Officer program in 1994. The veteran pilot had 12 deployments, 11 in suport of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Gina Geer, and two children, Braden and Emma, and his mother, Barbara Geer, of Toledo, Ohio.
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — The Army on Friday identified four members of an elite special operations unit killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado.
Those killed in Wednesday's crash were Chief Warrant Officers 4 Terrance Geer, 40, of Casper, Wyo.; and Robert Johnson, 41, of Seattle; and Staff Sgts. Paul Jackson, 33, of Lancaster, Md., and Chad Tucker, 28, of Titusville, Fla.
Geer's wife, Gina, said in a statement released by the Army that the family appreciates the outpouring of support from the community.
"While we sincerely appreciate the nation's interest in Terrance's life and his contributions to our great nation, we ask that the media respect our privacy and allow us time to grieve," she said.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, created more than 20 years ago after a failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran.
Army Special Operations Command officials said their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive.
Each of the highly decorated soldiers had extensive combat experience and had completed the Army's most rigorous schools and training programs.
Their elite aviation unit is home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, who focus on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
Using the cover of nightfall and keeping low to the ground to avoid radar detection, the pilots often navigate through enemy territory and bad weather to safely deliver and retrieve soldiers.
Army special forces leaders recognized the need for a highly trained aviation unit after an operation failed to rescue hostages in Iran in 1980 and resulted in two helicopter crashes and eight deaths.
The new team was first called Task Force 160, and it began training its pilots to operate in low-light situations, including using night-vision equipment and infrared devices, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a defense analysis Web site. The soldiers' special capabilities earned them the name Night Stalkers.
In 1993, during fighting in Somalia, two helicopters piloted by Night Stalkers were shot down in Mogadishu. The subsequent rescue was made famous by the book and movie "Black Hawk Down."
The unit has had a large role in Iraq and Afghanistan and has suffered several casualties.
In 2005, eight members of the unit were killed along with eight Navy SEALs after their MH-47 Chinook helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade, making it the single deadliest attack on U.S. forces in the country at that time.
More recently, five Night Stalkers were among eight service members killed in February 2007 when a Chinook crashed in southern Afghanistan.
Currently the regiment has four battalions, two based at Fort Campbell, one at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga., and one at Fort Lewis, Wash. They use a variety of helicopters including Black Hawks, Chinooks and AH-6 Little Birds.
Tim Cash, president of the Night Stalkers Association, a nonprofit group that provides scholarships and other support for the unit's soldiers and their families, described its members as "quiet professionals" who wanted their privacy to mourn the fallen soldiers.
Maj. Brandon A. Bissell, a spokesman for the unit at Fort Campbell, said a memorial for the fallen soldiers is planned, but wouldn't discuss further details.
Geer was a native of Casper, Wyo., and entered the Navy in February 1989. After serving five years in the U.S. Navy, Geer was accepted into the Army Warrant Officer Program at Fort Rucker, Ala., in 1994. Upon graduation from the UH-1 Course in 1995, Geer was assigned to the 82nd Air Ambulance Medical Company at Fort Riley, Kan., as an Aero Medical Evacuation Pilot and Instructor Pilot. In 1998, after completing the Instrument Flight Examiner Course, Geer was assigned to the Combat Maneuver Training Center at Hohenfels, Germany, as a Standardization Instructor Pilot. After a successful assessment in 2002, Geer was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as an Instructor Pilot and Aviation Safety Officer.
He was a combat veteran with 12 deployments, 11 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
His awards included the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, three Air Medals for valor, seven Air Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Valorous Unit Award, the Navy Good Conduct Medal, two National Defense Service Medals, three Southwest Asia Service Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Iraqi Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Government of Saudi Arabia), Kuwaiti Liberation Medal (Government of Kuwait), Navy Aircrew Insignia Badge, and Senior Aviator Badge.
