Remember Our Heroes
Marine Staff Sgt. Stephen L. Murphy, 36, of Jaffrey, N.H.
SSgt. Murphy was assigned to 2nd Intelligence Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Nov. 9, 2009 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq.
Mother of fallen NH Marine says his time had come
The Associated Press
TROY, N.H. — The mother of New Hampshire Marine Stephen L. Murphy of Troy who was killed in Iraq says it was his time to go.
Carol Murphy made the comments during a Sunday tribute to her son in the Troy town square that was hosted by the local American Legion post.
The 36-year-old staff sergeant was killed Nov. 8 in Al Asad, Iraq.
The New Hampshire Union Leader quotes Carol Murphy as saying she was blessed with something wonderful, but it was her son's time to go.
Carol Murphy says she's still waiting to learn more about how her son died.
A funeral for the fallen Marine is scheduled for Nov. 17.
Service provided foundation for Murphy
The Associated Press
Stephen Murphy’s foster family didn’t know what to make of him when he first arrived in his early teens. His hair was purple and green, and he was always listening to heavy metal music.
“His hair was his pride and joy,” said his foster sister, Lynn Quade. “He was such a heavy metal dude.”
That was before Murphy, of Jaffery, N.H., spent 16 years in the Marines. He died Nov. 9 in Iraq’s Anbar province. His death was not combat-related and is being investigated. Still, his military career made his family proud.
“He touched this earth, and he left behind all beautiful things for people in this town,” said his mother, Carol Murphy, who lives in Troy, N.H.
Friends and family members say Murphy, 36, grew into a quiet, tender man who still loved to play his guitar and go skiing.
He once joined a search party to look for a lost boy. He found the child and waited with him at the base of a mountain for help to arrive.
Murphy joined the Marines shortly after graduating from Conant High School in Jaffrey. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Survivors also include his foster mother, Evelyn Covey, and three sisters.
Marine Staff Sgt. Stephen L. Murphy was killed in a non-hostile incident on 11/09/09.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Sunday, November 08, 2009
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III
Remember Our Heroes
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla.
CWO2 Scott was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died Nov. 8, 2009 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his OH-58D helicopter crashed. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger.
‘He loved the freedom’ of the skies
The Associated Press
Earl “Scotty” Scott, an Army helicopter pilot, always loved the freedom of flying and never feared being in the air. He didn’t want anyone else to be afraid of it, either.
Nick Bradley, one of Scott’s close friends, recalled going on a plane ride with Scott at the controls. Scott urged his friend to take over, and decided he’d have a little fun when Bradley refused.
“He let go and we started falling. I had a full-blown heart attack that time,” Bradley said.
Scott, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Nov. 8 when his helicopter crashed in Tikrit, Iraq. He was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Scott had started his own lawn care business as a teen, but sold the business so he could pursue a career in aviation. He joined the Army in 2006.
The pilot loved to go camping, fishing, surfing and kite surfing. Friends and family also said he enjoyed playing drums. But he liked nothing more than being in the air.
“He loved the freedom of it, being able to fly where he wanted to,” said his father, Earl Scott Jr. “I know he was doing what he wanted to do and I know he was proud to serve his country.”
Among other survivors are his mother, Sandra; a brother, William; and his girlfriend, Tara Reyna.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III was killed in action on 11/08/09.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla.
CWO2 Scott was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died Nov. 8, 2009 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his OH-58D helicopter crashed. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger.
‘He loved the freedom’ of the skies
The Associated Press
Earl “Scotty” Scott, an Army helicopter pilot, always loved the freedom of flying and never feared being in the air. He didn’t want anyone else to be afraid of it, either.
Nick Bradley, one of Scott’s close friends, recalled going on a plane ride with Scott at the controls. Scott urged his friend to take over, and decided he’d have a little fun when Bradley refused.
“He let go and we started falling. I had a full-blown heart attack that time,” Bradley said.
Scott, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Nov. 8 when his helicopter crashed in Tikrit, Iraq. He was assigned to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
Scott had started his own lawn care business as a teen, but sold the business so he could pursue a career in aviation. He joined the Army in 2006.
The pilot loved to go camping, fishing, surfing and kite surfing. Friends and family also said he enjoyed playing drums. But he liked nothing more than being in the air.
“He loved the freedom of it, being able to fly where he wanted to,” said his father, Earl Scott Jr. “I know he was doing what he wanted to do and I know he was proud to serve his country.”
Among other survivors are his mother, Sandra; a brother, William; and his girlfriend, Tara Reyna.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III was killed in action on 11/08/09.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger
Remember Our Heroes
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger, 29, of Kimberly, Idaho
CWO2 Heffelfinger was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died Nov. 8, 2009 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his OH-58D helicopter crashed. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III.
Town stood still while local son was buried
The Associated Press
Matthew C. Heffelfinger’s father says he was humble and could do without drawing attention to himself.
“He was one who walked the walk and commanded respect by his actions without needing to talk that talk,” Craig Heffelfinger said.
Heffelfinger, 29, joined the Army in April 2000. He was assigned in December 2007 to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and served as a Kiowa helicopter pilot.
On Nov. 8, he died in a helicopter crash in Tikrit, Iraq, along with Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott of Jacksonville, Fla.
About 250 people attended services for Heffelfinger in rural Kimberly, Idaho, his hometown. Throughout the community, signs on businesses honored him and flags were flown at half-mast.
“We were humbled to see so many businesses with signs showing support and their sincere condolences,” Craig Heffelfinger said.
Heffelfinger leaves behind his wife, Tanya, and the couple’s two children.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger was killed in action on 11/08/09.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger, 29, of Kimberly, Idaho
CWO2 Heffelfinger was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; died Nov. 8, 2009 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when his OH-58D helicopter crashed. Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer 2 Earl R. Scott III.
Town stood still while local son was buried
The Associated Press
Matthew C. Heffelfinger’s father says he was humble and could do without drawing attention to himself.
“He was one who walked the walk and commanded respect by his actions without needing to talk that talk,” Craig Heffelfinger said.
Heffelfinger, 29, joined the Army in April 2000. He was assigned in December 2007 to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and served as a Kiowa helicopter pilot.
On Nov. 8, he died in a helicopter crash in Tikrit, Iraq, along with Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott of Jacksonville, Fla.
About 250 people attended services for Heffelfinger in rural Kimberly, Idaho, his hometown. Throughout the community, signs on businesses honored him and flags were flown at half-mast.
“We were humbled to see so many businesses with signs showing support and their sincere condolences,” Craig Heffelfinger said.
Heffelfinger leaves behind his wife, Tanya, and the couple’s two children.
Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Mathew C. Heffelfinger was killed in action on 11/08/09.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Marine Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md.
Sgt. Cartwright was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 7, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.
MarSOC NCO killed in Afghanistan
Staff report
A California-based Marine was killed Saturday during combat operations in Afghanistan, Marine officials said.
Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md., died in Farah province. He was a reconnaissance man assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., according to a news release. The battalion is part of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.
It’s not immediately clear how he died.
Cartwright enlisted in the Corps on Sept. 10, 2001, and joined MarSOC in October 2006, just a few months after he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
His military awards include: two Purple Hearts, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraqi Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, NATO Medal and two Certificates of Commendation.
Marine Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright was killed in action on 11/07/09.
Marine Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md.
Sgt. Cartwright was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 7, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Farah province, Afghanistan.
MarSOC NCO killed in Afghanistan
Staff report
A California-based Marine was killed Saturday during combat operations in Afghanistan, Marine officials said.
Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright, 26, of Union Bridge, Md., died in Farah province. He was a reconnaissance man assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Pendleton, Calif., according to a news release. The battalion is part of Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command.
It’s not immediately clear how he died.
Cartwright enlisted in the Corps on Sept. 10, 2001, and joined MarSOC in October 2006, just a few months after he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.
His military awards include: two Purple Hearts, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraqi Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, NATO Medal and two Certificates of Commendation.
Marine Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright was killed in action on 11/07/09.
Ret. Senior Airman Sumner L. Cowan
Remember Our Heroes
Ret. Senior Airman Sumner L. Cowan, 27, of Valdosta, Ga., passed away Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.
Sumner was born Sept. 29, 1982, in Fayetteville. He graduated from Schaumburg High School in Schaumburg, Ill., with the Class of 2001 and attended Harper College in Palatine, Ill., before entering the U.S. Air Force. During his enlistment, he served in Balad and Kirkuk, Iraq. He was on the ground during the initial elections in Baghdad and for a time was embedded with the U.S. Army. Sumner was assigned to the 823rd Security Forces Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia since 2005 and was medically retired in April 2009 due to injuries sustained in Iraq. Sumner proudly and loyally served his country and received many honors, awards and commendations for his dedicated service. Most recently, he was attending Georgia Military College in Valdosta.
Sumner is survived by his parents and stepparents, KerrieAnn Mayes-Skuran and husband, Craig Skuran of Schaumburg, Ill., and Thomas L. Cowan and wife, Selma of Woodbridge, Va.; one sister, Angelica Drumm of Woodbridge; two brothers, Thomas L. Cowan II and Ernest D. Cowan of Woodbridge; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins; stepgrandparents, Victor and Mildred Skuran of Glenview, Ill., and Generosa Nery of Angeles City, Philippines. He was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Ralph and Louise (Mack) Mayes; his paternal grandparents, Harold and Alma (Pyle) Cowan; and stepgrandfather, Ernesto David.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at Chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home in Valdosta with his cousin, the Rev. Don Cowan, officiating. Interment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sumner’s family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Carson McLane Funeral Home.
Ret. Senior Airman Sumner L. Cowan, 27, of Valdosta, Ga., passed away Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.
Sumner was born Sept. 29, 1982, in Fayetteville. He graduated from Schaumburg High School in Schaumburg, Ill., with the Class of 2001 and attended Harper College in Palatine, Ill., before entering the U.S. Air Force. During his enlistment, he served in Balad and Kirkuk, Iraq. He was on the ground during the initial elections in Baghdad and for a time was embedded with the U.S. Army. Sumner was assigned to the 823rd Security Forces Squadron at Moody Air Force Base in Georgia since 2005 and was medically retired in April 2009 due to injuries sustained in Iraq. Sumner proudly and loyally served his country and received many honors, awards and commendations for his dedicated service. Most recently, he was attending Georgia Military College in Valdosta.
Sumner is survived by his parents and stepparents, KerrieAnn Mayes-Skuran and husband, Craig Skuran of Schaumburg, Ill., and Thomas L. Cowan and wife, Selma of Woodbridge, Va.; one sister, Angelica Drumm of Woodbridge; two brothers, Thomas L. Cowan II and Ernest D. Cowan of Woodbridge; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins; stepgrandparents, Victor and Mildred Skuran of Glenview, Ill., and Generosa Nery of Angeles City, Philippines. He was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Ralph and Louise (Mack) Mayes; his paternal grandparents, Harold and Alma (Pyle) Cowan; and stepgrandfather, Ernesto David.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 13, 2009, at Chapel of Carson McLane Funeral Home in Valdosta with his cousin, the Rev. Don Cowan, officiating. Interment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery.
Sumner’s family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. today at Carson McLane Funeral Home.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Army Pfc. Michael Pearson
Remember Our Heroes
Slain soldier from Bolingbrook passionate about Army life
Michael Pearson joined the Army hoping it would get him to college where he could pursue his passion: music.
But he soon became passionate about his life in the military.
"He was proud. He loved every minute of the military. He found a new side of himself," Kristopher Craig said of his kid brother, one of 13 people gunned down at Fort Hood in Texas. Another area soldier, Francheska Velez, was also killed.
Craig, who also served in the Army and spent a year at Ft. Hood, was expecting to see Pearson in a few weeks when he came home before shipping out to Afghanistan. Early this morning, he found himself standing outside the family's Bolingbrook home, eyes red, struggling with his grief.
"Nobody knows how to handle it," Craig said, barely able to talk. "It's hard to believe that he's gone. I just don't understand it."
Sheryll Pearson and her husband, Jeff, heard the news about the shooting while at Craig's home.
But they figured Pearson was safe. The reports said the victims were in an overseas deployment processing center. Michael, they knew, had received his anthrax shot two days before in preparation for deployment overseas in January.
"We thought it was going to be okay, because we thought it was another building," Pearson's mother said. "Mike won't be there because he already he got his inoculations ... He shouldn't be in that part of that building. Since we weren't contacted, we felt we were okay."
But as they were driving home about 6:30 p.m., they received a call on their cell phone from her son's sergeant at Ft. Hood. Pearson, he said, had been shot three times -- in the spine and chest. He said Pearson had lost a lot of blood.
About 10 p.m., an Army surgeon called to say that Pearson hadn't made it. He said doctors had brought Pfc. Pearson back to life twice on the operating table but were unsuccessful the third time.
"His father is still in shock and very angry," Sheryll Pearson said. "We're all very angry."
Pearson, 21, joined the Army slightly more than a year ago and was training to deactivate bombs, his mother said.
"He was working for a furniture company and felt like he wasn't going anywhere," she said this morning.
"He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world. He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country." She said he also wanted to further his education after graduating from Bolingbrook High School.
"He would do anything for us," she continued. When Jeff Pearson was laid off from his job, Mike sent home money to buy new tires for the family car.
She said she last talked to her son two days ago about him coming home for Christmas. She told him she had already gotten his room ready. She was particularly excited because she hadn't seen her son in a year. He had been training for a year in the Mojave Desert.
"He was always upbeat and looking forward to coming home," she said. "He was bringing his guitar home." Pearson, she said, loved music and his guitar. He and his father often played together.
Mike Dostalek, Pearson's cousin, said Jimmy Hendrix was his idol. Pearson also taught himself how to play piano, Dostalek added during an informal news conference outside the family home this afternoon.
"He was the poster child of what any mother wanted in a son," she said.
This afternoon, Sheryll Pearson said her son's death "still doesn't seem real to me."
He was the best son in the whole world. He was a good student, good friend, loyal, a hard worker -- he was my best friend and I miss him," she said, adding that she is praying for the families of the other victims.
Craig said he and his brother were recently discussing who he should see before he shipped out to Afghanistan. "We know Afghanistan is not a joke," he said.
"We were completely blindsided by this," Craig added. "It's simple military, really. . .All the guys around you, you trust them with your life. You're all there to watch each other's back. That's the way the military works. He trusted everybody that was around him."
"Attacking another soldier, it's just ridiculous, I don't understand it."
Craig said his brother was planning on going to college after the Army to study music theory.
"Music. I mean, really, that's what kept him going through any hard time our family had. Him and his stepfather played guitar. . .He was a genius as far as we were all concerned. My stepfather has been playing for years and years, and my brother surpassed him in a couple weeks of playing the guitar. He wasn't really expressive with his words. When he started playing the guitar, we all understood that was how he was communicating to everybody, that's where his emotion was.
"He didn't drink, didn't smoke, never wanted to. He was a perfect kid," Craig said. "He lived his life by his guitar and his work. He was an amazing kid. He was my mom's best friend."
Jessica Koerber, a family friend, was with the Pearsons when they received the phone call about Michael's death and said she was outraged.
If his killer didn't want to ship overseas, "he should have killed himself and not taken out other people," she said.
Koerber, 26, said she was surprised by Pearson's decision to enlist. "It shocked me because he'd be so far from his family. His family is his life," she said, adding that his nieces and nephews "loved their uncle Mikey."
"Michael was someone who never did anything wrong in his life," Koerber said. "So we all thought he's going to pull through, (that) God's not going to take him."
At Bolingbrook High School today, where Pearson graduated in 2006, the American flag hung at half staff and grief counselors were at the ready to help students.
Besides his parents and brother Kristopher, Pearson is survived by another brother, Jason Craig, and a sister, Julie Craig.
This afternoon at the informal news conference, Dostalek read a prose poem Pearson wrote:
I look only to the future for wisdom. To rock back and forth in my wooden chair. To grow out the beard of the Earth and play my experience through sound. Not always pleasant. But just as important. For each note must represent my love, pain and experience. Everyone has a place in my story. And someday I'll play a tune that represents you and the role you played in my life.
Slain soldier from Bolingbrook passionate about Army life
Michael Pearson joined the Army hoping it would get him to college where he could pursue his passion: music.
But he soon became passionate about his life in the military.
"He was proud. He loved every minute of the military. He found a new side of himself," Kristopher Craig said of his kid brother, one of 13 people gunned down at Fort Hood in Texas. Another area soldier, Francheska Velez, was also killed.
Craig, who also served in the Army and spent a year at Ft. Hood, was expecting to see Pearson in a few weeks when he came home before shipping out to Afghanistan. Early this morning, he found himself standing outside the family's Bolingbrook home, eyes red, struggling with his grief.
"Nobody knows how to handle it," Craig said, barely able to talk. "It's hard to believe that he's gone. I just don't understand it."
Sheryll Pearson and her husband, Jeff, heard the news about the shooting while at Craig's home.
