Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Jason D. Peto, 31, of Vancouver, Wash.
Sgt Peto was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 7, 2010 from wounds received Nov. 24 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
A Marine from Vancouver, Wash., died Tuesday as a result of wounds from hostile fire in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Jason D. Peto, 31, was injured on Nov. 24 during combat operations in Helmand province, the Defense Department announced Wednesday.
Peto is the son of Janie and Ernie Peto of Vancouver.
He was a rifleman assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Peto enlisted in the Marine Corps Sept. 13, 2004. This was his third combat deployment, according to a spokesman for the 1st Marine Division.
Four years ago, Peto was wounded in Ramadi, Iraq, during a combat tour with the 7th Regiment.
His personal service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy and Marine Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon.
Peto attended Mountain View High School and Clark College before enlisting in the Marines.
Peto is the second serviceman from Clark County to die in Afghanistan this year. Army Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, died on Sept. 21 in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of nine troops.
He was serving in Helmand province when he was struck by an improvised explosive device Nov. 24 as he was going door to door, said Paula Dillmon of Vancouver, his mother-in-law. The family was informed of his injuries soon afterward.
"We were told they expected him to survive, but he took a turn for the worse," she said. His injuries were complicated by an infection.
Dillmon said Peto's wife, Tiffany Peto, and his parents, Ernie and Janie Peto, traveled to Maryland and were waiting to accept his remains for return home. Peto and his wife had no children.
Peto had moved to Vancouver from Southern California when he was in junior high school. His family lived near Hockinson and had a farm with a cattle operation, and he enjoyed riding horses.
He attended Mountain View High School and Clark College before he joined the Marines in September 2004.
“As long as I’ve known him, he was going to go into the Marines,” Dillmon said. She noted that he was following family tradition: His father, brother and uncle all served in the Marines.
Peto and his wife were high school sweethearts. They were married in a secret ceremony at the Clark County Courthouse in 2005, as he was preparing for his first deployment to Iraq, Dillmon said. The couple had a formal ceremony at Mill Plain United Methodist Church after he returned in 2006.
Peto was awarded a second Purple Heart for the wounds that led to his death. He received his first for injuries suffered four years ago while he was serving in Iraq.
Marine Sgt. Jason D. Peto died 12/07/10 from wounds received in combat on 11/24/10.
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Monday, December 06, 2010
Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt, 25, of Akron, Ohio
Cpl Wyatt was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 6, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. Also killed was Pfc. Colton W. Rusk.
Friends of Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt gathered at the home of his longtime friend Andy Falcone in Akron on Monday night, played Wyatt's favorite music and told stories about him.
Their friend, a 25-year-old 2004 East High School graduate who left for Marine boot camp just a few months after high school, was killed in action in Afghanistan, Falcone learned this week.
The friends at Falcone's house listened to his favorite band, the Deftones, looked at pictures and shared memories. ''It is a cliche to say he loved his country,'' said Falcone of his friend, but it was true. He called the Marines Wyatt's calling.
''He loved his country, and he firmly believed in the cause,'' Falcone said. ''He was all about his country and the Marines.''
Wyatt, who was a member of the East High School Junior ROTC program, was married. His wife, Kait, is expecting the couple's first child, Falcone said. According to Wyatt's uncle, Greg Wyatt, he and his wife were expecting their first child to be born Tuesday. Cpl. Wyatt's wife currently lives near Camp Pendleton in California, Greg Wyatt said.
John Osolin, the East High School varsity baseball coach from 2001 to 2007, said it was devastating news to learn of Wyatt's death. ''What a crushing blow,'' he said of the player who was an All-City Series second baseman on the City Championship team in 2004.
Wyatt was a great fielder and started out one year batting ninth and finished the year batting first, said Osolin, who now works for the city of Akron. ''You knew this guy was going someplace,'' he said.
Wyatt always worked hard, was a leader and ''stood out as an example for the other kids,'' Osolin said.
''He did what he was supposed to,'' Osolin said. ''I can't say enough good things about him.''
Jim Ballard, who was the school's pitching coach when Wyatt played, called him a great kid and ''an amazing young man.''
''It has not been a good day,'' Ballard said of the grief he and others who knew Wyatt felt upon learning the news.
Ballard, who runs Skyline Recording Studio, said Wyatt often returned to East after joining the Marines to talk to ballplayers.
A Facebook page — R.I.P. Derek Wyatt — has been set up. Many friends already have posted their thoughts. ''I am still just in shock,'' one posting on the site reads. ''I never got the chance to tell you how absolutely proud of you I am and it sucks that this is the way things are.''
Another friend wrote: ''It's a shame your time here was cut so short. May you rest in peace. You will be missed greatly. A lot of people loved you and thought highly of you. Your family is in our prayers.''