Geer is survived by his wife, Gina Geer, and his son and daughter, Braden and Emma of Clarksville, Tenn.; and his mother, Barbara Geer, of Toledo, Ohio.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terrance Geer, 40, a native of Casper, Wyo., joined the Navy in 1989 and was accepted into the Army Warrant Officer program in 1994. The veteran pilot had 12 deployments, 11 in suport of Operation Iraqi Freedom and one in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Gina Geer, and two children, Braden and Emma, and his mother, Barbara Geer, of Toledo, Ohio.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert M. Johnson
Remember Our Heroes
Robert Johnson, elite Army helicopter pilot
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert M. Johnson, 41, a graduate of Seattle's Ingraham High School, was killed Wednesday while flying an Army training exercise in Colorado.
By Seattle Times staff and news services
Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Johnson was an Ingraham High graduate.
While America will remember him as a war hero, to Connie McGrath her son will always be "my Robby."
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Johnson, 41, a graduate of Seattle's Ingraham High School, died Wednesday while flying an Army training exercise in Colorado.
He was one of four members of an elite special-operations unit killed.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Army Special Operations Command officials said their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training.
The elite unit, home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, focuses on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
While an investigation of the accident is still under way, Chief Warrant Officer Johnson's mother said from her home in Enumclaw on Friday night that she believed her son had been piloting the helicopter.
"We are still in shock around here. ... He was such a good pilot. It is hard for us to believe it is because of anything he had done."
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson grew up in Seattle and joined the Army because of his love for flying, which he learned by taking lessons at Paine Field, McGrath said.
His mother said he was drawn to the most dangerous and elite work the Army had to offer. First it was flying Black Hawk helicopters in some of the world's most dangerous venues. But that wasn't enough. He applied for and won acceptance to an even more elite unit, nicknamed the Nightstalkers for their missions flown in low light in the most dangerous of situations.
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson's awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal for Valor, 13 Air Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals and many others.
He entered the Army in 1990 and was a combat veteran with 20 deployments, 18 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, one in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and one in support of operations in Somalia.
His mother said she would often think of her son so far away doing work that both frightened her and made her deeply proud. When he went to Iraq, she sent him care packages with treats specially selected from home: Tim's Cascade Potato Chips, regular flavor; Oberto's meat snacks; smoked salmon; and the Gouda cheese she found packaged in wax so it would stay fresh.
"When my packages arrived ... they always had a regular picnic," she said.
McGrath said she used to have nightmares about Army officials knocking on her door to say something had happened to her son.
"But I got over that. I got used to it. I forgot about it," she said.
On Thursday, however, the knock came. Told of the news, she mostly was struck with disbelief. But she knew he had died doing what made him proud.
"It made him feel very important, and I knew he was doing something he really loved to do, and I was never going to keep him from that," she said.
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson is survived by his wife, Sandra Johnson; his daughter and son, Morgan and Hatch, of Clarksville, Tenn.; and his mother and father, Connie and Wells McGrath, of Enumclaw.
Private services will be held in Tennessee.
Robert Johnson, elite Army helicopter pilot
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert M. Johnson, 41, a graduate of Seattle's Ingraham High School, was killed Wednesday while flying an Army training exercise in Colorado.
By Seattle Times staff and news services
Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Johnson was an Ingraham High graduate.
While America will remember him as a war hero, to Connie McGrath her son will always be "my Robby."
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Robert Johnson, 41, a graduate of Seattle's Ingraham High School, died Wednesday while flying an Army training exercise in Colorado.
He was one of four members of an elite special-operations unit killed.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell, Ky.-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.
Army Special Operations Command officials said their MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training.
The elite unit, home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, focuses on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
While an investigation of the accident is still under way, Chief Warrant Officer Johnson's mother said from her home in Enumclaw on Friday night that she believed her son had been piloting the helicopter.
"We are still in shock around here. ... He was such a good pilot. It is hard for us to believe it is because of anything he had done."
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson grew up in Seattle and joined the Army because of his love for flying, which he learned by taking lessons at Paine Field, McGrath said.
His mother said he was drawn to the most dangerous and elite work the Army had to offer. First it was flying Black Hawk helicopters in some of the world's most dangerous venues. But that wasn't enough. He applied for and won acceptance to an even more elite unit, nicknamed the Nightstalkers for their missions flown in low light in the most dangerous of situations.
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson's awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal for Valor, 13 Air Medals, five Army Commendation Medals, six Army Achievement Medals and many others.