But they figured Pearson was safe. The reports said the victims were in an overseas deployment processing center. Michael, they knew, had received his anthrax shot two days before in preparation for deployment overseas in January.
"We thought it was going to be okay, because we thought it was another building," Pearson's mother said. "Mike won't be there because he already he got his inoculations ... He shouldn't be in that part of that building. Since we weren't contacted, we felt we were okay."
But as they were driving home about 6:30 p.m., they received a call on their cell phone from her son's sergeant at Ft. Hood. Pearson, he said, had been shot three times -- in the spine and chest. He said Pearson had lost a lot of blood.
About 10 p.m., an Army surgeon called to say that Pearson hadn't made it. He said doctors had brought Pfc. Pearson back to life twice on the operating table but were unsuccessful the third time.
"His father is still in shock and very angry," Sheryll Pearson said. "We're all very angry."
Pearson, 21, joined the Army slightly more than a year ago and was training to deactivate bombs, his mother said.
"He was working for a furniture company and felt like he wasn't going anywhere," she said this morning.
"He felt he was in a rut. He wanted to travel, see the world. He also wanted an opportunity to serve the country." She said he also wanted to further his education after graduating from Bolingbrook High School.
"He would do anything for us," she continued. When Jeff Pearson was laid off from his job, Mike sent home money to buy new tires for the family car.
She said she last talked to her son two days ago about him coming home for Christmas. She told him she had already gotten his room ready. She was particularly excited because she hadn't seen her son in a year. He had been training for a year in the Mojave Desert.
"He was always upbeat and looking forward to coming home," she said. "He was bringing his guitar home." Pearson, she said, loved music and his guitar. He and his father often played together.
Mike Dostalek, Pearson's cousin, said Jimmy Hendrix was his idol. Pearson also taught himself how to play piano, Dostalek added during an informal news conference outside the family home this afternoon.
"He was the poster child of what any mother wanted in a son," she said.
This afternoon, Sheryll Pearson said her son's death "still doesn't seem real to me."
He was the best son in the whole world. He was a good student, good friend, loyal, a hard worker -- he was my best friend and I miss him," she said, adding that she is praying for the families of the other victims.
Craig said he and his brother were recently discussing who he should see before he shipped out to Afghanistan. "We know Afghanistan is not a joke," he said.
"We were completely blindsided by this," Craig added. "It's simple military, really. . .All the guys around you, you trust them with your life. You're all there to watch each other's back. That's the way the military works. He trusted everybody that was around him."
"Attacking another soldier, it's just ridiculous, I don't understand it."
Craig said his brother was planning on going to college after the Army to study music theory.
"Music. I mean, really, that's what kept him going through any hard time our family had. Him and his stepfather played guitar. . .He was a genius as far as we were all concerned. My stepfather has been playing for years and years, and my brother surpassed him in a couple weeks of playing the guitar. He wasn't really expressive with his words. When he started playing the guitar, we all understood that was how he was communicating to everybody, that's where his emotion was.
"He didn't drink, didn't smoke, never wanted to. He was a perfect kid," Craig said. "He lived his life by his guitar and his work. He was an amazing kid. He was my mom's best friend."
Jessica Koerber, a family friend, was with the Pearsons when they received the phone call about Michael's death and said she was outraged.
If his killer didn't want to ship overseas, "he should have killed himself and not taken out other people," she said.
Koerber, 26, said she was surprised by Pearson's decision to enlist. "It shocked me because he'd be so far from his family. His family is his life," she said, adding that his nieces and nephews "loved their uncle Mikey."
"Michael was someone who never did anything wrong in his life," Koerber said. "So we all thought he's going to pull through, (that) God's not going to take him."
At Bolingbrook High School today, where Pearson graduated in 2006, the American flag hung at half staff and grief counselors were at the ready to help students.
Besides his parents and brother Kristopher, Pearson is survived by another brother, Jason Craig, and a sister, Julie Craig.
This afternoon at the informal news conference, Dostalek read a prose poem Pearson wrote:
I look only to the future for wisdom. To rock back and forth in my wooden chair. To grow out the beard of the Earth and play my experience through sound. Not always pleasant. But just as important. For each note must represent my love, pain and experience. Everyone has a place in my story. And someday I'll play a tune that represents you and the role you played in my life.
Michael Grant Cahill
Remember Our Heroes
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Michael Grant Cahill. Here is a short profile:
Mr. Cahill, a 62-year-old physician assistant, suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and returned to work at the base as a civilian employee after taking just one week off for recovery, said his daughter Keely Vanacker.
“He survived that. He was getting back on track, and he gets killed by a gunman,” Ms. Vanacker said, her words bare with shock and disbelief.
Mr. Cahill, of Cameron, Texas, helped treat soldiers returning from tours of duty or preparing for deployment. Often, Vanacker said, Cahill would walk young soldiers where they needed to go, just to make sure they got the right treatment.
“He loved his patients, and his patients loved him,” said Ms. Vanacker, 33, the oldest of Mr. Cahill’s three adult children. “He just felt his job was important.”
Mr. Cahill, who was born in Spokane, Wash., had worked as a civilian contractor at Fort Hood for about four years, after jobs in rural health clinics and at Veterans Affairs hospitals. He and his wife, Joleen, had been married 37 years.
Ms. Vanacker described her father as a gregarious man and a voracious reader who could talk for hours about any subject.
The family’s typical Thanksgiving dinners ended with board games and long conversations over the table, said Vanacker, whose voice often cracked with emotion as she remembered her father. “Now, who I am going to talk to?”
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Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Michael Grant Cahill. Here is a short profile:
Mr. Cahill, a 62-year-old physician assistant, suffered a heart attack two weeks ago and returned to work at the base as a civilian employee after taking just one week off for recovery, said his daughter Keely Vanacker.
“He survived that. He was getting back on track, and he gets killed by a gunman,” Ms. Vanacker said, her words bare with shock and disbelief.
Mr. Cahill, of Cameron, Texas, helped treat soldiers returning from tours of duty or preparing for deployment. Often, Vanacker said, Cahill would walk young soldiers where they needed to go, just to make sure they got the right treatment.
“He loved his patients, and his patients loved him,” said Ms. Vanacker, 33, the oldest of Mr. Cahill’s three adult children. “He just felt his job was important.”
Mr. Cahill, who was born in Spokane, Wash., had worked as a civilian contractor at Fort Hood for about four years, after jobs in rural health clinics and at Veterans Affairs hospitals. He and his wife, Joleen, had been married 37 years.
Ms. Vanacker described her father as a gregarious man and a voracious reader who could talk for hours about any subject.
The family’s typical Thanksgiving dinners ended with board games and long conversations over the table, said Vanacker, whose voice often cracked with emotion as she remembered her father. “Now, who I am going to talk to?”
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Army Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo
Remember Our Heroes
Major Libardo Caraveo was one of 13 people killed Thursday at Fort Hood.
Army Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo didn't much like his first name, which he often abbreviated as simply "L," going instead by Eduardo or his nickname, "Lalo."
Caraveo, a longtime psychotherapist, told his best friend Rudy Valenzuela that he thought his parents really meant to call him "Librado," which means "free" and "liberated" in Spanish.
In retrospect, Valenzuela believes his friend was right.
"Freedom. That was him. He lived freely, and he gave to ensure that other people could have the same opportunity," said Valenzuela, a Tucson, Arizona, attorney who called Caraveo his close friend for 25 years.
Caraveo, 52, was killed in the shootings at Fort Hood last week and was among the 13 people honored at a memorial service Tuesday. He is survived by a wife, three sons and two stepdaughters.
Family and friends say Caraveo broke through the barriers of a life that began with little promise, as the youngest of seven siblings of an impoverished family that immigrated from Juárez, Chihuahua, to El Paso.
"When he was born ... there wasn't money to support us," said Caraveo's oldest brother, Fernando Caraveo, 71, of El Paso. "He began to study, and would say, 'If God helps me, then I am going to help people.'"
He channeled his boundless energy to travel the country to counsel, in some cases, the most challenged populations. Along the way he made lifelong friends and rose in the ranks of the places at which he worked.
Caraveo served nearly 10 years in the Army National Guard, where he counseled soldiers. He also had a 16-year career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a post that took him to counsel inmates at a correctional facility in Safford, Arizona, where a memorial service also was held for Caraveo on Tuesday.
Caraveo graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso and was the first in his family to get a college degree. He went on to get a master's degree from Texas Tech University and his doctorate from the University of Arizona, said sons Jose, 25, and Eduardo, 31, during their visit to Fort Hood on Tuesday.
Fort Hood was just another stop in a journey that took Caraveo to Arizona, New Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., before returning to Texas. Before long, he was to be shipped out to Afghanistan to treat soldiers suffering from trauma.
"What I admired most about my dad is he always wanted to outdo himself," said Jose Caraveo, who is preparing to enter the medical field himself. "He was a noble person and a hard worker who really built a legacy that is bigger than all of us."
Elaine LeVine, a New Mexico State University professor who got to know Caraveo when he studied there in the late 1990s, said he left an indelible impression on the friends he left behind.
"He would still call in every once in a while, send an e-mail and see how everyone was doing," she said. "He cared deeply about people."
Now, LeVine says it's time to give back. She is helping launch a memorial fund in Caraveo's name through a division of the American Psychological Association that she hopes will aid students from impoverished backgrounds.
"He was that model for those around him," she said. "He really believed in everybody's ability to break through boundaries."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gadsden High remembers former counselor killed at Fort Hood
By Amanda L. Husson
Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, one of the 13 people killed in the Fort Hood rampage Thursday, was an Army psychologist who grew up in Juárez and El Paso and attended the University of Texas at El Paso.
He was also a counselor at Gadsden High School during the early 1980s, according to GHS Principal Carey Chambers.
Gadsden High junior Ivan Aguero, a cadet ensign on the Navy JROTC drill team, said it was nice to be able to show respect to the veterans attending the ceremony and those, like Caraveo, who have fallen.
"It's a good feeling," he said, "because it's saying 'thank you' to them for their service."
Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Virginia., arrived in the United States in his teens from Juárez, knowing very little English, said his son, also named Eduardo Caraveo.
Caraveo earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Arizona and worked with bilingual special-needs students at Tucson-area schools before entering private practice.
His son told the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson that Caraveo had arrived at Fort Hood on Wednesday and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Eduardo Caraveo spoke to the newspaper from his mother's Tucson home.
Rudy Valenzuela, of Tucson, called Caraveo a good man and described him as his best friend.
He said Caraveo had three children and several relatives in El Paso.
Caraveo, who graduated from Bowie High School and grew up in Segundo Barrio, was in the Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood when a shooter opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 30 people.
He'd been in the National Guard for 10 years, and had spent one year at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As a member of the 467th Combat Stress Control Detachment, he would have been responsible for dealing with battlefield trauma in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama saluted the 13 Americans killed at Fort Hood as heroes who died for their country at a memorial service attended by thousands Tuesday.
He spoke about each of the slain soldiers in turn, saying of Caraveo, "Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a Ph.D. and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment."
NOTE: Major Caraveo will be laid to rest with full military honors on 25 November 2009 at 9 AM at Arlington National Cemetery.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under misty skies that shrouded the view of the Washington Monument, the Army buried one of its own Wednesday morning at Arlington National Cemetery.
Major L. Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge was laid to rest with full military honors, his family at his graveside.
The Army psychologist was one of 13 killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this month.
Caraveo and Army Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman were both buried at Arlington this week, said cemetery spokeswoman Kaitlin Horst.
A spokesman for Caraveo's family said that his burial was a private matter, and that members of the family did not wish to speak to the press.
Caraveo's widow, Angela Rivera, and his five sons and stepdaughters were at the ceremony for Caraveo, who counseled troops returning from and headed for war.
Though the clouds that prevailed most of the morning still hung over the cemetery, the light mist that fell subsided as soon as mourners arrived.
At 11:15 a.m., the Army band known as "Pershing's Own" began playing over a hillside near the gravesite. Behind them, a caisson pulled by six white horses carried Caraveo's casket to the grave, where about 50 people were waiting to pay their respects.
Seated near the grave was Caraveo's immediate family, and nearby were five soldiers holding U.S. flags to be presented to the family members.
Rivera received the flag that had been draped over Caraveo's casket.
Following last rites, soldiers fired three rifle volleys as is customary at military funerals. A bugler then played taps, accompanied by a brief moan of sorrow and many tears by family members.
The full Army band then played two renditions of "America the Beautiful" as the funeral detail folded the flag draped over the casket into a triangle, and then presented it to the family.
In the distance, at another graveside, soldiers fired three more volleys. Two children clinging to their mother asked, "Was that the lightning, mommy?"
Fifteen minutes after the ceremony began, the Army reservist was officially laid to rest.
Caraveo was a Medical Service Corps officer in the Army Reserves at Fort Belvoir. He led seminars on marriage counseling, anger management, positive thinking and diversity training.
His son told an Arizona newspaper that his father came to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager.
Major Libardo Caraveo was one of 13 people killed Thursday at Fort Hood.
Army Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo didn't much like his first name, which he often abbreviated as simply "L," going instead by Eduardo or his nickname, "Lalo."
Caraveo, a longtime psychotherapist, told his best friend Rudy Valenzuela that he thought his parents really meant to call him "Librado," which means "free" and "liberated" in Spanish.
In retrospect, Valenzuela believes his friend was right.
"Freedom. That was him. He lived freely, and he gave to ensure that other people could have the same opportunity," said Valenzuela, a Tucson, Arizona, attorney who called Caraveo his close friend for 25 years.
Caraveo, 52, was killed in the shootings at Fort Hood last week and was among the 13 people honored at a memorial service Tuesday. He is survived by a wife, three sons and two stepdaughters.
Family and friends say Caraveo broke through the barriers of a life that began with little promise, as the youngest of seven siblings of an impoverished family that immigrated from Juárez, Chihuahua, to El Paso.
"When he was born ... there wasn't money to support us," said Caraveo's oldest brother, Fernando Caraveo, 71, of El Paso. "He began to study, and would say, 'If God helps me, then I am going to help people.'"
He channeled his boundless energy to travel the country to counsel, in some cases, the most challenged populations. Along the way he made lifelong friends and rose in the ranks of the places at which he worked.
Caraveo served nearly 10 years in the Army National Guard, where he counseled soldiers. He also had a 16-year career with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a post that took him to counsel inmates at a correctional facility in Safford, Arizona, where a memorial service also was held for Caraveo on Tuesday.
Caraveo graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso and was the first in his family to get a college degree. He went on to get a master's degree from Texas Tech University and his doctorate from the University of Arizona, said sons Jose, 25, and Eduardo, 31, during their visit to Fort Hood on Tuesday.
Fort Hood was just another stop in a journey that took Caraveo to Arizona, New Mexico, California, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., before returning to Texas. Before long, he was to be shipped out to Afghanistan to treat soldiers suffering from trauma.
"What I admired most about my dad is he always wanted to outdo himself," said Jose Caraveo, who is preparing to enter the medical field himself. "He was a noble person and a hard worker who really built a legacy that is bigger than all of us."
Elaine LeVine, a New Mexico State University professor who got to know Caraveo when he studied there in the late 1990s, said he left an indelible impression on the friends he left behind.
"He would still call in every once in a while, send an e-mail and see how everyone was doing," she said. "He cared deeply about people."
Now, LeVine says it's time to give back. She is helping launch a memorial fund in Caraveo's name through a division of the American Psychological Association that she hopes will aid students from impoverished backgrounds.
"He was that model for those around him," she said. "He really believed in everybody's ability to break through boundaries."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gadsden High remembers former counselor killed at Fort Hood
By Amanda L. Husson
Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo, one of the 13 people killed in the Fort Hood rampage Thursday, was an Army psychologist who grew up in Juárez and El Paso and attended the University of Texas at El Paso.
He was also a counselor at Gadsden High School during the early 1980s, according to GHS Principal Carey Chambers.
Gadsden High junior Ivan Aguero, a cadet ensign on the Navy JROTC drill team, said it was nice to be able to show respect to the veterans attending the ceremony and those, like Caraveo, who have fallen.
"It's a good feeling," he said, "because it's saying 'thank you' to them for their service."
Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge, Virginia., arrived in the United States in his teens from Juárez, knowing very little English, said his son, also named Eduardo Caraveo.
Caraveo earned his doctorate in psychology from the University of Arizona and worked with bilingual special-needs students at Tucson-area schools before entering private practice.
His son told the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson that Caraveo had arrived at Fort Hood on Wednesday and was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan. Eduardo Caraveo spoke to the newspaper from his mother's Tucson home.
Rudy Valenzuela, of Tucson, called Caraveo a good man and described him as his best friend.
He said Caraveo had three children and several relatives in El Paso.
Caraveo, who graduated from Bowie High School and grew up in Segundo Barrio, was in the Readiness Processing Center in Fort Hood when a shooter opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 30 people.