Falcone said his friend loved all kinds of music, especially rock, loved baseball and excelled at games of trivia. ''If you take him to the bar and play trivia with him, he wins all of the free wings,'' he said.
Wyatt always had a smile on his face, Falcone said. ''Nothing could get him down,'' he said, even as he left for his first combat mission this summer. ''No matter what was thrown at him, he made the best of it.''
Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt was killed in action on 12/06/10.
Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt, 25, of Akron, Ohio
Cpl Wyatt was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 6, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. Also killed was Pfc. Colton W. Rusk.
Friends of Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt gathered at the home of his longtime friend Andy Falcone in Akron on Monday night, played Wyatt's favorite music and told stories about him.
Their friend, a 25-year-old 2004 East High School graduate who left for Marine boot camp just a few months after high school, was killed in action in Afghanistan, Falcone learned this week.
The friends at Falcone's house listened to his favorite band, the Deftones, looked at pictures and shared memories. ''It is a cliche to say he loved his country,'' said Falcone of his friend, but it was true. He called the Marines Wyatt's calling.
''He loved his country, and he firmly believed in the cause,'' Falcone said. ''He was all about his country and the Marines.''
Wyatt, who was a member of the East High School Junior ROTC program, was married. His wife, Kait, is expecting the couple's first child, Falcone said. According to Wyatt's uncle, Greg Wyatt, he and his wife were expecting their first child to be born Tuesday. Cpl. Wyatt's wife currently lives near Camp Pendleton in California, Greg Wyatt said.
John Osolin, the East High School varsity baseball coach from 2001 to 2007, said it was devastating news to learn of Wyatt's death. ''What a crushing blow,'' he said of the player who was an All-City Series second baseman on the City Championship team in 2004.
Wyatt was a great fielder and started out one year batting ninth and finished the year batting first, said Osolin, who now works for the city of Akron. ''You knew this guy was going someplace,'' he said.
Wyatt always worked hard, was a leader and ''stood out as an example for the other kids,'' Osolin said.
''He did what he was supposed to,'' Osolin said. ''I can't say enough good things about him.''
Jim Ballard, who was the school's pitching coach when Wyatt played, called him a great kid and ''an amazing young man.''
''It has not been a good day,'' Ballard said of the grief he and others who knew Wyatt felt upon learning the news.
Ballard, who runs Skyline Recording Studio, said Wyatt often returned to East after joining the Marines to talk to ballplayers.
A Facebook page — R.I.P. Derek Wyatt — has been set up. Many friends already have posted their thoughts. ''I am still just in shock,'' one posting on the site reads. ''I never got the chance to tell you how absolutely proud of you I am and it sucks that this is the way things are.''
Another friend wrote: ''It's a shame your time here was cut so short. May you rest in peace. You will be missed greatly. A lot of people loved you and thought highly of you. Your family is in our prayers.''
Falcone said his friend loved all kinds of music, especially rock, loved baseball and excelled at games of trivia. ''If you take him to the bar and play trivia with him, he wins all of the free wings,'' he said.
Wyatt always had a smile on his face, Falcone said. ''Nothing could get him down,'' he said, even as he left for his first combat mission this summer. ''No matter what was thrown at him, he made the best of it.''
Marine Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt was killed in action on 12/06/10.
Marine Pfc. Colton W. Rusk
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Pfc. Colton W. Rusk, 20, of Orange Grove, Texas
Pfc. Rusk was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 6, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. Also killed was Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt.
Colton Rusk lived his motto. “Don’t be afraid to go after your hopes and dreams, but don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price,” Rusk wrote under his senior photo in Orange Grove High School’s yearbook. It also was the motto he died by.
Rusk, 20, a U.S. Marine who graduated from Orange Grove High School in 2009, was shot and killed Sunday in Afghanistan.
Rusk’s dream was to join the Marines, and as soon as he graduated from high school he signed up. He knew going in that there were risks, because one of his closest friends Justin Rokohl, also of Orange Grove, lost his legs and nearly lost his life fighting in the Middle East, before Rusk enlisted.
His parents, Darrell and Kathy Rusk, were notified of his death Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, a caravan of vehicles led into their rural Jim Wells County property, where about 100 grieving family members and friends gathered to pay their respects.
"You are proud on one hand but you're sad on the other," said his dad Darrell Rusk. His brother, Cody Rusk, struggles to find the words to describe Colton but came up with just one: "perfect." Colton's mom Kathy Rusk spoke with him just Saturday morning. "We hadn't heard from him in 35 days so we were excited to hear his voice and he sounded good," she said. Colton was killed in combat the next day. Now his mom holds back tears as she reflects on her son's choice to join the Marines during war time. "He could have done anything with his life. He was smart and he could have done anything and this is what he chose," she said.