He entered the Army in 1990 and was a combat veteran with 20 deployments, 18 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, one in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, and one in support of operations in Somalia.
His mother said she would often think of her son so far away doing work that both frightened her and made her deeply proud. When he went to Iraq, she sent him care packages with treats specially selected from home: Tim's Cascade Potato Chips, regular flavor; Oberto's meat snacks; smoked salmon; and the Gouda cheese she found packaged in wax so it would stay fresh.
"When my packages arrived ... they always had a regular picnic," she said.
McGrath said she used to have nightmares about Army officials knocking on her door to say something had happened to her son.
"But I got over that. I got used to it. I forgot about it," she said.
On Thursday, however, the knock came. Told of the news, she mostly was struck with disbelief. But she knew he had died doing what made him proud.
"It made him feel very important, and I knew he was doing something he really loved to do, and I was never going to keep him from that," she said.
Chief Warrant Officer Johnson is survived by his wife, Sandra Johnson; his daughter and son, Morgan and Hatch, of Clarksville, Tenn.; and his mother and father, Connie and Wells McGrath, of Enumclaw.
Private services will be held in Tennessee.
Army Staff Sgt. Chad A. Tucker
Remember Our Heroes
Colo. crash kills elite local soldier
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS • August 23, 2009
A 28-year-old Titusville man is among four members of an elite special operations unit the Army has confirmed were killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado.
Those killed in Wednesday's crash were Staff Sgt. Chad Tucker, a 2000 graduate of Astronaut High; Chief Warrant Officers 4 Terrance Geer, 40, of Casper, Wyo., and Robert Johnson, 41, of Seattle; and Staff Sgt. Paul Jackson, 33, of Lancaster, Md.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, created more than 20 years ago after a failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran.
Army Special Operations Command officials said the crew's MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive.
Each of the highly decorated soldiers had extensive combat experience and had completed the Army's most rigorous schools and training programs.
The elite aviation unit is home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, who focus on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
In June 2007, at Fort Campbell, Ky., Tucker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the oldest U.S. military aviation decoration.
Tucker was a Black Hawk helicopter crew chief.
According to the Army, while on an aerial combat flight in Iraq, enemy forces opened fire on his helicopter.
Tucker not only helped guide the helicopter to a landing zone, but he also fired his weapon to provide cover so a wounded soldier could be brought aboard.
The DFC citation said Tucker's courage and leadership in aerial combat contributed directly to the successful execution of the mission.
Tucker's wife, Megan Tucker, and a son live at Fort Campbell.
His parents, Wendell and Wanda Tucker, live in Titusville. They could not be reached for comment Saturday, but in a previous interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Wanda Tucker said of her son, "It has always been his dream to be in the military since he was a little boy. I have pictures of him since he was 3 or 4 in camouflage pants."
Tucker followed his father and his grandfather, R.G. Tucker, in serving in the Army, his family has said.
"Chad lived to serve the Lord through the Army," Kyle Miller, Tucker's cousin, said Saturday. "He dedicated his life and everything that he had to serve his country."
Tim Cash, president of the Night Stalkers Association, a nonprofit group that provides scholarships and other support for the unit's soldiers and their families, described its members as "quiet professionals" who wanted their privacy to mourn the fallen soldiers.
Maj. Brandon A. Bissell, a spokesman for the unit at Fort Campbell, said a memorial for the fallen soldiers is planned, but he wouldn't discuss further details.
Biography of Staff Sgt. Chad A. Tucker
Staff Sgt. Chad A. Tucker, 28:
Tucker was a native of Titusville, Fla., and entered the Army in June 2000. Following basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis, Va., Tucker served with 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment at Coleman Barracks, Germany, as both a helicopter mechanic and crew chief. In 2003, he successfully assessed with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as a helicopter mechanic. Tucker arrived to 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR, at Fort Campbell, Ky., in January 2004.
He was a combat veteran with 14 deployments, all in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal for Valor, eight Air Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, three Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, and the Basic Aviation Badge.
He is survived by his wife, Megan Tucker, and his son, Jeremy, of Fort Campbell, Ky.; and his father and mother, Wendell and Wanda Tucker, of Titusville, Fla.; and his sister, Crystal Castaner, of Titusville, Fla.