He'd been in the National Guard for 10 years, and had spent one year at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to the Wall Street Journal.
As a member of the 467th Combat Stress Control Detachment, he would have been responsible for dealing with battlefield trauma in Afghanistan.
President Barack Obama saluted the 13 Americans killed at Fort Hood as heroes who died for their country at a memorial service attended by thousands Tuesday.
He spoke about each of the slain soldiers in turn, saying of Caraveo, "Major Libardo Eduardo Caraveo spoke little English when he came to America as a teenager. But he put himself through college, earned a Ph.D. and was helping combat units cope with the stress of deployment."
NOTE: Major Caraveo will be laid to rest with full military honors on 25 November 2009 at 9 AM at Arlington National Cemetery.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under misty skies that shrouded the view of the Washington Monument, the Army buried one of its own Wednesday morning at Arlington National Cemetery.
Major L. Eduardo Caraveo, 52, of Woodbridge was laid to rest with full military honors, his family at his graveside.
The Army psychologist was one of 13 killed in the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, earlier this month.
Caraveo and Army Lieutenant Colonel Juanita Warman were both buried at Arlington this week, said cemetery spokeswoman Kaitlin Horst.
A spokesman for Caraveo's family said that his burial was a private matter, and that members of the family did not wish to speak to the press.
Caraveo's widow, Angela Rivera, and his five sons and stepdaughters were at the ceremony for Caraveo, who counseled troops returning from and headed for war.
Though the clouds that prevailed most of the morning still hung over the cemetery, the light mist that fell subsided as soon as mourners arrived.
At 11:15 a.m., the Army band known as "Pershing's Own" began playing over a hillside near the gravesite. Behind them, a caisson pulled by six white horses carried Caraveo's casket to the grave, where about 50 people were waiting to pay their respects.
Seated near the grave was Caraveo's immediate family, and nearby were five soldiers holding U.S. flags to be presented to the family members.
Rivera received the flag that had been draped over Caraveo's casket.
Following last rites, soldiers fired three rifle volleys as is customary at military funerals. A bugler then played taps, accompanied by a brief moan of sorrow and many tears by family members.
The full Army band then played two renditions of "America the Beautiful" as the funeral detail folded the flag draped over the casket into a triangle, and then presented it to the family.
In the distance, at another graveside, soldiers fired three more volleys. Two children clinging to their mother asked, "Was that the lightning, mommy?"
Fifteen minutes after the ceremony began, the Army reservist was officially laid to rest.
Caraveo was a Medical Service Corps officer in the Army Reserves at Fort Belvoir. He led seminars on marriage counseling, anger management, positive thinking and diversity training.
His son told an Arizona newspaper that his father came to the U.S. from Mexico as a teenager.
Army Reservist John Gaffaney
Remember Our Heroes
Serra Mesa Army reservist among those killed at Fort Hood
By Karen Kucher, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
SAN DIEGO— A county government employee who recently deployed with the Army was among those killed Thursday at Fort Hood in Texas.
John Gaffaney, a supervisor in the county’s Adult Protective Services department, was one of 13 people killed when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire in a crowded medical building. Thirty others were injured, making it the nation’s worst-ever attack on a stateside military base.
Gaffaney was 56 and lived in Serra Mesa.
Ellen Schmeding, assistant deputy director for the county’s Health and Human Services Agency, sent an e-mail message to county employees Friday to inform them of Gaffaney’s death.
“We all admired and respected John so very much for his commitment to do what he could to help during the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was an inspiration to all of us in so many ways,” Schmeding wrote.
Serra Mesa Army reservist among those killed at Fort Hood
By Karen Kucher, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
SAN DIEGO— A county government employee who recently deployed with the Army was among those killed Thursday at Fort Hood in Texas.
John Gaffaney, a supervisor in the county’s Adult Protective Services department, was one of 13 people killed when Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire in a crowded medical building. Thirty others were injured, making it the nation’s worst-ever attack on a stateside military base.
Gaffaney was 56 and lived in Serra Mesa.
Ellen Schmeding, assistant deputy director for the county’s Health and Human Services Agency, sent an e-mail message to county employees Friday to inform them of Gaffaney’s death.
“We all admired and respected John so very much for his commitment to do what he could to help during the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. He was an inspiration to all of us in so many ways,” Schmeding wrote.
Army Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow
Remember Our Heroes
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow. Here is a short profile:
Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, was helping train soldiers on how to help new veterans with paperwork and had felt safe on the Army post.
“He was on a base,” his wife, MaryKay DeCrow, said in a telephone interview from the couple’s home at Fort Gordon, Ga. Evans, Ga., where she hoped to be reunited with her husband once he finished his work at Fort Hood. “They should be safe there. They should be safe.”
His wife said she wanted everyone to know what a loving man he was. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter, Kylah.
“He was well loved by everyone,” she said through sobs. “He was a loving father and husband and he will be missed by all.”
Sgt. DeCrow’s father, Daniel DeCrow, of Fulton, Ind., said his son graduated high school in Plymouth, Ind., and married his high school sweetheart that summer before joining the Army. The couple moved near Fort Gordon about five years ago in 2000, he said.
About a year ago, his son was stationed in Korea for a year. When he returned to the U.S., the Army moved him to Fort Hood while he waited for a position to open up in Fort Gordon so he could move back with his wife and daughter, Daniel DeCrow said.
Mr. DeCrow said he talked to his son last week to ask him how things were going at Fort Hood.
“As usual, the last words out of my mouth to him were that I was proud of him,” he said. “That’s what I said to him every time –that I loved him and I was proud of what he was doing. I can carry that around in my heart.”
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow. Here is a short profile:
Staff Sgt. Justin M. DeCrow, 32, was helping train soldiers on how to help new veterans with paperwork and had felt safe on the Army post.
“He was on a base,” his wife, MaryKay DeCrow, said in a telephone interview from the couple’s home at Fort Gordon, Ga. Evans, Ga., where she hoped to be reunited with her husband once he finished his work at Fort Hood. “They should be safe there. They should be safe.”
His wife said she wanted everyone to know what a loving man he was. The couple have a 13-year-old daughter, Kylah.
“He was well loved by everyone,” she said through sobs. “He was a loving father and husband and he will be missed by all.”
Sgt. DeCrow’s father, Daniel DeCrow, of Fulton, Ind., said his son graduated high school in Plymouth, Ind., and married his high school sweetheart that summer before joining the Army. The couple moved near Fort Gordon about five years ago in 2000, he said.
About a year ago, his son was stationed in Korea for a year. When he returned to the U.S., the Army moved him to Fort Hood while he waited for a position to open up in Fort Gordon so he could move back with his wife and daughter, Daniel DeCrow said.
Mr. DeCrow said he talked to his son last week to ask him how things were going at Fort Hood.
“As usual, the last words out of my mouth to him were that I was proud of him,” he said. “That’s what I said to him every time –that I loved him and I was proud of what he was doing. I can carry that around in my heart.”
Army Pfc. Aaron Nemelka
Remember Our Heroes
Aaron Thomas Nemelka 'just wanted to serve his country'
By Yamiche Alcindor
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009; 6:43 PM
PFC Aaron Thomas Nemelka had barely finished all his service training when he was killed by gunshots Thursday at Fort Hood. The 19-year-old had been in the Army for just over a year and had signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service: bomb defusing.
His grandfather, Michael Nemelka, Sr. said his grandson choose the job because he was tired of seeing American soldiers die and wanted to help save lives.
"I think his dad even tried to talk him out of it," Michael Nemelka, Sr. said referring to the reservations of his son, Michael Nemelka, Jr. "But, people were being killed by roadside bombs and he wanted to help in any way he could. He choose his job. He loved what he learned."
Aaron Nemelka was the youngest of four children and a 2008 graduate of West Jordan High School in West Jordan, Utah. An Eagle Scout, he joined the Army in October 2008 after consulting his grandfather, an ex-Marine, and his cousin, another serviceman who is currently deployed in Germany. He was looking forward to possibly making a career out of the Army, his grandfather said.
"He was very happy that the Army let him enlist," Michael Nemelka said. "He was fun loving and bright. He liked to hang out with his family and his friends." In his free time, the young man also enjoyed skate boarding, and bowling.
MSgt. Tammy Sower, a casualty assistance officer assigned to help the family make arrangements regarding Aaron's death said he was most likely going to be deployed to the Middle East early next year. "He wanted to do the right thing," Sower said.
The Nemelka family learned of the death late Thursday night. Friday afternoon, his grandfather recalled Aaron's excitement about his coming deployment. "He was all ready to ship out," Michael Nemelka said. "He was excited as all heck. He was going to go do what he was trained to do. He just wanted to serve his country.
"I miss him. I loved him very much," he said.
Aaron Thomas Nemelka 'just wanted to serve his country'
By Yamiche Alcindor
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009; 6:43 PM
PFC Aaron Thomas Nemelka had barely finished all his service training when he was killed by gunshots Thursday at Fort Hood. The 19-year-old had been in the Army for just over a year and had signed up to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the service: bomb defusing.
His grandfather, Michael Nemelka, Sr. said his grandson choose the job because he was tired of seeing American soldiers die and wanted to help save lives.
"I think his dad even tried to talk him out of it," Michael Nemelka, Sr. said referring to the reservations of his son, Michael Nemelka, Jr. "But, people were being killed by roadside bombs and he wanted to help in any way he could. He choose his job. He loved what he learned."
Aaron Nemelka was the youngest of four children and a 2008 graduate of West Jordan High School in West Jordan, Utah. An Eagle Scout, he joined the Army in October 2008 after consulting his grandfather, an ex-Marine, and his cousin, another serviceman who is currently deployed in Germany. He was looking forward to possibly making a career out of the Army, his grandfather said.
"He was very happy that the Army let him enlist," Michael Nemelka said. "He was fun loving and bright. He liked to hang out with his family and his friends." In his free time, the young man also enjoyed skate boarding, and bowling.
MSgt. Tammy Sower, a casualty assistance officer assigned to help the family make arrangements regarding Aaron's death said he was most likely going to be deployed to the Middle East early next year. "He wanted to do the right thing," Sower said.
The Nemelka family learned of the death late Thursday night. Friday afternoon, his grandfather recalled Aaron's excitement about his coming deployment. "He was all ready to ship out," Michael Nemelka said. "He was excited as all heck. He was going to go do what he was trained to do. He just wanted to serve his country.
"I miss him. I loved him very much," he said.
Army Lt. Col. Juanita Warman
Remember Our Heroes
'This is not the way she was going to go'
Sunday, November 08, 2009
By Michael A. Fuoco and Kaitlynn Riely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Philip Warman learned of the shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, his thoughts -- and fears -- naturally turned to his wife, Lt. Col. Juanita Warman.
Lt. Col. Warman, 55, had been at Fort Hood for only 24 hours to be processed for duty in Iraq, a deployment for which she had volunteered.
Mr. Warman, a lawyer who lives in Havre de Grace, Md., was particularly worried because the attack, in which 13 people were killed and 30 wounded, occurred in Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where medical and dental care is provided to those about to deploy overseas.
"Naturally, I was trying to track her down," Mr. Warman said in a telephone interview yesterday from his home, where family and friends had gathered to grieve and support each other. "I kept thinking, 'She can't be in the processing center.' She had just gotten there, she had more training to undergo. She was not due to leave until the end of November. The base hot line didn't have her on the initial list of casualties.
"I thought, 'Good, she's probably OK. She just can't get through to me.' "
A half-hour later, his doorbell rang.
"There were two [soldiers] in Class A uniforms. I knew what that was all about."
Indeed, Lt. Col. Warman was among those killed.
"I knew she was going in harm's way in Iraq. [But at Fort Hood], this is not the way she was going to go," he said, choking up.
His wife's military career spanned 25 years in active duty and Army reserves.
A certified psychiatric nurse practitioner originally from Pittsburgh and whose relatives still live in area, she had undergone training in California in preparation for her mission and was due for more training at Fort Hood.
Mr. Warman and his wife were both graduates of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a master's degree in nursing.
The couple, who married in the late 1990s, had moved to Maryland in 2005 where Lt. Col. Warman accepted a job at a Veterans Administration facility in Perryville, Md. Prior to the move, the couple lived in Pittsburgh and she had a civilian practice at UPMC. She was an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"She was excellent at her practice," he said.
Lt. Col. Warman served a year overseas at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the Army facility where those injured in Afghanistan and Iraq are treated before being sent stateside for further medical care. She regularly volunteered for round-trip flights to Iraq to care for soldiers being sent to Landstuhl, her husband said.
She received an Army Commendation Medal in 2006 for meritorious service at Landstuhl.
"She was indeed an extraordinary woman," said Mr. Warman. "I can't remember when we weren't together. We met at a social event at the University Club in 1986. We've been together since. She was my best friend. She was an excellent soldier."
Lt. Col. Warman's stepson, Philip, 38, said the family was "deeply saddened. We're going through the grieving process.
"She was a good soldier. She loved her family, her job, her colleagues and her friends and she will be deeply missed."
In Crafton last night, family and friends gathered to mourn. Eva Waddle, Lt. Col. Warman's mother, said her daughter couldn't wait to deploy. Other family members agreed.
"She was looking forward to help her country by helping the soldiers who needed her professional help," her sister, Tammy J. Harper of Pittsburgh, said. "She didn't want them to wait to get home to get help."
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Lt. Col. Warman's commitment to the armed services grew, her relatives said.
"She really donated her life to serving her country," her daughter, Melissa Papst-Czemerda, 29, of Peters, said. "She loved helping people and making a difference. She was a heroine and gave her life serving her country."
On Oct. 29, Lt. Col. Warman made her final Facebook posting. Ms. Harper said the family had been reading and re-reading the note since her death. The note mentions how her sister was missing her daughters and grandchildren, and kept track of their lives through the photographs they posted.
"I am so excited to be leaving the country again soon," Lt. Col. Warman said in her posting. "Just now got a few minutes. So much to do, so many lives to touch. Just wish it didn't take me away from home so much."
Lt. Col. Warman is survived by her husband, two daughters, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren, her mother and six siblings. The family expects Lt. Col. Warman to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
'This is not the way she was going to go'
Sunday, November 08, 2009
By Michael A. Fuoco and Kaitlynn Riely, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When Philip Warman learned of the shooting rampage Thursday at Fort Hood, Texas, his thoughts -- and fears -- naturally turned to his wife, Lt. Col. Juanita Warman.
Lt. Col. Warman, 55, had been at Fort Hood for only 24 hours to be processed for duty in Iraq, a deployment for which she had volunteered.
Mr. Warman, a lawyer who lives in Havre de Grace, Md., was particularly worried because the attack, in which 13 people were killed and 30 wounded, occurred in Fort Hood's Soldier Readiness Processing Center, where medical and dental care is provided to those about to deploy overseas.
"Naturally, I was trying to track her down," Mr. Warman said in a telephone interview yesterday from his home, where family and friends had gathered to grieve and support each other. "I kept thinking, 'She can't be in the processing center.' She had just gotten there, she had more training to undergo. She was not due to leave until the end of November. The base hot line didn't have her on the initial list of casualties.
"I thought, 'Good, she's probably OK. She just can't get through to me.' "
A half-hour later, his doorbell rang.
"There were two [soldiers] in Class A uniforms. I knew what that was all about."
Indeed, Lt. Col. Warman was among those killed.
"I knew she was going in harm's way in Iraq. [But at Fort Hood], this is not the way she was going to go," he said, choking up.
His wife's military career spanned 25 years in active duty and Army reserves.
A certified psychiatric nurse practitioner originally from Pittsburgh and whose relatives still live in area, she had undergone training in California in preparation for her mission and was due for more training at Fort Hood.
Mr. Warman and his wife were both graduates of the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a master's degree in nursing.
The couple, who married in the late 1990s, had moved to Maryland in 2005 where Lt. Col. Warman accepted a job at a Veterans Administration facility in Perryville, Md. Prior to the move, the couple lived in Pittsburgh and she had a civilian practice at UPMC. She was an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
"She was excellent at her practice," he said.
Lt. Col. Warman served a year overseas at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, the Army facility where those injured in Afghanistan and Iraq are treated before being sent stateside for further medical care. She regularly volunteered for round-trip flights to Iraq to care for soldiers being sent to Landstuhl, her husband said.
She received an Army Commendation Medal in 2006 for meritorious service at Landstuhl.
"She was indeed an extraordinary woman," said Mr. Warman. "I can't remember when we weren't together. We met at a social event at the University Club in 1986. We've been together since. She was my best friend. She was an excellent soldier."
Lt. Col. Warman's stepson, Philip, 38, said the family was "deeply saddened. We're going through the grieving process.
"She was a good soldier. She loved her family, her job, her colleagues and her friends and she will be deeply missed."
In Crafton last night, family and friends gathered to mourn. Eva Waddle, Lt. Col. Warman's mother, said her daughter couldn't wait to deploy. Other family members agreed.