After Rusk enlisted, he ended up in South Carolina for training, before he went to Afghanistan. He was a bomb dog handler and several pictures on his Facebook page, show he and a black Labrador retriever counterpart known as Eli, in the desert surrounded by tanks and other military equipment.
Rusk, who was tall, dark and classically handsome, emulated his father Darrell, a barrel-chested, mountain of a man, who raised his three boys to be tough. But Colton Rusk also had a soft side, as well as a funny side, that made the most popular and beautiful girls in town his best friends, and earned him a special spot in his maternal grandmother’s heart, friends said.
Rusk was the kind of student who would turn on a 1,000-watt grin when he got called down by a teacher, and “aw shucks” his way out of whatever mischief he was in, teachers at Orange Grove High School said.
“He was just everybody’s kid,” said Spanish teacher Anna Garza, who knew Rusk from the time he was born. “If I had a son, he is what I hope my son would be.”
Another teacher added that Rusk was the type of boy that overprotective mothers and fathers were OK with letting their daughters date.
Rusk’s senior year of high school, he was the senior class favorite and Mr. OGHS, an honor bestowed by the entire student body. He also was first runner-up for king of the school’s homecoming court. He earned second-team all-district honors playing football in 2008 and baseball in 2007 and 2008.
“He was just a good kid all around,” said Orange Grove High School Principal Tommy Moses. “It’s not a single thing. It’s not that he was a great athlete or a great student. It’s that he was a great young man. He was everything.
Marine Pfc. Colton W. Rusk was killed in action on 12/06/10.
Marine Pfc. Colton W. Rusk, 20, of Orange Grove, Texas
Pfc. Rusk was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 6, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations. Also killed was Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt.
Colton Rusk lived his motto. “Don’t be afraid to go after your hopes and dreams, but don’t be afraid to be willing to pay the price,” Rusk wrote under his senior photo in Orange Grove High School’s yearbook. It also was the motto he died by.
Rusk, 20, a U.S. Marine who graduated from Orange Grove High School in 2009, was shot and killed Sunday in Afghanistan.
Rusk’s dream was to join the Marines, and as soon as he graduated from high school he signed up. He knew going in that there were risks, because one of his closest friends Justin Rokohl, also of Orange Grove, lost his legs and nearly lost his life fighting in the Middle East, before Rusk enlisted.
His parents, Darrell and Kathy Rusk, were notified of his death Monday morning. By Monday afternoon, a caravan of vehicles led into their rural Jim Wells County property, where about 100 grieving family members and friends gathered to pay their respects.
"You are proud on one hand but you're sad on the other," said his dad Darrell Rusk. His brother, Cody Rusk, struggles to find the words to describe Colton but came up with just one: "perfect." Colton's mom Kathy Rusk spoke with him just Saturday morning. "We hadn't heard from him in 35 days so we were excited to hear his voice and he sounded good," she said. Colton was killed in combat the next day. Now his mom holds back tears as she reflects on her son's choice to join the Marines during war time. "He could have done anything with his life. He was smart and he could have done anything and this is what he chose," she said.
After Rusk enlisted, he ended up in South Carolina for training, before he went to Afghanistan. He was a bomb dog handler and several pictures on his Facebook page, show he and a black Labrador retriever counterpart known as Eli, in the desert surrounded by tanks and other military equipment.
Rusk, who was tall, dark and classically handsome, emulated his father Darrell, a barrel-chested, mountain of a man, who raised his three boys to be tough. But Colton Rusk also had a soft side, as well as a funny side, that made the most popular and beautiful girls in town his best friends, and earned him a special spot in his maternal grandmother’s heart, friends said.
Rusk was the kind of student who would turn on a 1,000-watt grin when he got called down by a teacher, and “aw shucks” his way out of whatever mischief he was in, teachers at Orange Grove High School said.
“He was just everybody’s kid,” said Spanish teacher Anna Garza, who knew Rusk from the time he was born. “If I had a son, he is what I hope my son would be.”
Another teacher added that Rusk was the type of boy that overprotective mothers and fathers were OK with letting their daughters date.
Rusk’s senior year of high school, he was the senior class favorite and Mr. OGHS, an honor bestowed by the entire student body. He also was first runner-up for king of the school’s homecoming court. He earned second-team all-district honors playing football in 2008 and baseball in 2007 and 2008.
“He was just a good kid all around,” said Orange Grove High School Principal Tommy Moses. “It’s not a single thing. It’s not that he was a great athlete or a great student. It’s that he was a great young man. He was everything.
Marine Pfc. Colton W. Rusk was killed in action on 12/06/10.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves, 32, of Odessa, Texas
SSgt Reeves was assigned to 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, Hohenfels, Germany; died December 5, 2010 at Gardez District, Paktia province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
A U.S. Army soldier killed Sunday near the Afghan-Pakistan border was not originally from Odessa but lived here for about a year while working with his grandparents before finding a career in the Army.
Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves, 32, died Sunday in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device during a suicide attack, the Department of Defense said in the release.
David Reeves, Jason’s father, said by phone from Delaware, that Jason Reeves moved to Odessa to finish high school. During his year in the area, Jason lived and worked with his grandparents, Earl Moize and Waunell Moize, received his high school degree and then enlisted. He did not attend Odessa public schools but rather took a correspondence course.
“He found a career in (the Army) and excelled,” David Reeves said.
He said Jason Reeves worked with his grandparents at AA Cabinet Shop prior to enlisting.
According to the International Security Assistance Force, a suicide bomb detonated in a bazaar near their operating base in Gardez district, Paktiya, killing Reeves and Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has reported through the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that the group is taking responsibility and claims that 19 Afghan and foreign soldiers died, and 13 more were injured.
Mujahid stated that a member of the Taliban was disguised as an Afghan National Army soldier during the attack, according to the AIP. The NATO media office in Khost told the AIP that foreign soldiers were killed, but would not disclose the number of soldiers wounded.
Fort McPherson communications representative Gary Jones said while a soldier’s home of record is usually his or her hometown, it can also be whatever city or town the soldier chooses to write down while enlisting. Jason, who grew up mostly in Phoenix, enlisted while living in Odessa.
Pentagon spokesman George Wight said Reeves’ body was being transported from Afghanistan to Dover, Del., as of Tuesday evening.
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves was killed in action on 12/05/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves, 32, of Odessa, Texas
SSgt Reeves was assigned to 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, Hohenfels, Germany; died December 5, 2010 at Gardez District, Paktia province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
A U.S. Army soldier killed Sunday near the Afghan-Pakistan border was not originally from Odessa but lived here for about a year while working with his grandparents before finding a career in the Army.
Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves, 32, died Sunday in the Paktia Province of Afghanistan from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device during a suicide attack, the Department of Defense said in the release.
David Reeves, Jason’s father, said by phone from Delaware, that Jason Reeves moved to Odessa to finish high school. During his year in the area, Jason lived and worked with his grandparents, Earl Moize and Waunell Moize, received his high school degree and then enlisted. He did not attend Odessa public schools but rather took a correspondence course.
“He found a career in (the Army) and excelled,” David Reeves said.
He said Jason Reeves worked with his grandparents at AA Cabinet Shop prior to enlisting.
According to the International Security Assistance Force, a suicide bomb detonated in a bazaar near their operating base in Gardez district, Paktiya, killing Reeves and Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has reported through the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that the group is taking responsibility and claims that 19 Afghan and foreign soldiers died, and 13 more were injured.
Mujahid stated that a member of the Taliban was disguised as an Afghan National Army soldier during the attack, according to the AIP. The NATO media office in Khost told the AIP that foreign soldiers were killed, but would not disclose the number of soldiers wounded.
Fort McPherson communications representative Gary Jones said while a soldier’s home of record is usually his or her hometown, it can also be whatever city or town the soldier chooses to write down while enlisting. Jason, who grew up mostly in Phoenix, enlisted while living in Odessa.
Pentagon spokesman George Wight said Reeves’ body was being transported from Afghanistan to Dover, Del., as of Tuesday evening.
Army Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves was killed in action on 12/05/10.
Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sgt Aleman was assigned to Deployment Processing Command-East, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Dec. 5, 2010 in Paktia province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves.
A young Marine who grew up in a military family in Brooklyn was killed by a suicide bomber — ambushed while sleeping in an encampment in Afghanistan, said US officials and the man’s stunned family yesterday.
"His parents are devastated," said Maria Aleman, the grieving great-aunt of slain Sgt. Nicholas Aleman, 24, who died Sunday near the war-torn country’s border with Pakistan.
Nicholas — who grew up on Manhattan Avenue and graduated from Midwood HS — entered the Marines right after high school, his family said.
"Trust me — just to look at Nick’s dad, you could see he was so proud, because [the father] loved his country and he saw his son doing something positive for himself," said a cousin, Alex Aleman.
Both of Nicholas’ sisters also are in the military — one in the Army and one in the Marines, Alex Aleman said. One of the sisters is about a month away from giving birth, he said.
The young man’s shattered parents flew to a US base Monday to claim his body for burial and had not yet returned, relatives said.
The Marine had been in Afghanistan only two or three months when he was killed, they said.
Alex Aleman said his cousin was the only one murdered in the attack. "He was asleep. It was one in the morning," the cousin said. "He’s 6’2" and fit. If he had been awake, he could have defended himself."
Nicholas had been assigned to the Deployment Processing Command-East at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before being sent oversees.