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Colo. crash kills elite local soldier
FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS • August 23, 2009
A 28-year-old Titusville man is among four members of an elite special operations unit the Army has confirmed were killed in a helicopter training accident in Colorado.
Those killed in Wednesday's crash were Staff Sgt. Chad Tucker, a 2000 graduate of Astronaut High; Chief Warrant Officers 4 Terrance Geer, 40, of Casper, Wyo., and Robert Johnson, 41, of Seattle; and Staff Sgt. Paul Jackson, 33, of Lancaster, Md.
The soldiers were members of the Fort Campbell-based Delta Company, 1st Battalion, 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, created more than 20 years ago after a failed mission to rescue hostages in Iran.
Army Special Operations Command officials said the crew's MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crashed while conducting mountain and environmental training near Colorado's second-highest summit, Mount Massive.
Each of the highly decorated soldiers had extensive combat experience and had completed the Army's most rigorous schools and training programs.
The elite aviation unit is home to some of the Army's best helicopter pilots, who focus on getting Special Forces soldiers, Army Rangers and Navy SEALS into some of the most dangerous areas of the world for covert operations.
In June 2007, at Fort Campbell, Ky., Tucker was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the oldest U.S. military aviation decoration.
Tucker was a Black Hawk helicopter crew chief.
According to the Army, while on an aerial combat flight in Iraq, enemy forces opened fire on his helicopter.
Tucker not only helped guide the helicopter to a landing zone, but he also fired his weapon to provide cover so a wounded soldier could be brought aboard.
The DFC citation said Tucker's courage and leadership in aerial combat contributed directly to the successful execution of the mission.
Tucker's wife, Megan Tucker, and a son live at Fort Campbell.
His parents, Wendell and Wanda Tucker, live in Titusville. They could not be reached for comment Saturday, but in a previous interview with FLORIDA TODAY, Wanda Tucker said of her son, "It has always been his dream to be in the military since he was a little boy. I have pictures of him since he was 3 or 4 in camouflage pants."
Tucker followed his father and his grandfather, R.G. Tucker, in serving in the Army, his family has said.
"Chad lived to serve the Lord through the Army," Kyle Miller, Tucker's cousin, said Saturday. "He dedicated his life and everything that he had to serve his country."
Tim Cash, president of the Night Stalkers Association, a nonprofit group that provides scholarships and other support for the unit's soldiers and their families, described its members as "quiet professionals" who wanted their privacy to mourn the fallen soldiers.
Maj. Brandon A. Bissell, a spokesman for the unit at Fort Campbell, said a memorial for the fallen soldiers is planned, but he wouldn't discuss further details.
Biography of Staff Sgt. Chad A. Tucker
Staff Sgt. Chad A. Tucker, 28:
Tucker was a native of Titusville, Fla., and entered the Army in June 2000. Following basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Eustis, Va., Tucker served with 1st Battalion, 214th Aviation Regiment at Coleman Barracks, Germany, as both a helicopter mechanic and crew chief. In 2003, he successfully assessed with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment as a helicopter mechanic. Tucker arrived to 1st Battalion, 160th SOAR, at Fort Campbell, Ky., in January 2004.
He was a combat veteran with 14 deployments, all in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His awards included the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal for Valor, eight Air Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, three Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal-Campaign Star, Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War On Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the Combat Action Badge, and the Basic Aviation Badge.
He is survived by his wife, Megan Tucker, and his son, Jeremy, of Fort Campbell, Ky.; and his father and mother, Wendell and Wanda Tucker, of Titusville, Fla.; and his sister, Crystal Castaner, of Titusville, Fla.
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Army Staff Sgt. Paul R. Jackson
Remember Our Heroes
SSgt. Paul Jackson, 33, helicopter crash victim
By Tom Infield
Inquirer Staff Writer
Staff Sgt. Paul Robeson Jackson, 33, who grew up in Philadelphia and became a member of an elite Army special forces unit, was killed Wednesday during a helicopter training exercise in the mountains of Colorado.
The military identified Sgt. Jackson as one of four soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed while operating in the thin air at 14,000 feet near Mount Massive, Colorado's second-highest peak. Sgt. Jackson's family said he was the crew chief.