"She was looking forward to help her country by helping the soldiers who needed her professional help," her sister, Tammy J. Harper of Pittsburgh, said. "She didn't want them to wait to get home to get help."
After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Lt. Col. Warman's commitment to the armed services grew, her relatives said.
"She really donated her life to serving her country," her daughter, Melissa Papst-Czemerda, 29, of Peters, said. "She loved helping people and making a difference. She was a heroine and gave her life serving her country."
On Oct. 29, Lt. Col. Warman made her final Facebook posting. Ms. Harper said the family had been reading and re-reading the note since her death. The note mentions how her sister was missing her daughters and grandchildren, and kept track of their lives through the photographs they posted.
"I am so excited to be leaving the country again soon," Lt. Col. Warman said in her posting. "Just now got a few minutes. So much to do, so many lives to touch. Just wish it didn't take me away from home so much."
Lt. Col. Warman is survived by her husband, two daughters, three stepchildren and eight grandchildren, her mother and six siblings. The family expects Lt. Col. Warman to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Army Spc. Jason Hunt
Remember Our Heroes
Jason Hunt transferred to Texas to be closer to his family
By Ashley Surdin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009; 5:24 PM
As a boy, Jason Hunt once had to wear silver caps on his front teeth. When he was too timid to smile, his sister, playing on his love for video games, asked him to show his Ninja Turtle teeth.
"He was so embarrassed and such a shy boy," recalled his sister Leila Willingham, 30, of Frederick, Okla. "That was the only was I could make him smile."
In high school, Hunt refused to dissect a cat for a class assignment. He was so upset that his mother had to pick him up from school.
But Hunt's shy and sensitive side was transformed, his family said, when he joined the military. His already caring nature bloomed into something brave, selfless and fearless, they said. He hoped to save somebody's life someday.
That hope was cut short Thursday, when Hunt, 22, was killed in the mass shooting rampage at Fort Hood. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Hunt; his mother, Gale Hunt; his father, Gary Hunt; his sister, Willingham; and a niece and nephew.
Hunt joined the Army a year after graduating from Tipton High School and served for three and a half years, including a tour in Iraq, where he celebrated his 21st birthday. While there, he reenlisted.
Willingham recalled her brother once likened his feelings for his military family to the love a parent feels for their children.
"He said, 'I would die for your children.' He said, 'I would die for a stranger to save them.' And he said he would dive in front of a bullet for a soldier."
Hunt, who was stationed in Fort Stewart in Georgia after high school, transferred to Fort Hood to be closer to his family.
In August, he got married in Okalahoma City. "He had a blue tie and he was so happy to have his family there and to be becoming part of a family," his sister recalled through sobs.
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Jason Hunt transferred to Texas to be closer to his family
By Ashley Surdin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 6, 2009; 5:24 PM
As a boy, Jason Hunt once had to wear silver caps on his front teeth. When he was too timid to smile, his sister, playing on his love for video games, asked him to show his Ninja Turtle teeth.
"He was so embarrassed and such a shy boy," recalled his sister Leila Willingham, 30, of Frederick, Okla. "That was the only was I could make him smile."
In high school, Hunt refused to dissect a cat for a class assignment. He was so upset that his mother had to pick him up from school.
But Hunt's shy and sensitive side was transformed, his family said, when he joined the military. His already caring nature bloomed into something brave, selfless and fearless, they said. He hoped to save somebody's life someday.
That hope was cut short Thursday, when Hunt, 22, was killed in the mass shooting rampage at Fort Hood. He is survived by his wife, Jennifer Hunt; his mother, Gale Hunt; his father, Gary Hunt; his sister, Willingham; and a niece and nephew.
Hunt joined the Army a year after graduating from Tipton High School and served for three and a half years, including a tour in Iraq, where he celebrated his 21st birthday. While there, he reenlisted.
Willingham recalled her brother once likened his feelings for his military family to the love a parent feels for their children.
"He said, 'I would die for your children.' He said, 'I would die for a stranger to save them.' And he said he would dive in front of a bullet for a soldier."
Hunt, who was stationed in Fort Stewart in Georgia after high school, transferred to Fort Hood to be closer to his family.
In August, he got married in Okalahoma City. "He had a blue tie and he was so happy to have his family there and to be becoming part of a family," his sister recalled through sobs.
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Army Pfc. Kham Xiong
Remember Our Heroes
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Pfc. Kham Xiong. Here is a short profile:
Pfc. Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., was a father of three whose family had a history of military service.
Pfc. Xiong’s father, Chor Xiong, is a native of Laos who fought the Viet Cong alongside the CIA in 1972; Chor’s father, Kham’s grandfather, also fought with the CIA; and Kham’s brother, Nelson, is a Marine serving in Afghanistan.
“I very mad,” Pfc. Xiong’s father said Friday. Through sniffles and tears, he said his son died for “no reason” and he has a hard time believing Kham is gone.
Kham Xiong was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, and his sister Mee Xiong said the family would be able to understand if he would have died in battle.
“He didn’t get to go overseas and do what he’s supposed to do, and he’s dead .. killed by our own people,” Mee Xiong said.
Pfc. Xiong was one of 11 siblings and came to the U.S. when he was just a toddler. He grew up in California, then moved to Minnesota with the family about 10 years ago, Chor Xiong said.
He was married and had three children ages 4, 2 and 10 months. He and his wife had moved to Texas in July, Chor Xiong said.
Pfc. Xiong attended Community of Peace Academy, graduating in 2004, said high school principal Tim McGowan.
“His greatest attribute was his ability to make people smile and make people laugh. Looking back, that’s the fondest memory I have — is that smile of his and that smile that he brought to my face,” Mr. McGowan said.
For his father, the death of the little boy who followed his dad everywhere was hard to take. “I don’t think he’s dead,” Chor Xiong said, then whispered, “I don’t think he’s dead.”
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Pfc. Kham Xiong. Here is a short profile:
Pfc. Xiong, 23, of St. Paul, Minn., was a father of three whose family had a history of military service.
Pfc. Xiong’s father, Chor Xiong, is a native of Laos who fought the Viet Cong alongside the CIA in 1972; Chor’s father, Kham’s grandfather, also fought with the CIA; and Kham’s brother, Nelson, is a Marine serving in Afghanistan.
“I very mad,” Pfc. Xiong’s father said Friday. Through sniffles and tears, he said his son died for “no reason” and he has a hard time believing Kham is gone.
Kham Xiong was preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, and his sister Mee Xiong said the family would be able to understand if he would have died in battle.
“He didn’t get to go overseas and do what he’s supposed to do, and he’s dead .. killed by our own people,” Mee Xiong said.
Pfc. Xiong was one of 11 siblings and came to the U.S. when he was just a toddler. He grew up in California, then moved to Minnesota with the family about 10 years ago, Chor Xiong said.
He was married and had three children ages 4, 2 and 10 months. He and his wife had moved to Texas in July, Chor Xiong said.
Pfc. Xiong attended Community of Peace Academy, graduating in 2004, said high school principal Tim McGowan.
“His greatest attribute was his ability to make people smile and make people laugh. Looking back, that’s the fondest memory I have — is that smile of his and that smile that he brought to my face,” Mr. McGowan said.
For his father, the death of the little boy who followed his dad everywhere was hard to take. “I don’t think he’s dead,” Chor Xiong said, then whispered, “I don’t think he’s dead.”
Army Capt. Russell Seager
Remember Our Heroes
Funeral services for the second Wisconsin soldier, Russell Seager, killed in the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting spree will be held Monday.
Seager, 51, of Racine, Wis., was a psychiatrist who joined the Army a few years ago because he wanted to help veterans returning to civilian life, said his uncle, Larry Seager of Mauston.
Russell Seager's brother-in-law, Dennis Prudhomme, said Seager had worked with soldiers at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee who were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He also taught classes at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee, said Prudhomme, who is married to Seager's sister.
Larry Seager said his nephew's death left the family stunned, especially because the psychiatrist only wanted to help soldiers improve their mental health.
"It's unbelievable. He goes down there to help out soldiers and then he ...," Seager said, his voice trailing off. "I still can't believe it."
Army Reserve Capt. Russell Seager's funeral will be held at 3 p.m. at the Wonewoc Center School in Wonewoc, Wis. Russell Seager is survived by a wife and 20-year-old son.
Prudhomme said Seager was scheduled to go to Afghanistan in December and had gone to Fort Hood for training.
"Our family has suffered a great loss and we are all devastated," Seager's sister, Barbara Prudhomme, said in a statement read by her husband. "We are very proud of the way Russell lived his life, both personally and professionally, and our hearts go out to all the victims and their families."
Gov. Jim Doyle has ordered all Wisconsin and U.S. flags be flown at half-staff Monday at all state buildings, grounds and military installations in Seager's honor.
Funeral services for the second Wisconsin soldier, Russell Seager, killed in the Fort Hood, Texas, shooting spree will be held Monday.
Seager, 51, of Racine, Wis., was a psychiatrist who joined the Army a few years ago because he wanted to help veterans returning to civilian life, said his uncle, Larry Seager of Mauston.
Russell Seager's brother-in-law, Dennis Prudhomme, said Seager had worked with soldiers at the Veterans Affairs hospital in Milwaukee who were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. He also taught classes at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee, said Prudhomme, who is married to Seager's sister.
Larry Seager said his nephew's death left the family stunned, especially because the psychiatrist only wanted to help soldiers improve their mental health.
"It's unbelievable. He goes down there to help out soldiers and then he ...," Seager said, his voice trailing off. "I still can't believe it."
Army Reserve Capt. Russell Seager's funeral will be held at 3 p.m. at the Wonewoc Center School in Wonewoc, Wis. Russell Seager is survived by a wife and 20-year-old son.
Prudhomme said Seager was scheduled to go to Afghanistan in December and had gone to Fort Hood for training.
"Our family has suffered a great loss and we are all devastated," Seager's sister, Barbara Prudhomme, said in a statement read by her husband. "We are very proud of the way Russell lived his life, both personally and professionally, and our hearts go out to all the victims and their families."
Gov. Jim Doyle has ordered all Wisconsin and U.S. flags be flown at half-staff Monday at all state buildings, grounds and military installations in Seager's honor.
Army Spc. Frederick Greene
Remember Our Heroes
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Spc. Frederick Greene. Here is a short profile:
Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn., went by “Freddie” and was active at Baker’s Gap Baptist Church while he was growing up, said Glenn Arney, the church’s former superintendent and a former co-worker of Greene’s.
“I went to church with him, knew him all of his life. He was one of the finest boys you ever saw,” Mr. Arney said.
Mr. Arney worked with Spc. Greene for several years at A.C. Lumber and Truss in Mountain City. The company designs and builds trusses, which are structures that support the roofs and floors of houses and other buildings.
“He was a hard worker. He was a computer whiz. He could design a truss. He could do about anything,” Mr. Arney said.
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Spc. Frederick Greene. Here is a short profile:
Spc. Frederick Greene, 29, of Mountain City, Tenn., went by “Freddie” and was active at Baker’s Gap Baptist Church while he was growing up, said Glenn Arney, the church’s former superintendent and a former co-worker of Greene’s.
“I went to church with him, knew him all of his life. He was one of the finest boys you ever saw,” Mr. Arney said.
Mr. Arney worked with Spc. Greene for several years at A.C. Lumber and Truss in Mountain City. The company designs and builds trusses, which are structures that support the roofs and floors of houses and other buildings.
“He was a hard worker. He was a computer whiz. He could design a truss. He could do about anything,” Mr. Arney said.
Army Sgt. Amy Krueger
Remember Our Heroes
Sgt. Amy Krueger, Fort Hood shooting victim, comes home to Kiel
KIEL — Sgt. Amy Krueger made her last trip home Tuesday.
The body of the Kiel native killed in the Fort Hood shooting rampage arrived in her hometown early Tuesday afternoon after being escorted by area law enforcement up Wisconsin 57. Krueger's body was flown to Milwaukee on Tuesday and arrived in Kiel later in the day.
The 29-year-old was among 12 soldiers and one civilian employee killed in Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood. Authorities say Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan fired more than 100 rounds at a soldier-processing center before police shot him in the torso.
Sgt. Amy Krueger, Fort Hood shooting victim, comes home to Kiel
KIEL — Sgt. Amy Krueger made her last trip home Tuesday.
The body of the Kiel native killed in the Fort Hood shooting rampage arrived in her hometown early Tuesday afternoon after being escorted by area law enforcement up Wisconsin 57. Krueger's body was flown to Milwaukee on Tuesday and arrived in Kiel later in the day.
The 29-year-old was among 12 soldiers and one civilian employee killed in Thursday's shootings at Fort Hood. Authorities say Army psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan fired more than 100 rounds at a soldier-processing center before police shot him in the torso.
Army Pvt. Francheska Velez
Remember Our Heroes
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Francheska Velez.
Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago, was pregnant and preparing to return home. A friend of Ms. Velez’s, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.
“She was like my sister,” Ms. Ramos, 21, said. “She was the most fun and happy person you could know. She never did anything wrong to anybody.”
Family members said Ms. Velez had recently returned from deployment in Iraq and had sought a lifelong career in the Army.
“She was a very happy girl and sweet,” said her father, Juan Guillermo Velez, his eyes red from crying. “She had the spirit of a child.”
Ms. Ramos, who also served briefly in the military, couldn’t reconcile that her friend was killed in this country just after leaving a war zone.
“It makes it a lot harder,” she said. “This is not something a soldier expects — to have someone in our uniform go start shooting at us.”
The army private, stationed in Iraq, returned to Chicago to celebrate her 21st birthday last August. Back in Iraq, where she disarmed bombs, she learned she was pregnant, her family said, and arranged for maternity leave.
"She was supposed to be coming very, very soon. Everyone's devastated. Everyone's at a loss for words," said her cousin Jennifer Arzuaga. "She was very young. She wasn't supposed to die the way she died."
Velez, whose father came from Colombia and mother from Puerto Rico, attended Kelvyn Park High School and joined the army three years ago because she wanted to travel and make something of herself.
"She was the happiest person in the world," Arzuaga said.
Her pleasures tended toward the simple and her dancing was divine. Salsa and meringue, especially.
"She always made everybody happy. That's what it was about for her -- her family and her friends," Arzuaga said. As for Iraq, "She didn't really like it, but she was okay. She was just keeping strong. She was ready for anything."
Thirteen people were killed when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on soldiers at the Fort Hood Army base, including Francheska Velez.
Francheska Velez, 21, of Chicago, was pregnant and preparing to return home. A friend of Ms. Velez’s, Sasha Ramos, described her as a fun-loving person who wrote poetry and loved dancing.
“She was like my sister,” Ms. Ramos, 21, said. “She was the most fun and happy person you could know. She never did anything wrong to anybody.”
Family members said Ms. Velez had recently returned from deployment in Iraq and had sought a lifelong career in the Army.
“She was a very happy girl and sweet,” said her father, Juan Guillermo Velez, his eyes red from crying. “She had the spirit of a child.”
Ms. Ramos, who also served briefly in the military, couldn’t reconcile that her friend was killed in this country just after leaving a war zone.
“It makes it a lot harder,” she said. “This is not something a soldier expects — to have someone in our uniform go start shooting at us.”
The army private, stationed in Iraq, returned to Chicago to celebrate her 21st birthday last August. Back in Iraq, where she disarmed bombs, she learned she was pregnant, her family said, and arranged for maternity leave.
"She was supposed to be coming very, very soon. Everyone's devastated. Everyone's at a loss for words," said her cousin Jennifer Arzuaga. "She was very young. She wasn't supposed to die the way she died."
Velez, whose father came from Colombia and mother from Puerto Rico, attended Kelvyn Park High School and joined the army three years ago because she wanted to travel and make something of herself.
"She was the happiest person in the world," Arzuaga said.
Her pleasures tended toward the simple and her dancing was divine. Salsa and meringue, especially.
"She always made everybody happy. That's what it was about for her -- her family and her friends," Arzuaga said. As for Iraq, "She didn't really like it, but she was okay. She was just keeping strong. She was ready for anything."
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch, 22, of Ocala, Fla.
Spc. Gooch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 5, 2009 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch, 22, of Ocala, was buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
He died Nov. 5 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attached the vehicle in which he was traveling with an improvised explosive device.
Gooch had enlisted after graduating from Dunnellon High School in 2006 and was assigned to Fort Lewis.
The soldier at times lived with his cousin, Megan Crowley, who was 10 years older. Earlier, Crowley said she remembered a loving young man who often accompanied Crowley and her girlfriends on outings. He also used to collect model John Deere tractors, she said.
"He used to sing that song, 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy,'" Crowley said, referring to the country anthem by Kenny Chesney.
Lynn Bazinet said recently that her nephew Richard Lind - whom she raised - and Gooch were inseparable. The two would stay up all night watching movies when they could, then sleep until 2 p.m. Then the pair woke up to their own breakfast of champions: pizza rolls.