His cousin said Nicholas had briefly left the Marines at one point after high school to study politics at Fordham University in Manhattan but then decided to rejoin the military.
"He wanted to become a officer," Alex Aleman said. "The guy was very smart. He liked what he was doing."
Maria Aleman added: "Nicholas was never afraid. He planned to make [the military] his career."
In March 2007, while with the Corps, Nicholas Aleman was interviewed for an article featured on the Marines Web site, about an ironman competition in California, where he volunteered to help with crowd control.
"As Marines, we are constantly training because its part of our daily routine and we need to be ready," Nicholas Aleman said at the time. "To see people that work so hard because they have a passion for it is inspiring."
Nicholas’s relatives told them that he hoped the tour in Afghanistan would only last a year and that he’d be back by summer, before his 25th birthday in September. "We got the news Sunday afternoon," said Alex Aleman, who served in the Navy. "I came home, and I saw my cousin’s sister crying."
Alex said that when Nicholas left for Afghanistan, "We just said, ‘Be careful, be good and good luck.’
"Until I see him at the funeral and everyone crying, I won’t believe it."
"We weren't expecting this, especially at this time of year," said the man's uncle, 36-year-old Jose Caba. "But that's life. He signed up to do this.
"We're really very sad," he continued. "But we're proud of him. He was a really good boy."
According to an aunt, Marine officials arrived at the father's Brownsville home on Monday with word of Aleman's death a day earlier. The late Marine had long wanted to enlist in the armed forces while growing up, relatives said.
Family members gathered at dad Jose Aleman's residence as word spread about Nicholas, who was assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"He was just a normal kid, a great boy...very intelligent," said his aunt, Evonne Torres. "He liked to have fun. He loved to go out."
Another aunt, Lourdes Torres, recalled her nephew as a skinny kid with a big appetite - particularly for fried plantains and pork chops.
He mainly lived with his father in Brooklyn, while his mother and sister moved to Kansas after the parents split up, relatives said. The family originally came to New York from Honduras. Nicholas Aleman moved into his own Brooklyn apartment earlier this year.
Neighbors there remembered him as a kind soul who took in a stray dog - a little black terrier that he named Blackjack. "It was his favorite thing," one neighbor said. "He loved him." The neighbor recalled that Aleman departed abruptly in August, never to return.
Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman was killed in action on 12/05/10.
Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sgt Aleman was assigned to Deployment Processing Command-East, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Dec. 5, 2010 in Paktia province, Afghanistan, while supporting combat operations. Also killed was Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves.
A young Marine who grew up in a military family in Brooklyn was killed by a suicide bomber — ambushed while sleeping in an encampment in Afghanistan, said US officials and the man’s stunned family yesterday.
"His parents are devastated," said Maria Aleman, the grieving great-aunt of slain Sgt. Nicholas Aleman, 24, who died Sunday near the war-torn country’s border with Pakistan.
Nicholas — who grew up on Manhattan Avenue and graduated from Midwood HS — entered the Marines right after high school, his family said.
"Trust me — just to look at Nick’s dad, you could see he was so proud, because [the father] loved his country and he saw his son doing something positive for himself," said a cousin, Alex Aleman.
Both of Nicholas’ sisters also are in the military — one in the Army and one in the Marines, Alex Aleman said. One of the sisters is about a month away from giving birth, he said.
The young man’s shattered parents flew to a US base Monday to claim his body for burial and had not yet returned, relatives said.
The Marine had been in Afghanistan only two or three months when he was killed, they said.
Alex Aleman said his cousin was the only one murdered in the attack. "He was asleep. It was one in the morning," the cousin said. "He’s 6’2" and fit. If he had been awake, he could have defended himself."
Nicholas had been assigned to the Deployment Processing Command-East at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before being sent oversees.
His cousin said Nicholas had briefly left the Marines at one point after high school to study politics at Fordham University in Manhattan but then decided to rejoin the military.
"He wanted to become a officer," Alex Aleman said. "The guy was very smart. He liked what he was doing."
Maria Aleman added: "Nicholas was never afraid. He planned to make [the military] his career."
In March 2007, while with the Corps, Nicholas Aleman was interviewed for an article featured on the Marines Web site, about an ironman competition in California, where he volunteered to help with crowd control.
"As Marines, we are constantly training because its part of our daily routine and we need to be ready," Nicholas Aleman said at the time. "To see people that work so hard because they have a passion for it is inspiring."
Nicholas’s relatives told them that he hoped the tour in Afghanistan would only last a year and that he’d be back by summer, before his 25th birthday in September. "We got the news Sunday afternoon," said Alex Aleman, who served in the Navy. "I came home, and I saw my cousin’s sister crying."
Alex said that when Nicholas left for Afghanistan, "We just said, ‘Be careful, be good and good luck.’
"Until I see him at the funeral and everyone crying, I won’t believe it."