A veteran of nine deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, Sgt. Jackson was a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., which was created in the 1980s after a failed mission to rescue American hostages in Iran.
"He was very proud of his training and being in that unit," said his godfather, Rudolph Tolbert.
A 1994 graduate of Walter B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, he was known to his family as Robe.
He began studies at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, but soon discovered that outdoor adventure was more to his liking, Tolbert said. He joined a smoke jumpers team that put out forest fires in the northwestern United States.
In 1998, he joined the Army and made it into the special forces. After 9/11 and with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he found himself in what must have seemed like one combat operation after another. He also served with U.S. forces in South Korea.
Along with numerous other medals, he received three Air Medals for valor.
As much as he could, Tolbert said, Sgt. Jackson returned to Philadelphia to see his family. He was here in March after the death of his father, Melvin, and was home again in June to see his mother, Maisha Brenda Jackson.
Jackson's brother, Mpozi Tolbert, a photojournalist at the Indianapolis Star, died of a heart attack at his desk in 2006, Rudolph Tolbert said.
Besides his mother, Sgt. Jackson is survived by his daughter, Desiree, 8, who lives with her mother in New Jersey.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
SSgt. Paul Jackson, 33, helicopter crash victim
By Tom Infield
Inquirer Staff Writer
Staff Sgt. Paul Robeson Jackson, 33, who grew up in Philadelphia and became a member of an elite Army special forces unit, was killed Wednesday during a helicopter training exercise in the mountains of Colorado.
The military identified Sgt. Jackson as one of four soldiers who died when their Black Hawk helicopter crashed while operating in the thin air at 14,000 feet near Mount Massive, Colorado's second-highest peak. Sgt. Jackson's family said he was the crew chief.
A veteran of nine deployments to Iraq and one to Afghanistan, Sgt. Jackson was a member of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, based at Fort Campbell, Ky., which was created in the 1980s after a failed mission to rescue American hostages in Iran.
"He was very proud of his training and being in that unit," said his godfather, Rudolph Tolbert.
A 1994 graduate of Walter B. Saul High School of Agricultural Sciences, he was known to his family as Robe.
He began studies at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore, but soon discovered that outdoor adventure was more to his liking, Tolbert said. He joined a smoke jumpers team that put out forest fires in the northwestern United States.
In 1998, he joined the Army and made it into the special forces. After 9/11 and with the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, he found himself in what must have seemed like one combat operation after another. He also served with U.S. forces in South Korea.
Along with numerous other medals, he received three Air Medals for valor.
As much as he could, Tolbert said, Sgt. Jackson returned to Philadelphia to see his family. He was here in March after the death of his father, Melvin, and was home again in June to see his mother, Maisha Brenda Jackson.
Jackson's brother, Mpozi Tolbert, a photojournalist at the Indianapolis Star, died of a heart attack at his desk in 2006, Rudolph Tolbert said.
Besides his mother, Sgt. Jackson is survived by his daughter, Desiree, 8, who lives with her mother in New Jersey.
Funeral arrangements were pending.
Army Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol, 23, of Pinson, Ala.
Pfc. VanOsdol was assigned to the 172nd Support Battalion, Schweinfurt, Germany; died Aug. 19, 2009 at Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy rocket fire struck his quarters.
NBC 13 -- A Pinson man has been killed in Iraq.
The Defense Department says Private William VanOsdol died Wednesday when an enemy rocket hit his barracks.
VanOsdol is from Pinson and attended Pinson Valley High School.
Teachers there remembered him as a quiet student with a good sense of humor.
They say VanOsdol came alive in English class when discussing British Literature.
“He just lit up on those stories and got very animated in the conversations that we had. He was a big fan of Beowulf and Lord of the Rings. That struck a chord with him,” Assistant Principal Karen Mardis said.
William VanOsdol was in the 172nd Support Battalion out of Germany.
Army Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol was killed in action on 8/19/09.
Army Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol, 23, of Pinson, Ala.
Pfc. VanOsdol was assigned to the 172nd Support Battalion, Schweinfurt, Germany; died Aug. 19, 2009 at Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when enemy rocket fire struck his quarters.