"He said it was the world's most perfect food," Bazinet said.
Gooch may have lived most of his life in Florida, but one of the first things he wanted to do while he was on leave over Thanksgiving was take a snowboarding trip.
"For some reason, he just loves the cold," said Keely Murphy, Gooch's older sister.
Gooch is also survived by his mother, Jeanine Murphy; father and stepmother, Gary and Patty Gooch; stepsister Brittany Marie Gooch; and numerous other relatives.
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch was killed in action on 11/05/09.
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch, 22, of Ocala, Fla.
Spc. Gooch was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 5, 2009 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch, 22, of Ocala, was buried Thursday at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va.
He died Nov. 5 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attached the vehicle in which he was traveling with an improvised explosive device.
Gooch had enlisted after graduating from Dunnellon High School in 2006 and was assigned to Fort Lewis.
The soldier at times lived with his cousin, Megan Crowley, who was 10 years older. Earlier, Crowley said she remembered a loving young man who often accompanied Crowley and her girlfriends on outings. He also used to collect model John Deere tractors, she said.
"He used to sing that song, 'She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy,'" Crowley said, referring to the country anthem by Kenny Chesney.
Lynn Bazinet said recently that her nephew Richard Lind - whom she raised - and Gooch were inseparable. The two would stay up all night watching movies when they could, then sleep until 2 p.m. Then the pair woke up to their own breakfast of champions: pizza rolls.
"He said it was the world's most perfect food," Bazinet said.
Gooch may have lived most of his life in Florida, but one of the first things he wanted to do while he was on leave over Thanksgiving was take a snowboarding trip.
"For some reason, he just loves the cold," said Keely Murphy, Gooch's older sister.
Gooch is also survived by his mother, Jeanine Murphy; father and stepmother, Gary and Patty Gooch; stepsister Brittany Marie Gooch; and numerous other relatives.
Army Spc. Gary L. Gooch was killed in action on 11/05/09.
Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot, 22, of Custer, Wash.
Spc. Aamot was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 5, 2009 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Bellingham Herald -- A 2006 Ferndale High School graduate was killed in Afghanistan Thursday, Nov. 5, when the Stryker vehicle he was driving went over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, was in the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment and was part of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis. He had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July on his first deployment in the war.
Another soldier also was killed in the explosion from the improvised device buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, said Aamot's brother, Matt Aamot.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not yet released information about Aaron Aamot's death.
Aamot's parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday evening that their son was killed in action.
Aaron Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He joined the military shortly after graduating from high school. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
"The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago," Matt Aamot said. "Everyone is taking it hard, but we're Christians, so it's a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out."
The family planned to go to Dover, Del., Friday night to bring their son's body back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
"I'm pretty heartbroken, but I'm proud of his service," said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. "We weren't in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do same thing we were doing there: bring folks peace and freedom they'd never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit."
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
"I still think of him as a kid, even though he's 22," he said. "He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I'm honored to have been his brother."
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA. Aaron raised pheasant and bobwhite quail and he had his own golden raspberry field on his parents' small farm.
"4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him," he said. "He kind of took after me."
Matt also remembered his brother's skill at baking, particularly blackberry pies. He enjoyed Civil War re-enactments, fighting on the Union side, of course. And he loved remote control anything - cars, tanks, trucks, the works.
"I'll miss having my brother around," Matt said. "He was one of those rough-and-tumble, happy-go-lucky kids."
Ferndale High School agriculture instructor and FFA advisor Mitch Davis was shocked and saddened to hear of Aamot's death Friday.
"He was a good kid, a hard worker, a real trustworthy kid," said Davis, who taught Aamot in shop class. "He was willing to give a helping hand to anybody who needed it. He was one of those guys that if you said something, he'd go do it and he'd do a good job at it, so you wouldn't have to worry."
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale and Joshua, as well as his sister, Nellie Huisman.
Aamot is believed to be the first Whatcom County resident killed in action in Afghanistan. Cpl. Jonathan Santos, who died serving in 2004, is the only Whatcom County resident to have been killed during the war in Iraq.
The News Tribune -- A Bellingham-area soldier who was assigned to Fort Lewis was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday after he drove his Stryker vehicle over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, belonged to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July, said his brother, Matt Aamot. He was part of the 1st Battallion, 17th Infantry Regiment – the unit that has absorbed most of the brigade’s officially reported 26 deaths this tour.
Aaron Aamot and another soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device that was buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, Matt Aamot said.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not released information about any Fort Lewis deaths in Afghanistan this week. But Aamot’s parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday night that their son was killed in action.
Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 2006 and joined the military shortly after. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of the service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
“The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago,” Matt Aamot said. “Everyone is taking it hard, but we’re Christians, so it’s a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out.”
Family members planned to go to Dover, Del., on Friday night to bring their son back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
“I’m pretty heartbroken, but I’m proud of his service,” said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. “We weren’t in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do the same thing we were doing there: Bring folks peace and freedom they’d never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit.”
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
“I still think of him as a kid, even though he’s 22,” he said. “He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I’m honored to have been his brother.”
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA.
“4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him,” he said. “He kind of took after me.”
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale, and Joshua; and a sister, Nellie Huisman.
The 5th Brigade and its roughly 4,000 soldiers have the job of trying to clear resurgent Taliban fighters from rural parts of southern Afghanistan. The unit has taken multiple casualties, mostly from buried improvised explosives.
Eight soldiers from the brigade were killed on a single day last week – including seven men in one bombing of their 20-ton Stryker vehicle – which made Oct. 27 the deadliest day for Fort Lewis since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The News Tribune contribute
A Bellingham-area soldier who was assigned to Fort Lewis was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday after he drove his Stryker vehicle over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, belonged to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July, said his brother, Matt Aamot. He was part of the 1st Battallion, 17th Infantry Regiment – the unit that has absorbed most of the brigade’s officially reported 26 deaths this tour.
Aaron Aamot and another soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device that was buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, Matt Aamot said.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not released information about any Fort Lewis deaths in Afghanistan this week. But Aamot’s parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday night that their son was killed in action.
Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 2006 and joined the military shortly after. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of the service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
“The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago,” Matt Aamot said. “Everyone is taking it hard, but we’re Christians, so it’s a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out.”
Family members planned to go to Dover, Del., on Friday night to bring their son back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
“I’m pretty heartbroken, but I’m proud of his service,” said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. “We weren’t in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do the same thing we were doing there: Bring folks peace and freedom they’d never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit.”
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
“I still think of him as a kid, even though he’s 22,” he said. “He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I’m honored to have been his brother.”
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA.
“4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him,” he said. “He kind of took after me.”
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale, and Joshua; and a sister, Nellie Huisman.
Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot was killed in action on 11/05/09.
Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot, 22, of Custer, Wash.
Spc. Aamot was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 5, 2009 in Jelewar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
Bellingham Herald -- A 2006 Ferndale High School graduate was killed in Afghanistan Thursday, Nov. 5, when the Stryker vehicle he was driving went over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, was in the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment and was part of the 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division based in Fort Lewis. He had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July on his first deployment in the war.
Another soldier also was killed in the explosion from the improvised device buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, said Aamot's brother, Matt Aamot.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not yet released information about Aaron Aamot's death.
Aamot's parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday evening that their son was killed in action.
Aaron Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He joined the military shortly after graduating from high school. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
"The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago," Matt Aamot said. "Everyone is taking it hard, but we're Christians, so it's a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out."
The family planned to go to Dover, Del., Friday night to bring their son's body back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
"I'm pretty heartbroken, but I'm proud of his service," said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. "We weren't in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do same thing we were doing there: bring folks peace and freedom they'd never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit."
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
"I still think of him as a kid, even though he's 22," he said. "He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I'm honored to have been his brother."
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA. Aaron raised pheasant and bobwhite quail and he had his own golden raspberry field on his parents' small farm.
"4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him," he said. "He kind of took after me."
Matt also remembered his brother's skill at baking, particularly blackberry pies. He enjoyed Civil War re-enactments, fighting on the Union side, of course. And he loved remote control anything - cars, tanks, trucks, the works.
"I'll miss having my brother around," Matt said. "He was one of those rough-and-tumble, happy-go-lucky kids."
Ferndale High School agriculture instructor and FFA advisor Mitch Davis was shocked and saddened to hear of Aamot's death Friday.
"He was a good kid, a hard worker, a real trustworthy kid," said Davis, who taught Aamot in shop class. "He was willing to give a helping hand to anybody who needed it. He was one of those guys that if you said something, he'd go do it and he'd do a good job at it, so you wouldn't have to worry."
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale and Joshua, as well as his sister, Nellie Huisman.
Aamot is believed to be the first Whatcom County resident killed in action in Afghanistan. Cpl. Jonathan Santos, who died serving in 2004, is the only Whatcom County resident to have been killed during the war in Iraq.
The News Tribune -- A Bellingham-area soldier who was assigned to Fort Lewis was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday after he drove his Stryker vehicle over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, belonged to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July, said his brother, Matt Aamot. He was part of the 1st Battallion, 17th Infantry Regiment – the unit that has absorbed most of the brigade’s officially reported 26 deaths this tour.
Aaron Aamot and another soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device that was buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, Matt Aamot said.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not released information about any Fort Lewis deaths in Afghanistan this week. But Aamot’s parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday night that their son was killed in action.
Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 2006 and joined the military shortly after. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of the service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
“The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago,” Matt Aamot said. “Everyone is taking it hard, but we’re Christians, so it’s a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out.”
Family members planned to go to Dover, Del., on Friday night to bring their son back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
“I’m pretty heartbroken, but I’m proud of his service,” said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. “We weren’t in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do the same thing we were doing there: Bring folks peace and freedom they’d never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit.”
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
“I still think of him as a kid, even though he’s 22,” he said. “He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I’m honored to have been his brother.”
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA.
“4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him,” he said. “He kind of took after me.”
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale, and Joshua; and a sister, Nellie Huisman.
The 5th Brigade and its roughly 4,000 soldiers have the job of trying to clear resurgent Taliban fighters from rural parts of southern Afghanistan. The unit has taken multiple casualties, mostly from buried improvised explosives.
Eight soldiers from the brigade were killed on a single day last week – including seven men in one bombing of their 20-ton Stryker vehicle – which made Oct. 27 the deadliest day for Fort Lewis since the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The News Tribune contribute
A Bellingham-area soldier who was assigned to Fort Lewis was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday after he drove his Stryker vehicle over a buried explosive, according to his family.
Spc. Aaron Aamot, 22, belonged to the 5th Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division and had been serving in Afghanistan since mid-July, said his brother, Matt Aamot. He was part of the 1st Battallion, 17th Infantry Regiment – the unit that has absorbed most of the brigade’s officially reported 26 deaths this tour.
Aaron Aamot and another soldier were killed by an improvised explosive device that was buried in the road just northwest of Kandahar, Matt Aamot said.
The U.S. Department of Defense has not released information about any Fort Lewis deaths in Afghanistan this week. But Aamot’s parents, Mark and Julie Aamot, were notified Thursday night that their son was killed in action.
Aamot grew up in Custer, the fifth of eight siblings. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 2006 and joined the military shortly after. Matt Aamot, 33, believed his brother saw the military as a stepping stone into a career in law enforcement, which he hoped to pursue when he got out of the service in the next year.
Aamot had been home on leave from Oct. 11 to Oct. 25, and for that his family is thankful.
“The best thing is we were able to see him a couple weeks ago,” Matt Aamot said. “Everyone is taking it hard, but we’re Christians, so it’s a temporary interlude until we see him again. Our faith will help us out.”
Family members planned to go to Dover, Del., on Friday night to bring their son back home. A memorial service is being planned for next week.
“I’m pretty heartbroken, but I’m proud of his service,” said Matt Aamot, who also served in the military. “We weren’t in a combat zone, but I served in Bosnia in 1996. Aaron was trying to do the same thing we were doing there: Bring folks peace and freedom they’d never experienced. So that comforts me a little bit.”
The grief was still setting in for Matt Aamot, who found it hard to believe his little brother was gone.
“I still think of him as a kid, even though he’s 22,” he said. “He was a real fun kid. He was great with his nephews and nieces, just easygoing. He was a nice brother. I’m honored to have been his brother.”
The two shared interests in the military, as well as 4-H Club and FFA.
“4-H was a big part of his life. Raising and showing chickens at the fair was a big deal for him,” he said. “He kind of took after me.”
Aaron Aamot is also survived by brothers Daniel, Benjamin, Ethan, Dale, and Joshua; and a sister, Nellie Huisman.
Army Spc. Aaron S. Aamot was killed in action on 11/05/09.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr.
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr., 25, of Berino, N.M.
Spc. Tony Carrasco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, of a gunshot wound sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit.
Teachers say he was a hard-working student
The Associated Press
At Gadsden High School in Anthony, N.M., Tony Carrasco was remembered as a hard worker who didn’t cause problems.
“He was an ag student who was involved in the horticulture program here,” said principal Carey Chambers, who arrived at the school after Carrasco graduated but heard teachers’ memories of him. “By all accounts of everyone we talked to, he was a good kid.”
Carrasco, 25, of Berino, N.M., died Nov. 4 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, when he was shot during an attack. He was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan.
His sister, Susana, wrote in an online message board that she remembered her brother’s jokes and all the times he told her to be strong and not take life for granted.
“Those are the things that help me go on. I am very proud of you. You are my HERO!” she wrote.
Carrasco graduated from high school in 2003 and entered the Army in January 2008. A field artillery specialist, he deployed to Iraq earlier this fall.
He is survived by his wife, Johana Lizeth Martinez Gavaldon-Carrasco; stepson, Axel Antonio; stepdaughter, Ilse Iveth; parents, Antonio and Juana Carrasco; and sisters, Rosalia, Susana and Jessica.
Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr. was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr., 25, of Berino, N.M.
Spc. Tony Carrasco was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, of a gunshot wound sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit.
Teachers say he was a hard-working student
The Associated Press
At Gadsden High School in Anthony, N.M., Tony Carrasco was remembered as a hard worker who didn’t cause problems.
“He was an ag student who was involved in the horticulture program here,” said principal Carey Chambers, who arrived at the school after Carrasco graduated but heard teachers’ memories of him. “By all accounts of everyone we talked to, he was a good kid.”
Carrasco, 25, of Berino, N.M., died Nov. 4 in Ad Dawr, Iraq, when he was shot during an attack. He was assigned to Fort Riley, Kan.
His sister, Susana, wrote in an online message board that she remembered her brother’s jokes and all the times he told her to be strong and not take life for granted.
“Those are the things that help me go on. I am very proud of you. You are my HERO!” she wrote.
Carrasco graduated from high school in 2003 and entered the Army in January 2008. A field artillery specialist, he deployed to Iraq earlier this fall.
He is survived by his wife, Johana Lizeth Martinez Gavaldon-Carrasco; stepson, Axel Antonio; stepdaughter, Ilse Iveth; parents, Antonio and Juana Carrasco; and sisters, Rosalia, Susana and Jessica.
Army Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr. was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Spc. Julian L. Berisford
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Julian L. Berisford, 25, of Benwood, W.Va.
Spc. Berisford was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires.
The Anchorage Daily News -- A 25-year-old Fort Richardson soldier from West Virginia, Spc. Julian Berisford, was killed in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday when his platoon came under fire while on patrol.
The infantryman was married and had a daughter about to celebrate her first birthday. The online edition of the Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia, said Berisford had scheduled his two-week leave for next week so he could be home for the party.
Now his family and friends are mourning his death.
"It's like our heart has been torn out," Berisford's cousin, Randi Jo Chavanak, said. "The only thing he said before he left was that he was going to do things right for families like ours. He was going to fight for families."
According to a prepared statement from Fort Richardson, Berisford joined the Army in August 2007 and initially served at bases in the South. Twelve months later, he was a paratrooper assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) at Fort Richardson. He deployed to Paktika province in March with C Company of one the brigade's battalions, the 3-509th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
The Army said he was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire in Paktika's Bermal District, a Pashto-speaking region with a long border with Pakistan.
Berisford was the 12th soldier of the brigade to die in combat since it began its deployment in February. His battalion lost two soldiers July 4 when Taliban forces attacked their mountain fortress.
Army Spc. Julian L. Berisford was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Spc. Julian L. Berisford, 25, of Benwood, W.Va.
Spc. Berisford was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fires.
The Anchorage Daily News -- A 25-year-old Fort Richardson soldier from West Virginia, Spc. Julian Berisford, was killed in eastern Afghanistan Wednesday when his platoon came under fire while on patrol.
The infantryman was married and had a daughter about to celebrate her first birthday. The online edition of the Intelligencer of Wheeling, West Virginia, said Berisford had scheduled his two-week leave for next week so he could be home for the party.
Now his family and friends are mourning his death.
"It's like our heart has been torn out," Berisford's cousin, Randi Jo Chavanak, said. "The only thing he said before he left was that he was going to do things right for families like ours. He was going to fight for families."