"We weren't expecting this, especially at this time of year," said the man's uncle, 36-year-old Jose Caba. "But that's life. He signed up to do this.
"We're really very sad," he continued. "But we're proud of him. He was a really good boy."
According to an aunt, Marine officials arrived at the father's Brownsville home on Monday with word of Aleman's death a day earlier. The late Marine had long wanted to enlist in the armed forces while growing up, relatives said.
Family members gathered at dad Jose Aleman's residence as word spread about Nicholas, who was assigned to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"He was just a normal kid, a great boy...very intelligent," said his aunt, Evonne Torres. "He liked to have fun. He loved to go out."
Another aunt, Lourdes Torres, recalled her nephew as a skinny kid with a big appetite - particularly for fried plantains and pork chops.
He mainly lived with his father in Brooklyn, while his mother and sister moved to Kansas after the parents split up, relatives said. The family originally came to New York from Honduras. Nicholas Aleman moved into his own Brooklyn apartment earlier this year.
Neighbors there remembered him as a kind soul who took in a stray dog - a little black terrier that he named Blackjack. "It was his favorite thing," one neighbor said. "He loved him." The neighbor recalled that Aleman departed abruptly in August, never to return.
Marine Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman was killed in action on 12/05/10.
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Army Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock, 45, of Seaside, Calif.
SSgt Ashlock was assigned to 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi National Guard, Lucedale, Miss.; died Dec. 4, 2010 in Khost province, Afghanistan, in a non-combat incident.
Angela Ashlock remembers the first time she met Sgt. Vincent Ashlock in his mother's home seven years ago in Monterey.
"He opened the door, and I was just smitten," she said. "He was funny; had a dry sense of humor and he became a generous husband."
A month ago, Sgt. Vincent Ashlock was one of the soldiers honored by North Auburn’s Rock Creek Elementary School for service to our country.
With the memory of a standing ovation from his 6-year-old daughter’s school assembly for Veterans Day still fresh in his mind, he was on his way two days later to Afghanistan to serve with the 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade.
Ashlock’s hometown was listed as Seaside but Rock Creek school officials said his daughter had been attending first-grade classes in Auburn since the start of the school year.
Principal Suzanne Flint said today that Ashlock visited the school for the Nov. 10 ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day and received a standing ovation when he was announced.
“He was a really nice dad and also visited his daughter’s first-grade classroom,” Flint said. “He was an active dad and certainly a presence.”
The family had lived in Auburn since at least the beginning of the school year. Ashlock’s roots were in Seaside, a community near both Monterey and Fort Ord.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors adjourned its meeting this week in memory of Ashlock, who was the son of Supervisor Dave Potter’s aide Margot Stengle.
Flint said the Rock Creek school has sent a letter home with its 305 students to let parents know about the death of a soldier the students would remember from the assembly. There’s also the possibility of a memorial assembly after the winter break, if the family wishes, she said.
Ashlock’s niece, Janette, said the family was asking for privacy at this time but did say that the soldier had developed an attachment with the school. “Rock Creek was so supportive and caring and he formed an attachment,” Janette said.
While Auburn family couldn’t be reached for comment, his wife, Angela told the Monterey County’s The Californian newspaper that Ashlock also served in the Gulf War and was a longtime soldier with the National Guard.
Ashlock told The Californian that her husband wad deployed for a year in Iraq before being stationed in Afghanistan starting in July. He had been back in the U.S. for two weeks for training around the time he visited the assembly at Rock Creek School, she said.
A longtime soldier with the National Guard, Ashlock's service included fighting in the first Persian Gulf War, his wife said Wednesday.
Angela Ashlock said her husband was deployed and spent a year again in Iraq before he went to Afghanistan in July of this year.
"He loved serving this country and protecting his troops," Angela Ashlock said. "Many of the soldiers he served with were so much younger. ... He always wanted to protect them."
During a recent leave, and prior to his most recent deployment on Nov. 11, Ashlock was able to celebrate Veterans Day with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. "I'm so happy my daughter got a chance to see him for those two weeks," Angela Ashlock said. "He was a wonderful father."
Army Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock was killed in a non-combat related incident on 12/04/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock, 45, of Seaside, Calif.
SSgt Ashlock was assigned to 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi National Guard, Lucedale, Miss.; died Dec. 4, 2010 in Khost province, Afghanistan, in a non-combat incident.
Angela Ashlock remembers the first time she met Sgt. Vincent Ashlock in his mother's home seven years ago in Monterey.
"He opened the door, and I was just smitten," she said. "He was funny; had a dry sense of humor and he became a generous husband."
A month ago, Sgt. Vincent Ashlock was one of the soldiers honored by North Auburn’s Rock Creek Elementary School for service to our country.