NBC 13 -- A Pinson man has been killed in Iraq.
The Defense Department says Private William VanOsdol died Wednesday when an enemy rocket hit his barracks.
VanOsdol is from Pinson and attended Pinson Valley High School.
Teachers there remembered him as a quiet student with a good sense of humor.
They say VanOsdol came alive in English class when discussing British Literature.
“He just lit up on those stories and got very animated in the conversations that we had. He was a big fan of Beowulf and Lord of the Rings. That struck a chord with him,” Assistant Principal Karen Mardis said.
William VanOsdol was in the 172nd Support Battalion out of Germany.
Army Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol was killed in action on 8/19/09.
Army Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr.
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr., 23, of Williamsburg, Va.
Spc. Dumont was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion, Fort Eustis, Va.; died Aug. 19, 2009 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
The Virginian-Pilot -- A soldier from Williamsburg who died in Afghanistan on Wednesday was serving as a wheeled vehicle mechanic with a unit from Fort Eustis, an Army official said Friday.
Spc. Paul E. Dumont Jr., died of injuries suffered in a noncombat-related incident at Kandahar Airfield. The Defense Department did not specify how he died but said the incident is under investigation.
Dumont, 23, was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion at Fort Eustis. The 149th left for a yearlong deployment in March.
Dumont joined the Army in August 2004. After training at Fort Knox, he was assigned to the 149th. He served in Iraq from October 2005 to October 2006.
His awards include the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.
He is survived by his wife and parents.
Army Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr. was killed in a non-combat related incident on 8/19/09.
Army Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr., 23, of Williamsburg, Va.
Spc. Dumont was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion, Fort Eustis, Va.; died Aug. 19, 2009 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
The Virginian-Pilot -- A soldier from Williamsburg who died in Afghanistan on Wednesday was serving as a wheeled vehicle mechanic with a unit from Fort Eustis, an Army official said Friday.
Spc. Paul E. Dumont Jr., died of injuries suffered in a noncombat-related incident at Kandahar Airfield. The Defense Department did not specify how he died but said the incident is under investigation.
Dumont, 23, was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion at Fort Eustis. The 149th left for a yearlong deployment in March.
Dumont joined the Army in August 2004. After training at Fort Knox, he was assigned to the 149th. He served in Iraq from October 2005 to October 2006.
His awards include the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal.
He is survived by his wife and parents.
Army Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr. was killed in a non-combat related incident on 8/19/09.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C.
Pfc. Walker was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen.
WCHL 1360 -- Twenty-three year-old Morris Walker, a UNC graduate who had joined the army this past spring, has been killed in Afghanistan.
Barbara Lambert works as the director of admissions at Fayetteville Academy, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Walker attended grades 6 through 12.
Walker’s sister sent out an email notifying those who knew him that he had been killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) hit his convoy.
Walker graduated UNC in May 2008 and signed up for the army April of this year. Lambert says she believes Walker had plans to attend law school.
Before deploying to Afghanistan, Walker was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Alaska. Lambert says Walker’s mother had been in poor health when she got the news of her son’s death.
Lambert says Walker will be remembered for being genuinely well-liked and always having a smile on his face.
Funeral arrangements, as of Wednesday afternoon, had not been made yet.
Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker was killed in action on 8/18/09.
Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C.
Pfc. Walker was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen.
WCHL 1360 -- Twenty-three year-old Morris Walker, a UNC graduate who had joined the army this past spring, has been killed in Afghanistan.
Barbara Lambert works as the director of admissions at Fayetteville Academy, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where Walker attended grades 6 through 12.
Walker’s sister sent out an email notifying those who knew him that he had been killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) hit his convoy.
Walker graduated UNC in May 2008 and signed up for the army April of this year. Lambert says she believes Walker had plans to attend law school.
Before deploying to Afghanistan, Walker was stationed at Ft. Benning, Georgia and Alaska. Lambert says Walker’s mother had been in poor health when she got the news of her son’s death.
Lambert says Walker will be remembered for being genuinely well-liked and always having a smile on his face.
Funeral arrangements, as of Wednesday afternoon, had not been made yet.