According to a prepared statement from Fort Richardson, Berisford joined the Army in August 2007 and initially served at bases in the South. Twelve months later, he was a paratrooper assigned to the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne) at Fort Richardson. He deployed to Paktika province in March with C Company of one the brigade's battalions, the 3-509th Parachute Infantry Regiment.
The Army said he was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire in Paktika's Bermal District, a Pashto-speaking region with a long border with Pakistan.
Berisford was the 12th soldier of the brigade to die in combat since it began its deployment in February. His battalion lost two soldiers July 4 when Taliban forces attacked their mountain fortress.
Army Spc. Julian L. Berisford was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y.
Sgt. Tirador was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident.
Played lacrosse in high school
The Associated Press
Amy Tirador had many interests and was passionate about them all.
She was an accomplished trumpeter who played “Taps” at funerals of relatives who served in World War II. She was a lacrosse player who helped start the girls’ lacrosse program during her junior year of high school. And she was an Army medic credited with saving the life of a soldier during a convoy attack in Iraq.
“She was incredibly dedicated, and leaving work unfinished didn’t seem to be part of her genetic makeup,” Aimee Ruscio, a soldier who served with Tirador in Iraq, wrote in an Internet posting.
Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq. The Army is investigating her death, which it says was a noncombat incident. Her family has said Tirador was shot in the back of the head, and that it was not an accident or a suicide.
The 1998 graduate of South Colonie Central High School was an Arabic-speaking interrogator and interpreter. Tirador was assigned to Fort Lewis.
Survivors include her husband, Mickey Tirador, and her parents, Colleen Murphy and Gerard Seyboth.
“She loved her country, cherished her family, was devoted to and loved her husband dearly,” cousin Cheryl Seyboth Shepard wrote in an online message board.
Army Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador died of a non-combat related incident on 11/04/09.
Army Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y.
Sgt. Tirador was assigned to the 209th Military Intelligence Company, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Kirkush, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat-related incident.
Played lacrosse in high school
The Associated Press
Amy Tirador had many interests and was passionate about them all.
She was an accomplished trumpeter who played “Taps” at funerals of relatives who served in World War II. She was a lacrosse player who helped start the girls’ lacrosse program during her junior year of high school. And she was an Army medic credited with saving the life of a soldier during a convoy attack in Iraq.
“She was incredibly dedicated, and leaving work unfinished didn’t seem to be part of her genetic makeup,” Aimee Ruscio, a soldier who served with Tirador in Iraq, wrote in an Internet posting.
Tirador, 29, of Albany, N.Y., died Nov. 4 in Kirkush, Iraq. The Army is investigating her death, which it says was a noncombat incident. Her family has said Tirador was shot in the back of the head, and that it was not an accident or a suicide.
The 1998 graduate of South Colonie Central High School was an Arabic-speaking interrogator and interpreter. Tirador was assigned to Fort Lewis.
Survivors include her husband, Mickey Tirador, and her parents, Colleen Murphy and Gerard Seyboth.
“She loved her country, cherished her family, was devoted to and loved her husband dearly,” cousin Cheryl Seyboth Shepard wrote in an online message board.
Army Staff Sgt. Amy C. Tirador died of a non-combat related incident on 11/04/09.
Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va.
Sgt. Islip was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; went missing Nov. 4, 2009 while involved in a resupply mission in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan; he had been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. His status was changed Nov. 29 to having died in a noncombat-related incident.
Body of missing sergeant found in Afghanistan
By Rahim Faiez
The Associated Press
KABUL — Rescuers found the body of a second U.S. paratrooper missing after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop resupply mission earlier this month in western Afghanistan, NATO said Monday.
Sgt. Brandon Islip, 24, was recovered Sunday from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan citizen provided information on his whereabouts. British divers searching the river Nov. 10 found the body of 21-year-old Spc. Benjamin Sherman, who was promoted to sergeant posthumously.
A memorial service for the two paratroopers will be held in Afghanistan in the coming days.
The two, both from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, disappeared Nov. 4 in the Bala Barghab area of Badghis. Local police said they were swept away by the river as they tried to recover airdropped supplies that had accidentally fallen into the water.
During the first days of the search, intense fighting broke out with militants in the area. Eight Afghans — four soldiers, three policemen and an interpreter — were killed, while 17 Afghan troops and five American soldiers were wounded.
Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va.
Sgt. Islip was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; went missing Nov. 4, 2009 while involved in a resupply mission in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan; he had been listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown. His status was changed Nov. 29 to having died in a noncombat-related incident.
Body of missing sergeant found in Afghanistan
By Rahim Faiez
The Associated Press
KABUL — Rescuers found the body of a second U.S. paratrooper missing after being swept away by a fast-moving current while on an airdrop resupply mission earlier this month in western Afghanistan, NATO said Monday.
Sgt. Brandon Islip, 24, was recovered Sunday from the Bala Murgahab River in Badghis province after a local Afghan citizen provided information on his whereabouts. British divers searching the river Nov. 10 found the body of 21-year-old Spc. Benjamin Sherman, who was promoted to sergeant posthumously.
A memorial service for the two paratroopers will be held in Afghanistan in the coming days.
The two, both from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, disappeared Nov. 4 in the Bala Barghab area of Badghis. Local police said they were swept away by the river as they tried to recover airdropped supplies that had accidentally fallen into the water.
During the first days of the search, intense fighting broke out with militants in the area. Eight Afghans — four soldiers, three policemen and an interpreter — were killed, while 17 Afghan troops and five American soldiers were wounded.
Army Sgt. Brandon T. Islip was killed in action on 11/04/09.
Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Mass.
Sgt. Sherman was assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, while participating in a resupply mission.
Hundreds pay tribute to Mass. paratrooper
The Associated Press
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray joined hundreds of relatives, friends, soldiers and well-wishers paying tribute to a U.S. paratrooper who died while trying to save a comrade in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Benjamin Sherman of Plymouth died after jumping into the river to save a colleague who was also swept away by the current. The two soldiers were trying to retrieve airdropped supplies from a river in western Afghanistan.
Sherman’s body was found Nov. 10, six days after he disappeared. He was promoted posthumously.
Members of the veterans’ motorcycle group, the Patriot Guard Riders, mounted an honor guard during calling hours at the Richard Davis Funeral Home.
A Funeral Service is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Second Church of Plymouth in Manomet. Burial will follow at the Manomet Cemetery.
Associated Press -- Sherman, a New Bedford native who grew up in Plymouth, was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was a member of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He lived on the base with his, wife, Patricia, who is expecting the couple's first child.
A former Army specialist, Sherman was posthumously promoted to sergeant.
He and another U.S. soldier were swept away by strong river currents while trying to recover a food parcel that fell in the river during a resupply mission.
The Department of Defense issued a release Wednesday identifying Sgt. Sherman as "having been killed while participating in the Nov. 4 resupply mission" in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.
The release stated that Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va., has been unaccounted for since he "went missing" while involved in the resupply mission.
"Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, and the incident is under investigation," according to the defense department.
The family has established the Benjamin W. Sherman Memorial Foundation for donations that will honor his memory by providing financial assistance to families of military service members during unexpected times of hardship.
Donations can be dropped off at any Rockland Trust branch or mailed to Rockland Trust, 288 Union St, Rockland, MA 02370.
Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman was killed in action 11/04/09.
Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman, 21, of Plymouth, Mass.
Sgt. Sherman was assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Nov. 4, 2009 in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan, while participating in a resupply mission.
Hundreds pay tribute to Mass. paratrooper
The Associated Press
PLYMOUTH, Mass. — Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray joined hundreds of relatives, friends, soldiers and well-wishers paying tribute to a U.S. paratrooper who died while trying to save a comrade in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Benjamin Sherman of Plymouth died after jumping into the river to save a colleague who was also swept away by the current. The two soldiers were trying to retrieve airdropped supplies from a river in western Afghanistan.
Sherman’s body was found Nov. 10, six days after he disappeared. He was promoted posthumously.
Members of the veterans’ motorcycle group, the Patriot Guard Riders, mounted an honor guard during calling hours at the Richard Davis Funeral Home.
A Funeral Service is set for 11 a.m. Nov. 19 at the Second Church of Plymouth in Manomet. Burial will follow at the Manomet Cemetery.
Associated Press -- Sherman, a New Bedford native who grew up in Plymouth, was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. He was a member of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C. He lived on the base with his, wife, Patricia, who is expecting the couple's first child.
A former Army specialist, Sherman was posthumously promoted to sergeant.
He and another U.S. soldier were swept away by strong river currents while trying to recover a food parcel that fell in the river during a resupply mission.
The Department of Defense issued a release Wednesday identifying Sgt. Sherman as "having been killed while participating in the Nov. 4 resupply mission" in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan.
The release stated that Sgt. Brandon T. Islip, 23, of Richmond, Va., has been unaccounted for since he "went missing" while involved in the resupply mission.
"Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, and the incident is under investigation," according to the defense department.
The family has established the Benjamin W. Sherman Memorial Foundation for donations that will honor his memory by providing financial assistance to families of military service members during unexpected times of hardship.
Donations can be dropped off at any Rockland Trust branch or mailed to Rockland Trust, 288 Union St, Rockland, MA 02370.
Army Sgt. Benjamin W. Sherman was killed in action 11/04/09.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Marine Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz, 26, of San Antonio
Sgt. Ruiz was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans; died Oct. 31, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
San Antonio Express --Just before noon Tuesday, church bells rang for a fallen San Antonio Marine.
They sounded from San Francesco di Paola Catholic Church for Marine Reserve Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz, killed by a land mine Oct. 31 while serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
An hour and a half before the bells tolled, a large crowd of family, friends, veterans and Marines clogged the church entrance at 205 Piazza Italia.
Patriot Guard Riders stood at attention with U.S. flags waving as the gray hearse bearing the body of the 26-year-old Marine arrived.
His wife, Kimberly Ruiz; 14-month-old son Joshua Cesar; parents Maria and Jose Ruiz; and other family members filed behind the casket that came to rest at the same altar where Ruiz married his wife six years ago.
During the Mass of the Resurrection, clergy and fellow Marines told stories about Ruiz; they said he told his wife that “he wanted to die for a purpose.”
“Know that he rests in the hearts of those who knew and loved him,” the priest said. “He lives in all that we are.”
Ruiz, born in Nava Coahuila, Mexico, grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Taft High School in 2001.
A combat engineer, Ruiz was on his second tour in Afghanistan and second stint with the Marines. He worked with his father as a bricklayer for three years but missed the Marines. He felt that he needed to go back, his family said, and he went back into action with his wife's blessing.
A statue of Jesus with outstretched hands stood above the pews filled from front to back. The wail of restless babies mingled with muffled tears throughout the Mass.
A Marine stood and said Ruiz called his wife before his last mission. He was sure the words “I love you” were said before their final talk ended.
The Marine closed his words with “Semper fi, Marine,” drawing applause from the crowd.
After the hymns, prayers and tributes ended, Marines draped a U.S. flag over the casket.
The procession wound its way to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, past rows of white headstones adorned with red ribbons. At shelter No. 4, relatives, strangers and veterans in military dress joined the procession.
Ruiz's small son eyed the Marines, standing stiff as stone.
As a Marine escorted Ruiz's mother to a waiting limousine, a Patriot Guard Rider, giving his name only as “Bumblebee,” followed at a distance. He made his way to the door, presenting her with a special coin made for military members killed in action.
“That's always the toughest part,” he said as the long procession wound away from the cemetery.
After the ceremony, a row of large bouquets were the last reminders that San Antonio had lost another son in combat.
They each bore a single banner. Beloved husband. Father. Son. Fallen Marine.
His uncle, Juan Antonio Ruiz, said his nephew was the family's first soldier.
“As family members, it's a sad day because we lost a nephew, a brother, a father, an uncle,” Ruiz said. “But it is a great day for us because as a soldier, he served his country, he loved what he was born to do and he makes us very proud.”
Marine Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz was killed in action on 10/31/09.
Marine Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz, 26, of San Antonio
Sgt. Ruiz was assigned to Marine Forces Reserve, New Orleans; died Oct. 31, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
San Antonio Express --Just before noon Tuesday, church bells rang for a fallen San Antonio Marine.
They sounded from San Francesco di Paola Catholic Church for Marine Reserve Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz, killed by a land mine Oct. 31 while serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province.
An hour and a half before the bells tolled, a large crowd of family, friends, veterans and Marines clogged the church entrance at 205 Piazza Italia.
Patriot Guard Riders stood at attention with U.S. flags waving as the gray hearse bearing the body of the 26-year-old Marine arrived.
His wife, Kimberly Ruiz; 14-month-old son Joshua Cesar; parents Maria and Jose Ruiz; and other family members filed behind the casket that came to rest at the same altar where Ruiz married his wife six years ago.
During the Mass of the Resurrection, clergy and fellow Marines told stories about Ruiz; they said he told his wife that “he wanted to die for a purpose.”
“Know that he rests in the hearts of those who knew and loved him,” the priest said. “He lives in all that we are.”
Ruiz, born in Nava Coahuila, Mexico, grew up in San Antonio and graduated from Taft High School in 2001.
A combat engineer, Ruiz was on his second tour in Afghanistan and second stint with the Marines. He worked with his father as a bricklayer for three years but missed the Marines. He felt that he needed to go back, his family said, and he went back into action with his wife's blessing.
A statue of Jesus with outstretched hands stood above the pews filled from front to back. The wail of restless babies mingled with muffled tears throughout the Mass.
A Marine stood and said Ruiz called his wife before his last mission. He was sure the words “I love you” were said before their final talk ended.
The Marine closed his words with “Semper fi, Marine,” drawing applause from the crowd.
After the hymns, prayers and tributes ended, Marines draped a U.S. flag over the casket.
The procession wound its way to Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, past rows of white headstones adorned with red ribbons. At shelter No. 4, relatives, strangers and veterans in military dress joined the procession.
Ruiz's small son eyed the Marines, standing stiff as stone.
As a Marine escorted Ruiz's mother to a waiting limousine, a Patriot Guard Rider, giving his name only as “Bumblebee,” followed at a distance. He made his way to the door, presenting her with a special coin made for military members killed in action.
“That's always the toughest part,” he said as the long procession wound away from the cemetery.
After the ceremony, a row of large bouquets were the last reminders that San Antonio had lost another son in combat.
They each bore a single banner. Beloved husband. Father. Son. Fallen Marine.
His uncle, Juan Antonio Ruiz, said his nephew was the family's first soldier.
“As family members, it's a sad day because we lost a nephew, a brother, a father, an uncle,” Ruiz said. “But it is a great day for us because as a soldier, he served his country, he loved what he was born to do and he makes us very proud.”
Marine Sgt. Cesar B. Ruiz was killed in action on 10/31/09.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Army Spc. Christopher M. Cooper
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Christopher M. Cooper, 28, of Oceanside, Calif.
Spc. Cooper was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Schweinfurt, Germany; died Oct. 30, 2009 in Babil province, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Served 5 years in Marines before joining Army
The Associated Press
Christopher Cooper was remembered as someone who was kind and charitable, dropping $20 bills in the lap of a homeless person and collecting tattered U.S. flags left on the streets after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Cooper entered the Marine Corps in 2000 and served five years, completing an Iraq tour. After a few months of civilian life in Oceanside, Calif., he joined the Army Reserves, then enlisted in the Active Army.
“He wasn’t one for complaining and it lifted those around him,” retired Spc. Chris Conover wrote in a message posted on the Daily Kos Web site. “You could always talk to him if you needed someone to have a heart-to-heart with.”
Cooper, 28, died Oct. 30 in Babil province, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident. He was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion at Schweinfurt, Germany.
An obituary said Cooper was a “restless soul” searching for his place in the world until he joined the military.
“He always looked forward to returning home to visit his family and friends but then could not get back fast enough to be reunited with his brothers in the military,” the obituary said.
Cooper is survived by his mother, Sherry Kennon; brother-in-law and sister, Damon and Lori Coachman; and niece Kayla Coachman.
Army Spc. Christopher M. Cooper was killed in a non-combat incident on 10/30/09.
Army Spc. Christopher M. Cooper, 28, of Oceanside, Calif.
Spc. Cooper was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry, 172nd Infantry Brigade, Schweinfurt, Germany; died Oct. 30, 2009 in Babil province, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident.
Served 5 years in Marines before joining Army
The Associated Press
Christopher Cooper was remembered as someone who was kind and charitable, dropping $20 bills in the lap of a homeless person and collecting tattered U.S. flags left on the streets after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Cooper entered the Marine Corps in 2000 and served five years, completing an Iraq tour. After a few months of civilian life in Oceanside, Calif., he joined the Army Reserves, then enlisted in the Active Army.
“He wasn’t one for complaining and it lifted those around him,” retired Spc. Chris Conover wrote in a message posted on the Daily Kos Web site. “You could always talk to him if you needed someone to have a heart-to-heart with.”