With the memory of a standing ovation from his 6-year-old daughter’s school assembly for Veterans Day still fresh in his mind, he was on his way two days later to Afghanistan to serve with the 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade.
Ashlock’s hometown was listed as Seaside but Rock Creek school officials said his daughter had been attending first-grade classes in Auburn since the start of the school year.
Principal Suzanne Flint said today that Ashlock visited the school for the Nov. 10 ceremony to commemorate Veterans Day and received a standing ovation when he was announced.
“He was a really nice dad and also visited his daughter’s first-grade classroom,” Flint said. “He was an active dad and certainly a presence.”
The family had lived in Auburn since at least the beginning of the school year. Ashlock’s roots were in Seaside, a community near both Monterey and Fort Ord.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors adjourned its meeting this week in memory of Ashlock, who was the son of Supervisor Dave Potter’s aide Margot Stengle.
Flint said the Rock Creek school has sent a letter home with its 305 students to let parents know about the death of a soldier the students would remember from the assembly. There’s also the possibility of a memorial assembly after the winter break, if the family wishes, she said.
Ashlock’s niece, Janette, said the family was asking for privacy at this time but did say that the soldier had developed an attachment with the school. “Rock Creek was so supportive and caring and he formed an attachment,” Janette said.
While Auburn family couldn’t be reached for comment, his wife, Angela told the Monterey County’s The Californian newspaper that Ashlock also served in the Gulf War and was a longtime soldier with the National Guard.
Ashlock told The Californian that her husband wad deployed for a year in Iraq before being stationed in Afghanistan starting in July. He had been back in the U.S. for two weeks for training around the time he visited the assembly at Rock Creek School, she said.
A longtime soldier with the National Guard, Ashlock's service included fighting in the first Persian Gulf War, his wife said Wednesday.
Angela Ashlock said her husband was deployed and spent a year again in Iraq before he went to Afghanistan in July of this year.
"He loved serving this country and protecting his troops," Angela Ashlock said. "Many of the soldiers he served with were so much younger. ... He always wanted to protect them."
During a recent leave, and prior to his most recent deployment on Nov. 11, Ashlock was able to celebrate Veterans Day with his wife and 6-year-old daughter. "I'm so happy my daughter got a chance to see him for those two weeks," Angela Ashlock said. "He was a wonderful father."
Army Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock was killed in a non-combat related incident on 12/04/10.
Friday, December 03, 2010
Marine Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott, 20, of Peebles, Ohio
LCpl Scott was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Dec. 3, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Lance Cpl. Lucas Christopher Scott, 20, was killed on Friday by small arms fire in or around Marjah, his family said.
Scott was a graduate of Peebles High School. His 20th birthday was this past Tuesday. And his cousin Rebekah Warner said that since he was a young boy, he wanted to be a Marine.
"The most important thing to him was always the Marines," said Warner. With his death she lost her childhood playmate, she said. "He always played the big tough Marine, which he was, but when I looked at him I always saw a little boy with blue eyes," continued Warner.
"His citizenship was exemplary. He was a fine student and a fine young man," said Dave Angles, Peebles High School’s assistant principal. Angles would occasionally share the high school weight room with Scott. "I remember that he worked out often. I was back there and saw him a lot. I think he was doing that for a couple of reasons so that he would excel at sports and to prepare himself for the service.”
"I tried to get him not to join the Marines, I said 'Luke, you're going to get killed.' He said 'It's better than me standing on the corner smoking dope like the rest of these dopes.'" grandfather Melvin Tipton said.
But Tipton said that the Marines were on Scott's mind from a young age. "He's wanted it his whole life. When he was 5 years old, he fixed his bicycle up, fixed like a Marine," he said. Scott painted the bike green and rode it in a parade while wearing military fatigues, Tipton said.
Scott's mother spoke with News 5 on Sunday and said his body has been flown to Dover Air Force Base.
On Scott's mother's Facebook page, she said her son turned 20 on Tuesday. "Luke was a good boy, the best son a mother could have. Nothing ever bothered him, he never got in a hurry. His eyes were beautiful blue like the sky, his smile was loving and warm, his touch tender. He was my best friend. He left a boy and is coming home a MAN!" she wrote.
Friends in Peebles said Scott was well known and much-loved. "He didn't have a mean bone in his body. He had a heart of gold," uncle Greg Tipton said.
Scott was due to come home on leave Jan. 17. His family made the decision they wouldn't celebrate Christmas until he came home.
"His wanting to be a Marine scared us to death. He would just say guys this is what I want to do. If you love me you're going to have to support me," remembered Warner.
She said that a few days before Scott was killed, shrapnel struck him. She explained that he was told to take a few days to recover but he insisted on being out with his unit. "At first I felt so bad that he died without any family there but I know that isn't true. His fellow Marines were his family.”