Army Pfc. Morris L. Walker was killed in action on 8/18/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen, 29, of San Antonio
SSgt Bowen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Pfc. Morris L. Walker.
San Antonio Express -- Two U.S. soldiers, one of them from San Antonio, were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, the U.S. military said Thursday night.
Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen of San Antonio died from wounds suffered in the explosion in Paktika province, Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Defense Department. The 29-year-old was attached to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, the release states.
Bowen made the decision to join the military after he graduated from Churchill High School in 1998, said his stepfather, Howard Doebbler.
“He was a great soldier and he took his job very seriously,” Doebbler said. “His mother and I were very, very proud of him.”
The other soldier killed with Bowen was Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C., according to the Defense Department.
Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen was killed in action on 8/18/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen, 29, of San Antonio
SSgt Bowen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. Also killed was Pfc. Morris L. Walker.
San Antonio Express -- Two U.S. soldiers, one of them from San Antonio, were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle, the U.S. military said Thursday night.
Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen of San Antonio died from wounds suffered in the explosion in Paktika province, Afghanistan, according to a statement from the Defense Department. The 29-year-old was attached to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division out of Fort Richardson, Alaska, the release states.
Bowen made the decision to join the military after he graduated from Churchill High School in 1998, said his stepfather, Howard Doebbler.
“He was a great soldier and he took his job very seriously,” Doebbler said. “His mother and I were very, very proud of him.”
The other soldier killed with Bowen was Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C., according to the Defense Department.
Army Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen was killed in action on 8/18/09.
Army Spc. Troy O. Tom
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Troy O. Tom, 21, of Shiprock, N.M.
Spc. Tom was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Also killed was Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney.
Beclabito soldier killed in Afghanistan— By Alysa Landry — The Daily Times
BECLABITO — Flags across the state and Navajo Nation are flying at half-staff to honor 21-year-old Army Spc. Troy Orion Tom, of Beclabito, who died Monday in Afghanistan.
Friends of Tom, a 2006 Aztec High School graduate, remember him as an honest man with a great sense of humor and undying patriotism.
"Students really thought highly of him," Aztec Superintendent Linda Paul said. "He had a great sense of humor, a great smile and he was trusted by his friends. He was a very intelligent guy, and he had passion."
Tom is the son of David and Carolyn Tom, of Beclabito. David Tom serves as a delegate to the Navajo Tribal Council.
"Right now he's just our hero," David Tom told The Associated Press on Friday. "His family is all proud of him that he was out there, serving his country."
David and Carolyn Tom flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a ceremony Thursday when the Army moved the body of their son back to the United States. Tom was killed by an improvised explosive device when his unit was setting up camp in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.
"I'm proud of him every day he was there and every day still," said Tom's brother, Seve Tom. "He was a good guy, a good leader. We miss him, but he knew what he was doing and he wanted to do it. He always wanted to serve his country."
Seve Tom called his brother his best friend. Tom is survived by two brothers, Seve, 24, and Leon Harvey, 13; and a sister, Carrizoe Tom, 19.
"He was strong and he was always laughing," Seve Tom said of his brother. "He cared about everybody and was willing to help anybody out. He had a big smile on his face every time we saw him."
Carrizoe Tom said she will miss her brother's smile, laughter and sense of humor.
"He was a good person. I really miss him and love him," she said. "I wish I could have said good-bye to him, but I know he's in a better place, and he's probably just smiling and laughing."
Tom is the ninth soldier from the Navajo Nation to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2004, a spokesman for Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. said.
"It was with great sadness that I heard of the loss of one of our brave Navajo soldiers," Shirley said in a prepared statement. "On behalf of the Navajo Nation, I offer our deepest condolences to the family of the late Army Specialist Troy Tom. We offer our sympathies and prayers to his entire family. We pray they find the strength to carry through this difficult time, knowing that their son's contribution to his country is deeply appreciated and will be remembered."
Tom attended Beclabito Day School and T'iis Nazbas Community School in Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., before moving into the Aztec Dormitory to attend high school.
Tom was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, and he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class, Paul said. College scholarships poured in, but Tom wanted to be a soldier.
During his senior year, Tom often repeated a favorite quote from Daniel Webster: "I was born an American; I will live an American," said Paul, who distinctly remembers a conversation she had with Tom near the end of his high school career.