Cooper, 28, died Oct. 30 in Babil province, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident. He was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion at Schweinfurt, Germany.
An obituary said Cooper was a “restless soul” searching for his place in the world until he joined the military.
“He always looked forward to returning home to visit his family and friends but then could not get back fast enough to be reunited with his brothers in the military,” the obituary said.
Cooper is survived by his mother, Sherry Kennon; brother-in-law and sister, Damon and Lori Coachman; and niece Kayla Coachman.
Army Spc. Christopher M. Cooper was killed in a non-combat incident on 10/30/09.
Army Pfc. Lukas C. Hopper
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Lukas C. Hopper, 20, of Merced, Calif.
Pfc. Hopper was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Oct. 30, 2009 southeast of Karadah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.
Merced paratrooper dies in Humvee crash in Iraq
The Associated Press
MERCED, Calif. — Family and friends of an Army paratrooper from Merced are mourning his death in a Humvee crash outside Baghdad.
Twenty-year-old Pfc. Lukas Hopper was just two weeks away from the end of his deployment in Iraq when his Humvee rolled over Friday in a noncombat crash. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
The Pentagon says the cause of the rollover is under investigation.
Hopper’s family says he joined the Army after graduating from high school because he wanted to see the world. They describe him as a thrillseeker who also was a protective older brother to his two teen sisters.
When he left for Iraq, friends made a cardboard cutout and took his likeness to parties and the beach, posting images on a blog for him to see.
Funeral services are planned for Saturday in Merced.
Army Pfc. Lukas C. Hopper died in a vehicle rollover on 10/30/09.
Army Pfc. Lukas C. Hopper, 20, of Merced, Calif.
Pfc. Hopper was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Oct. 30, 2009 southeast of Karadah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover.
Merced paratrooper dies in Humvee crash in Iraq
The Associated Press
MERCED, Calif. — Family and friends of an Army paratrooper from Merced are mourning his death in a Humvee crash outside Baghdad.
Twenty-year-old Pfc. Lukas Hopper was just two weeks away from the end of his deployment in Iraq when his Humvee rolled over Friday in a noncombat crash. He was with the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C.
The Pentagon says the cause of the rollover is under investigation.
Hopper’s family says he joined the Army after graduating from high school because he wanted to see the world. They describe him as a thrillseeker who also was a protective older brother to his two teen sisters.
When he left for Iraq, friends made a cardboard cutout and took his likeness to parties and the beach, posting images on a blog for him to see.
Funeral services are planned for Saturday in Merced.
Army Pfc. Lukas C. Hopper died in a vehicle rollover on 10/30/09.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Army Spc. Adrian L. Avila
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Adrian L. Avila, 19, of Opelika, Ala.
Spc. Avila was assigned to the 1343rd Chemical Company, 151st Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Battalion, 115th Fires Brigade of the Alabama National Guard, Fort Payne, Ala.; died Oct. 29, 2009 at Khabari Crossing, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related accident.
Burial for Alabama Guard soldier
The Associated Press
FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Funeral services are scheduled Nov. 6 for a member of a Fort Payne-based Army National Guard unit killed in Kuwait.
The Pentagon says 19-year-old Spc. Adrian L. Avila of Opelika died at Khabari Crossing in Kuwait from injuries he received in a noncombat-related accident.
Avila was assigned as an infantryman with the 1343rd Chemical Company of the 151st Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Battalion. He had been in the National Guard for about two years.
Avila was among 130 members of the unit who left in April for training in Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Kuwait for a year.
Army Spc. Adrian L. Avila was killed in a non-combat related incident on 10/29/09.
For Larger Images
Army Spc. Adrian L. Avila, 19, of Opelika, Ala.
Spc. Avila was assigned to the 1343rd Chemical Company, 151st Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Battalion, 115th Fires Brigade of the Alabama National Guard, Fort Payne, Ala.; died Oct. 29, 2009 at Khabari Crossing, Kuwait, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related accident.
Burial for Alabama Guard soldier
The Associated Press
FORT PAYNE, Ala. — Funeral services are scheduled Nov. 6 for a member of a Fort Payne-based Army National Guard unit killed in Kuwait.
The Pentagon says 19-year-old Spc. Adrian L. Avila of Opelika died at Khabari Crossing in Kuwait from injuries he received in a noncombat-related accident.
Avila was assigned as an infantryman with the 1343rd Chemical Company of the 151st Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Battalion. He had been in the National Guard for about two years.
Avila was among 130 members of the unit who left in April for training in Fort Hood, Texas, before being deployed to Kuwait for a year.
Army Spc. Adrian L. Avila was killed in a non-combat related incident on 10/29/09.
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Army Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos, 39, of Questa, N.M.
Spc. Gallegos was assigned to the 720th Transportation Company, New Mexico Army National Guard, in Las Vegas, N.M.; died Oct. 28, 2009 in Tallil, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident.
Guardsman in Iraq dies of heart attack
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico National Guard said a 39-year-old soldier deployed to Iraq has died after a heart attack.
Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos of Questa died Wednesday in Tallil, Iraq. He was a vehicle mechanic with the 720th Transportation Company out of Las Vegas, N.M.
About 130 members of the unit left New Mexico on May 14 for training before deploying to Iraq in July.
Gallegos served in the Navy and Army before recently joining the National Guard after a five-year break in military service.
Army Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos died of a heart attack on 10/28/09.
For Larger Images
Army Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos, 39, of Questa, N.M.
Spc. Gallegos was assigned to the 720th Transportation Company, New Mexico Army National Guard, in Las Vegas, N.M.; died Oct. 28, 2009 in Tallil, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident.
Guardsman in Iraq dies of heart attack
The Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico National Guard said a 39-year-old soldier deployed to Iraq has died after a heart attack.
Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos of Questa died Wednesday in Tallil, Iraq. He was a vehicle mechanic with the 720th Transportation Company out of Las Vegas, N.M.
About 130 members of the unit left New Mexico on May 14 for training before deploying to Iraq in July.
Gallegos served in the Navy and Army before recently joining the National Guard after a five-year break in military service.
Army Spc. Joseph L. Gallegos died of a heart attack on 10/28/09.
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Marine Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley, 21, of Rosanky, Texas
Lcpl Stanely was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died Oct. 28, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
KVUE News -- A United States Marine from Bastrop County died in Afghanistan Wednesday while supporting combat operations.
Lance Corporal Cody R. Stanley, 21, is from Rosanky and attended Smithville High School. On Friday, some of his former high school teachers talked about the kind of student he was and how they will never forget him.
"He’s the kid any mom would be proud to call her son," said Marganna Martin, math teacher. "These kids leave as boys and come back as men. The military had made him an awesome man."
Stanley joined the Marines right after graduating high school in 2006.
"He was a true country gentleman who loved the outdoors, who loved his friends, who loved his family, and he loved being part of this community and this school," said Tony Quitta, Stanley’s senior English teacher. "I think he'll be remembered for his honesty, his values, and his morality."
On October 28, Stanley was killed in action during a combat support mission in Afghanistan.
"I was devastated to hear the news," said Natalie Frerich. "I can’t imagine what his parents and his family are going through. My heart goes out to them."
This is the third time the small communities of Smithville and Rosanky have lost one of their own in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"It’s about to the point where I want to lock the doors and not let the recruiters in because they have taken too much from us," said Martin.
Funeral arrangements for Stanley are still being worked out. But we are being told they will be in Smithville.
Marine Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley was killed in action on 10/28/09.
Marine Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley, 21, of Rosanky, Texas
Lcpl Stanely was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died Oct. 28, 2009 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
KVUE News -- A United States Marine from Bastrop County died in Afghanistan Wednesday while supporting combat operations.
Lance Corporal Cody R. Stanley, 21, is from Rosanky and attended Smithville High School. On Friday, some of his former high school teachers talked about the kind of student he was and how they will never forget him.
"He’s the kid any mom would be proud to call her son," said Marganna Martin, math teacher. "These kids leave as boys and come back as men. The military had made him an awesome man."
Stanley joined the Marines right after graduating high school in 2006.
"He was a true country gentleman who loved the outdoors, who loved his friends, who loved his family, and he loved being part of this community and this school," said Tony Quitta, Stanley’s senior English teacher. "I think he'll be remembered for his honesty, his values, and his morality."
On October 28, Stanley was killed in action during a combat support mission in Afghanistan.
"I was devastated to hear the news," said Natalie Frerich. "I can’t imagine what his parents and his family are going through. My heart goes out to them."
This is the third time the small communities of Smithville and Rosanky have lost one of their own in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
"It’s about to the point where I want to lock the doors and not let the recruiters in because they have taken too much from us," said Martin.
Funeral arrangements for Stanley are still being worked out. But we are being told they will be in Smithville.
Marine Lance Cpl. Cody R. Stanley was killed in action on 10/28/09.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Army Spc. Robert K. Charlton
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Robert K. Charlton, 22, of Malden, Mo.
Spc. Charlton was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Oct. 27, 2009 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident Oct. 23 in Wardak, Afghanistan.
Army Spc. Robert K. Charlton died of a non-combat related incident on 10/27/09.
Army Spc. Robert K. Charlton, 22, of Malden, Mo.
Spc. Charlton was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.; died Oct. 27, 2009 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained from a noncombat-related incident Oct. 23 in Wardak, Afghanistan.
Army Spc. Robert K. Charlton died of a non-combat related incident on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Mo.
Sgt. Jackson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Missourinet -- A Missourian was among the seven U.S. soldiers who were killed on Tuesday in Afghanistan. 27-year-old Sergeant Isaac B. Jackson of Plattsburg died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Arghandab Valley.
Jackson and his fellow soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington.
Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, 27, of Plattsburg, Mo.
Sgt. Jackson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Missourinet -- A Missourian was among the seven U.S. soldiers who were killed on Tuesday in Afghanistan. 27-year-old Sergeant Isaac B. Jackson of Plattsburg died of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Arghandab Valley.
Jackson and his fellow soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Fort Lewis, Washington.
Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Ill.
Spc. Stanker was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Chicago Sun-Times --A 22-year-old soldier from Evergreen Park was killed in Afghanistan this week in what's been the deadliest month so far for U.S. troops since 2001.
Spec. Jared D. Stanker was one of seven soldiers who died Tuesday after enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device, the Defense Department said Thursday. An eighth soldier was killed in a separate bombing Tuesday in southern Afghanistan.
It was Stanker's first deployment. He is survived by his parents and a sister.
"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," Stanker wrote on his Facebook page.
He enlisted in 2006, shortly after graduating from Brother Rice High School. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Evergreen Park Mayor Jim Sexton said Stanker is the first casualty for the village that has about 20 or 25 soldiers overseas.
"I'm lost for thoughts other than everybody here is praying for his family and for the rest of the troops out there keeping us safe," he said.
Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker, 22, of Evergreen Park, Ill.
Spc. Stanker was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Army Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Army Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Army Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Army Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Chicago Sun-Times --A 22-year-old soldier from Evergreen Park was killed in Afghanistan this week in what's been the deadliest month so far for U.S. troops since 2001.
Spec. Jared D. Stanker was one of seven soldiers who died Tuesday after enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device, the Defense Department said Thursday. An eighth soldier was killed in a separate bombing Tuesday in southern Afghanistan.
It was Stanker's first deployment. He is survived by his parents and a sister.
"The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing," Stanker wrote on his Facebook page.
He enlisted in 2006, shortly after graduating from Brother Rice High School. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon.
Evergreen Park Mayor Jim Sexton said Stanker is the first casualty for the village that has about 20 or 25 soldiers overseas.
"I'm lost for thoughts other than everybody here is praying for his family and for the rest of the troops out there keeping us safe," he said.
Army Spc. Jared D. Stanker was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, La.
Sgt. Williamson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker and Pfc. Christopher I. Walz.
2 Louisiana soldiers among 18 honored by Obama
By Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana soldiers killed in Afghanistan were among 18 fallen service members honored Thursday by President Barack Obama at the Delaware air force base where their bodies were returned home to the U.S.
The bodies of Sgt. Patrick Williamson, 24, of Broussard, and Pfc. Brian Bates, 20, of Gretna in suburban New Orleans, were on the plane met early Thursday by the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
“Brian met the president. And that’s all that matters. I know he would like that,” his wife, Enjolie Bates, said in a telephone interview from Lakewood, Wash. She said Bates loved his job and the Army.
“He liked the idea of fighting for his country. He thought that’s worth it. He believed in it,” she said.
He planned to make the Army his career, said his grandmother, Marlene O’Briant Tully of Gretna.
Both Bates and Williamson were in the Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division and were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, relatives said. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
Bates drove a Stryker light-armored vehicle, “which he told me was the safest job they had. They hit a bomb. That’s all I know. All seven of them were killed,” Tully said.
Williamson’s father, Leon “Buddy” Williamson, said Thursday that his son recently was promoted to sergeant and was among soldiers in the brigade killed this week in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Williamson said his son was the first member of his family to enlist.
“At the end of the day, he was doing what he wanted,” Williamson said. “He’s wanted to join the Army and be in the infantry since fifth grade.”
He said he didn’t know what had sparked Patrick Williamson’s interest in the Army.
“Patrick lays claim to a badge of honor that very few people can lay claim to: having served his country honorably and well,” he said. “The rest of us can thank him because while the rest of us enjoy the fruits of freedom, he paid the price for it.”
Enjolie Bates said her husband joined the Army to take care of her and their children, Brylie, a 2½-year-old girl, and Braiden, a 1½-year-old boy.
“Braiden, he just started saying ‘Dada,’“ she said.
Tully said her grandson, whom she raised along with his 17-year-old brother, called her weekly. He talked to her Saturday and to his wife on Monday, she said.
She said Jefferson Parish was honoring him by flying flags at half-staff, and she thought it was a “wonderful thing” that an assigned Army escort would be with him until he is buried.
About the president’s decision to meet the airplane, Tully said, “He ought to be there for every last one of them.” A bit later, she said, “Obama needs to do something. Our kids are just dying. For what? What kind of war is this? We’re not trying to win.”
Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson, 24, of Broussard, La.
Sgt. Williamson was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker and Pfc. Christopher I. Walz.
2 Louisiana soldiers among 18 honored by Obama
By Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana soldiers killed in Afghanistan were among 18 fallen service members honored Thursday by President Barack Obama at the Delaware air force base where their bodies were returned home to the U.S.
The bodies of Sgt. Patrick Williamson, 24, of Broussard, and Pfc. Brian Bates, 20, of Gretna in suburban New Orleans, were on the plane met early Thursday by the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
“Brian met the president. And that’s all that matters. I know he would like that,” his wife, Enjolie Bates, said in a telephone interview from Lakewood, Wash. She said Bates loved his job and the Army.
“He liked the idea of fighting for his country. He thought that’s worth it. He believed in it,” she said.
He planned to make the Army his career, said his grandmother, Marlene O’Briant Tully of Gretna.
Both Bates and Williamson were in the Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division and were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, relatives said. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
Bates drove a Stryker light-armored vehicle, “which he told me was the safest job they had. They hit a bomb. That’s all I know. All seven of them were killed,” Tully said.
Williamson’s father, Leon “Buddy” Williamson, said Thursday that his son recently was promoted to sergeant and was among soldiers in the brigade killed this week in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Williamson said his son was the first member of his family to enlist.
“At the end of the day, he was doing what he wanted,” Williamson said. “He’s wanted to join the Army and be in the infantry since fifth grade.”
He said he didn’t know what had sparked Patrick Williamson’s interest in the Army.
“Patrick lays claim to a badge of honor that very few people can lay claim to: having served his country honorably and well,” he said. “The rest of us can thank him because while the rest of us enjoy the fruits of freedom, he paid the price for it.”
Enjolie Bates said her husband joined the Army to take care of her and their children, Brylie, a 2½-year-old girl, and Braiden, a 1½-year-old boy.
“Braiden, he just started saying ‘Dada,’“ she said.
Tully said her grandson, whom she raised along with his 17-year-old brother, called her weekly. He talked to her Saturday and to his wife on Monday, she said.
She said Jefferson Parish was honoring him by flying flags at half-staff, and she thought it was a “wonderful thing” that an assigned Army escort would be with him until he is buried.
About the president’s decision to meet the airplane, Tully said, “He ought to be there for every last one of them.” A bit later, she said, “Obama needs to do something. Our kids are just dying. For what? What kind of war is this? We’re not trying to win.”
Army Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr.
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr., 20, of Gretna, La.
Pfc. Bates was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
2 Louisiana soldiers among 18 honored by Obama
By Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana soldiers killed in Afghanistan were among 18 fallen service members honored Thursday by President Barack Obama at the Delaware air force base where their bodies were returned home to the U.S.
The bodies of Sgt. Patrick Williamson, 24, of Broussard, and Pfc. Brian Bates, 20, of Gretna in suburban New Orleans, were on the plane met early Thursday by the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
“Brian met the president. And that’s all that matters. I know he would like that,” his wife, Enjolie Bates, said in a telephone interview from Lakewood, Wash. She said Bates loved his job and the Army.
“He liked the idea of fighting for his country. He thought that’s worth it. He believed in it,” she said.
He planned to make the Army his career, said his grandmother, Marlene O’Briant Tully of Gretna.
Both Bates and Williamson were in the Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division and were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, relatives said. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
Bates drove a Stryker light-armored vehicle, “which he told me was the safest job they had. They hit a bomb. That’s all I know. All seven of them were killed,” Tully said.
Williamson’s father, Leon “Buddy” Williamson, said Thursday that his son recently was promoted to sergeant and was among soldiers in the brigade killed this week in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Williamson said his son was the first member of his family to enlist.
“At the end of the day, he was doing what he wanted,” Williamson said. “He’s wanted to join the Army and be in the infantry since fifth grade.”
He said he didn’t know what had sparked Patrick Williamson’s interest in the Army.
“Patrick lays claim to a badge of honor that very few people can lay claim to: having served his country honorably and well,” he said. “The rest of us can thank him because while the rest of us enjoy the fruits of freedom, he paid the price for it.”
Enjolie Bates said her husband joined the Army to take care of her and their children, Brylie, a 2½-year-old girl, and Braiden, a 1½-year-old boy.
“Braiden, he just started saying ‘Dada,’“ she said.
Tully said her grandson, whom she raised along with his 17-year-old brother, called her weekly. He talked to her Saturday and to his wife on Monday, she said.
She said Jefferson Parish was honoring him by flying flags at half-staff, and she thought it was a “wonderful thing” that an assigned Army escort would be with him until he is buried.
About the president’s decision to meet the airplane, Tully said, “He ought to be there for every last one of them.” A bit later, she said, “Obama needs to do something. Our kids are just dying. For what? What kind of war is this? We’re not trying to win.”
Army Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr. was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr., 20, of Gretna, La.
Pfc. Bates was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device.
2 Louisiana soldiers among 18 honored by Obama
By Janet McConnaughey
The Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — Two Louisiana soldiers killed in Afghanistan were among 18 fallen service members honored Thursday by President Barack Obama at the Delaware air force base where their bodies were returned home to the U.S.
The bodies of Sgt. Patrick Williamson, 24, of Broussard, and Pfc. Brian Bates, 20, of Gretna in suburban New Orleans, were on the plane met early Thursday by the president at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
“Brian met the president. And that’s all that matters. I know he would like that,” his wife, Enjolie Bates, said in a telephone interview from Lakewood, Wash. She said Bates loved his job and the Army.
“He liked the idea of fighting for his country. He thought that’s worth it. He believed in it,” she said.
He planned to make the Army his career, said his grandmother, Marlene O’Briant Tully of Gretna.
Both Bates and Williamson were in the Army’s 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry division and were killed Tuesday in Afghanistan, relatives said. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.
Bates drove a Stryker light-armored vehicle, “which he told me was the safest job they had. They hit a bomb. That’s all I know. All seven of them were killed,” Tully said.
Williamson’s father, Leon “Buddy” Williamson, said Thursday that his son recently was promoted to sergeant and was among soldiers in the brigade killed this week in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Williamson said his son was the first member of his family to enlist.
“At the end of the day, he was doing what he wanted,” Williamson said. “He’s wanted to join the Army and be in the infantry since fifth grade.”
He said he didn’t know what had sparked Patrick Williamson’s interest in the Army.
“Patrick lays claim to a badge of honor that very few people can lay claim to: having served his country honorably and well,” he said. “The rest of us can thank him because while the rest of us enjoy the fruits of freedom, he paid the price for it.”
Enjolie Bates said her husband joined the Army to take care of her and their children, Brylie, a 2½-year-old girl, and Braiden, a 1½-year-old boy.
“Braiden, he just started saying ‘Dada,’“ she said.
Tully said her grandson, whom she raised along with his 17-year-old brother, called her weekly. He talked to her Saturday and to his wife on Monday, she said.
She said Jefferson Parish was honoring him by flying flags at half-staff, and she thought it was a “wonderful thing” that an assigned Army escort would be with him until he is buried.
About the president’s decision to meet the airplane, Tully said, “He ought to be there for every last one of them.” A bit later, she said, “Obama needs to do something. Our kids are just dying. For what? What kind of war is this? We’re not trying to win.”
Army Pfc. Brian R. Bates, Jr. was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Ind.
Sgt. Griffin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Soldier was ‘free spirit,’ champion wrestler
By Ken Kusmer
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Sgt. Dale Griffin was the son of a Mormon bishop, a champion wrestler and college student who was struggling to find his way in the world when he turned to the military.
Killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the body of the Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind., came home in a line of flag-draped coffins saluted in Thursday’s pre-dawn darkness by President Barack Obama at Dover Air Force Base.
The somber return was captured in full view of the media, reflecting Obama’s decision to relax an 18-year ban on such coverage that dates to the 1991 Gulf War and was strengthened by former President George W. Bush. Now families decide whether cameras can document the return.
Griffin’s was the only one to say yes out of the 18 families of fallen Americans who were on the C-17 cargo plane at Dover on Thursday.
Griffin, 29, was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., when he and six other soldiers were killed in Tuesday’s bomb in Kandahar province, the military said.
His deployment to Afghanistan was Griffin’s first since enlisting in 2005, said Joe Kubistek, a Fort Lewis spokesman.
“He wanted to be part of an organization that was taking care of things,” said Steve Joseph, his wrestling coach at Terre Haute South High School. “He wasn’t just a member of something: He wanted to do the very best he possibly could in it.”
Joseph coached Griffin to a state runner-up finish in the 189-pound weight class in 1999. Griffin was a team captain, an Eagle Scout and a member of the football team, he said.
“He was a hard-core kid, and no matter how much you required from him, he was always able to deliver,” Joseph said. “When everyone else was getting down ... he was [saying], ‘We can do this. Come on.’”
Griffin’s father, Gene, is a financial planner and the former Mormon bishop in Terre Haute, about 70 miles west of Indianapolis. His mother, Dona, recently organized other women in the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make fleece blankets for deployed service members.
“They’re very strong and faithful people,” said family friend and current Terre Haute Mormon bishop, Christopher Newton.
“Dale Griffin is the kind of person if you were going to get into a fight, and you were picking sides, he’s the first one you would pick. He was just unbelievably tough and resilient,” said Newton, a Vigo County judge.
Griffin attended Virginia Military Institute for three semesters, majoring in economics and business. As a freshman, he won his weight class and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2000 All-Academy Wrestling Championship.
“I have very fond memories of Dale and what he accomplished here at VMI,” said VMI wrestling coach John Trudgeon, who recalled Griffin as soft-spoken but confident.
But VMI buddy Chaz Wagner said Griffin was “a free spirit” who surprised his friend when he enlisted.
“He liked to have fun and seemed more of a partier than a military kind of guy,” Wagner said.
Nathan Hills, a high school wrestling teammate, said Griffin died as he lived his life.
“He was over serving our country, which doesn’t surprise me. That was the kind of person Dale was. If he believed in something, he would definitely act on it, and obviously he believed that it was important for him to do that,” Hills said.
Vets parade to be part of Ind. soldier’s funeral
The Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Hundreds of people are expected to attend a Terre Haute Veterans Day parade that will serve as a funeral procession for an Indiana soldier whose return to the country was marked by a salute from President Barack Obama.
Army Sgt. Dale Griffin of Terre Haute was killed Oct. 27 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and Obama participated in the transfer of his body two days later at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
After the parade Nov. 11, Griffin’s flag-draped coffin will be taken to Terre Haute South High School’s gymnasium for a 2 p.m. public funeral.
Hundreds of people, including several school children holding flags, lined the streets Nov. 9 as Griffin’s casket was flown into the city and was taken to a funeral home.
Hundreds pay respects at Indiana soldier’s funeral
By Deanna Martin
The Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — An Indiana soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan was remembered on Veterans Day as a happy-go-lucky athlete apt to burst into song at any moment who was as comfortable handing out coloring books to Afghan children as he was working out in the gym.
Terre Haute’s Veteran’s Day parade began in silence as a hearse carrying Army Sgt. Dale Griffin led the somber procession along downtown streets lined with hundreds of people. Some saluted, others stood with hands over their hearts, yet more clutched miniature flags as the cortege rolled quietly by.
John Arley Price, chaplain for the Wabash Valley Veterans Council, said he had never seen so many people turn out on Veterans Day in Terre Haute, about 70 miles west of Indianapolis.
“We do need support for these veterans, while they’re in and when they get out,” he said.
Griffin, 29, was one of six Fort Lewis, Wash.-based soldiers and a local interpreter killed in the Oct. 27 blast. Two days later, President Barack Obama met Griffin’s coffin at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with a salute.
Griffin’s return was captured in full view of the media, reflecting Obama’s decision to allow families to decide whether cameras can document the dead soldiers and relaxing a ban dating to the 1991 Gulf War.
The soldier’s parents, Gene and Dona Griffin, have said they agreed to the media coverage to put a face on the war in Afghanistan.
“Dale brought our family together in life,” Gene Griffin told mourners at the funeral at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, where enlarged snapshots of the soldier painted a picture of an adventurous boy who could climb up walls in a hallway until he reached the ceiling.
“In his passing, he brought us even closer. And now not only has our family come together at this time, but the nation has found it in their heart to draw a little closer as they reflect on the price of freedom.”
Family and friends speaking at Griffin’s funeral remembered him fondly as a committed athlete and a free spirit who would sometimes belt out Dionne Warwick songs and once entered a wrestling match blowing kisses to a tune from Air Supply.
“You couldn’t be down around Dale,” said Gabe Euratte, who has known Griffin since both were 8 years old. “Dale had that smile and those big blue eyes. It was a smile that was contagious.
“He was just a different cat.”
Wednesday’s somber procession resonated with Loretta Carson, who said she took her 10-year-old daughter Kiara to watch so she could learn the significance of Griffin’s death.
“Regardless of whether you agree with the war, you should always respect the soldiers for what they do for us,” Carson said.
The procession stopped outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where at 11:11 a.m. a small ceremony was held to honor Griffin and other veterans. Members of the Indiana Patriot Guard motorcycle group stood nearby holding American flags.
“Veterans Day comes once a year,” Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett said. “But we need to do this every single day and thank those who serve us and stand up for us.”
Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin was killed in action on 10/27/09.
Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin, 29, of Terre Haute, Ind.
Sgt. Griffin was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.; died Oct. 27, 2009 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an IED. Also killed were Sgt. Fernando Delarosa, Staff Sgt. Luis M. Gonzalez, Sgt. Issac B. Jackson, Spc. Jared D. Stanker, Pfc. Christopher I. Walz and Sgt. Patrick O. Williamson.
Soldier was ‘free spirit,’ champion wrestler
By Ken Kusmer
The Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS — Sgt. Dale Griffin was the son of a Mormon bishop, a champion wrestler and college student who was struggling to find his way in the world when he turned to the military.
Killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, the body of the Army sergeant from Terre Haute, Ind., came home in a line of flag-draped coffins saluted in Thursday’s pre-dawn darkness by President Barack Obama at Dover Air Force Base.
The somber return was captured in full view of the media, reflecting Obama’s decision to relax an 18-year ban on such coverage that dates to the 1991 Gulf War and was strengthened by former President George W. Bush. Now families decide whether cameras can document the return.
Griffin’s was the only one to say yes out of the 18 families of fallen Americans who were on the C-17 cargo plane at Dover on Thursday.
Griffin, 29, was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., when he and six other soldiers were killed in Tuesday’s bomb in Kandahar province, the military said.
His deployment to Afghanistan was Griffin’s first since enlisting in 2005, said Joe Kubistek, a Fort Lewis spokesman.
“He wanted to be part of an organization that was taking care of things,” said Steve Joseph, his wrestling coach at Terre Haute South High School. “He wasn’t just a member of something: He wanted to do the very best he possibly could in it.”
Joseph coached Griffin to a state runner-up finish in the 189-pound weight class in 1999. Griffin was a team captain, an Eagle Scout and a member of the football team, he said.
“He was a hard-core kid, and no matter how much you required from him, he was always able to deliver,” Joseph said. “When everyone else was getting down ... he was [saying], ‘We can do this. Come on.’”
Griffin’s father, Gene, is a financial planner and the former Mormon bishop in Terre Haute, about 70 miles west of Indianapolis. His mother, Dona, recently organized other women in the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make fleece blankets for deployed service members.
“They’re very strong and faithful people,” said family friend and current Terre Haute Mormon bishop, Christopher Newton.
“Dale Griffin is the kind of person if you were going to get into a fight, and you were picking sides, he’s the first one you would pick. He was just unbelievably tough and resilient,” said Newton, a Vigo County judge.
Griffin attended Virginia Military Institute for three semesters, majoring in economics and business. As a freshman, he won his weight class and was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler at the 2000 All-Academy Wrestling Championship.
“I have very fond memories of Dale and what he accomplished here at VMI,” said VMI wrestling coach John Trudgeon, who recalled Griffin as soft-spoken but confident.
But VMI buddy Chaz Wagner said Griffin was “a free spirit” who surprised his friend when he enlisted.
“He liked to have fun and seemed more of a partier than a military kind of guy,” Wagner said.
Nathan Hills, a high school wrestling teammate, said Griffin died as he lived his life.
“He was over serving our country, which doesn’t surprise me. That was the kind of person Dale was. If he believed in something, he would definitely act on it, and obviously he believed that it was important for him to do that,” Hills said.
Vets parade to be part of Ind. soldier’s funeral
The Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Hundreds of people are expected to attend a Terre Haute Veterans Day parade that will serve as a funeral procession for an Indiana soldier whose return to the country was marked by a salute from President Barack Obama.
Army Sgt. Dale Griffin of Terre Haute was killed Oct. 27 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, and Obama participated in the transfer of his body two days later at Dover Air Force Base, Del.
After the parade Nov. 11, Griffin’s flag-draped coffin will be taken to Terre Haute South High School’s gymnasium for a 2 p.m. public funeral.
Hundreds of people, including several school children holding flags, lined the streets Nov. 9 as Griffin’s casket was flown into the city and was taken to a funeral home.
Hundreds pay respects at Indiana soldier’s funeral
By Deanna Martin
The Associated Press
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — An Indiana soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan was remembered on Veterans Day as a happy-go-lucky athlete apt to burst into song at any moment who was as comfortable handing out coloring books to Afghan children as he was working out in the gym.
Terre Haute’s Veteran’s Day parade began in silence as a hearse carrying Army Sgt. Dale Griffin led the somber procession along downtown streets lined with hundreds of people. Some saluted, others stood with hands over their hearts, yet more clutched miniature flags as the cortege rolled quietly by.
John Arley Price, chaplain for the Wabash Valley Veterans Council, said he had never seen so many people turn out on Veterans Day in Terre Haute, about 70 miles west of Indianapolis.
“We do need support for these veterans, while they’re in and when they get out,” he said.
Griffin, 29, was one of six Fort Lewis, Wash.-based soldiers and a local interpreter killed in the Oct. 27 blast. Two days later, President Barack Obama met Griffin’s coffin at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware with a salute.
Griffin’s return was captured in full view of the media, reflecting Obama’s decision to allow families to decide whether cameras can document the dead soldiers and relaxing a ban dating to the 1991 Gulf War.
The soldier’s parents, Gene and Dona Griffin, have said they agreed to the media coverage to put a face on the war in Afghanistan.
“Dale brought our family together in life,” Gene Griffin told mourners at the funeral at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, where enlarged snapshots of the soldier painted a picture of an adventurous boy who could climb up walls in a hallway until he reached the ceiling.
“In his passing, he brought us even closer. And now not only has our family come together at this time, but the nation has found it in their heart to draw a little closer as they reflect on the price of freedom.”
Family and friends speaking at Griffin’s funeral remembered him fondly as a committed athlete and a free spirit who would sometimes belt out Dionne Warwick songs and once entered a wrestling match blowing kisses to a tune from Air Supply.
“You couldn’t be down around Dale,” said Gabe Euratte, who has known Griffin since both were 8 years old. “Dale had that smile and those big blue eyes. It was a smile that was contagious.
“He was just a different cat.”
Wednesday’s somber procession resonated with Loretta Carson, who said she took her 10-year-old daughter Kiara to watch so she could learn the significance of Griffin’s death.
“Regardless of whether you agree with the war, you should always respect the soldiers for what they do for us,” Carson said.
The procession stopped outside a Veterans of Foreign Wars post, where at 11:11 a.m. a small ceremony was held to honor Griffin and other veterans. Members of the Indiana Patriot Guard motorcycle group stood nearby holding American flags.
“Veterans Day comes once a year,” Terre Haute Mayor Duke Bennett said. “But we need to do this every single day and thank those who serve us and stand up for us.”
Army Sgt. Dale R. Griffin was killed in action on 10/27/09.
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