"I have lunch with the kids," she said. "I ask them about their goals. He was so memorable because he was so clear. He wanted to go to the Army. He was going to go into the Army. He wanted to be a soldier."
Tom, who also enjoyed fishing and skateboarding, reported for basic training just months after graduating.
His father said he joined the military to challenge himself physically and mentally. He was based in Fort Lewis, Wash.
"We're grateful for Troy's service to our country and we are keeping him and his family in our thoughts and prayers," Paul said.
Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center.
Army Spc. Troy O. Tom was killed in action on 8/18/09.
Army Spc. Troy O. Tom, 21, of Shiprock, N.M.
Spc. Tom was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Aug. 18, 2009 in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his unit. Also killed was Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney.
Beclabito soldier killed in Afghanistan— By Alysa Landry — The Daily Times
BECLABITO — Flags across the state and Navajo Nation are flying at half-staff to honor 21-year-old Army Spc. Troy Orion Tom, of Beclabito, who died Monday in Afghanistan.
Friends of Tom, a 2006 Aztec High School graduate, remember him as an honest man with a great sense of humor and undying patriotism.
"Students really thought highly of him," Aztec Superintendent Linda Paul said. "He had a great sense of humor, a great smile and he was trusted by his friends. He was a very intelligent guy, and he had passion."
Tom is the son of David and Carolyn Tom, of Beclabito. David Tom serves as a delegate to the Navajo Tribal Council.
"Right now he's just our hero," David Tom told The Associated Press on Friday. "His family is all proud of him that he was out there, serving his country."
David and Carolyn Tom flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a ceremony Thursday when the Army moved the body of their son back to the United States. Tom was killed by an improvised explosive device when his unit was setting up camp in the Kandahar Province of Afghanistan.
"I'm proud of him every day he was there and every day still," said Tom's brother, Seve Tom. "He was a good guy, a good leader. We miss him, but he knew what he was doing and he wanted to do it. He always wanted to serve his country."
Seve Tom called his brother his best friend. Tom is survived by two brothers, Seve, 24, and Leon Harvey, 13; and a sister, Carrizoe Tom, 19.
"He was strong and he was always laughing," Seve Tom said of his brother. "He cared about everybody and was willing to help anybody out. He had a big smile on his face every time we saw him."
Carrizoe Tom said she will miss her brother's smile, laughter and sense of humor.
"He was a good person. I really miss him and love him," she said. "I wish I could have said good-bye to him, but I know he's in a better place, and he's probably just smiling and laughing."
Tom is the ninth soldier from the Navajo Nation to be killed in Iraq or Afghanistan since 2004, a spokesman for Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. said.
"It was with great sadness that I heard of the loss of one of our brave Navajo soldiers," Shirley said in a prepared statement. "On behalf of the Navajo Nation, I offer our deepest condolences to the family of the late Army Specialist Troy Tom. We offer our sympathies and prayers to his entire family. We pray they find the strength to carry through this difficult time, knowing that their son's contribution to his country is deeply appreciated and will be remembered."
Tom attended Beclabito Day School and T'iis Nazbas Community School in Teec Nos Pos, Ariz., before moving into the Aztec Dormitory to attend high school.
Tom was a member of the National Honor Society in high school, and he graduated in the top 10 percent of his class, Paul said. College scholarships poured in, but Tom wanted to be a soldier.
During his senior year, Tom often repeated a favorite quote from Daniel Webster: "I was born an American; I will live an American," said Paul, who distinctly remembers a conversation she had with Tom near the end of his high school career.
"I have lunch with the kids," she said. "I ask them about their goals. He was so memorable because he was so clear. He wanted to go to the Army. He was going to go into the Army. He wanted to be a soldier."
Tom, who also enjoyed fishing and skateboarding, reported for basic training just months after graduating.
His father said he joined the military to challenge himself physically and mentally. He was based in Fort Lewis, Wash.
"We're grateful for Troy's service to our country and we are keeping him and his family in our thoughts and prayers," Paul said.
Funeral services are set for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center.
Army Spc. Troy O. Tom was killed in action on 8/18/09.
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