At Peebles’ home basketball game Friday night, the entire gym observed a moment of silence in his honor. In the crowd was Scott's younger brother Eli, who is a senior this year. Eli is headed into the Marine Corps when he graduates this spring.
Marine Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott was killed in action on 12/03/10.
Marine Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott, 20, of Peebles, Ohio
LCpl Scott was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died Dec. 3, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Lance Cpl. Lucas Christopher Scott, 20, was killed on Friday by small arms fire in or around Marjah, his family said.
Scott was a graduate of Peebles High School. His 20th birthday was this past Tuesday. And his cousin Rebekah Warner said that since he was a young boy, he wanted to be a Marine.
"The most important thing to him was always the Marines," said Warner. With his death she lost her childhood playmate, she said. "He always played the big tough Marine, which he was, but when I looked at him I always saw a little boy with blue eyes," continued Warner.
"His citizenship was exemplary. He was a fine student and a fine young man," said Dave Angles, Peebles High School’s assistant principal. Angles would occasionally share the high school weight room with Scott. "I remember that he worked out often. I was back there and saw him a lot. I think he was doing that for a couple of reasons so that he would excel at sports and to prepare himself for the service.”
"I tried to get him not to join the Marines, I said 'Luke, you're going to get killed.' He said 'It's better than me standing on the corner smoking dope like the rest of these dopes.'" grandfather Melvin Tipton said.
But Tipton said that the Marines were on Scott's mind from a young age. "He's wanted it his whole life. When he was 5 years old, he fixed his bicycle up, fixed like a Marine," he said. Scott painted the bike green and rode it in a parade while wearing military fatigues, Tipton said.
Scott's mother spoke with News 5 on Sunday and said his body has been flown to Dover Air Force Base.
On Scott's mother's Facebook page, she said her son turned 20 on Tuesday. "Luke was a good boy, the best son a mother could have. Nothing ever bothered him, he never got in a hurry. His eyes were beautiful blue like the sky, his smile was loving and warm, his touch tender. He was my best friend. He left a boy and is coming home a MAN!" she wrote.
Friends in Peebles said Scott was well known and much-loved. "He didn't have a mean bone in his body. He had a heart of gold," uncle Greg Tipton said.
Scott was due to come home on leave Jan. 17. His family made the decision they wouldn't celebrate Christmas until he came home.
"His wanting to be a Marine scared us to death. He would just say guys this is what I want to do. If you love me you're going to have to support me," remembered Warner.
She said that a few days before Scott was killed, shrapnel struck him. She explained that he was told to take a few days to recover but he insisted on being out with his unit. "At first I felt so bad that he died without any family there but I know that isn't true. His fellow Marines were his family.”
At Peebles’ home basketball game Friday night, the entire gym observed a moment of silence in his honor. In the crowd was Scott's younger brother Eli, who is a senior this year. Eli is headed into the Marine Corps when he graduates this spring.
Marine Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott was killed in action on 12/03/10.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Marine Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate, 26, of Honolulu, Hawaii
Sgt Abbate was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 2, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
"It's surreal. No one believed it. ... It's something that happens to other people's families," said his half-sister, Valerie Binion, 17, of Fresno. "But I think he'd be glad he died instead of someone else. That's why he did what he did, so someone else didn't have to."
Abbate died of a head wound, Valerie said. No other details about his death were immediately available. He served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines based in Camp Pendleton.
Friends have posted dozens of comments about Abbate's death on Facebook. Wrote William Cotea, "I always thought Matt would be okay. This is hard. Matt was such a big part of all of our lives ... like everybody's brother."
Valerie, who was nine years younger than Abbate, had heard the family stories about his fascination with the Marines and how he would play Rambo with his G.I. Joe action figures. "He just always figured G.I. Joe was a Marine. He was always running around in boots" playing soldier, she said.
She remembers a brother who would playfully toss his little sisters onto the couch and help them play videos of "Veggie Tales" cartoons.
"He was a fantastic student. He got fantastic grades when he got to us," said principal Lisa Marasco. Abbate graduated with nearly straight A's, she said.
Each senior is asked to write a statement to be read during the graduation ceremony, said Marasco, and Abbate's thanked his family, friends and teachers for his success in school -- and noted that he planned to enlist in the Marines after graduation.
Abbate left home at 18 "to go find himself," his sister said, doing odd jobs, living in Hawaii and working on cruise ships.
By age 22 when he joined the Marines, "it was almost like he'd graduated from college. He'd grown up," Valerie said. Her brother wanted a career in the Marines or possibly the Merchant Marine, she said.
Abbate was on his third deployment, after serving in Iraq and on training assignments in Australia, Okinawa and other locations, according to Lisa Maria Boyles, associate editor of The Bee's opinion pages and a friend of the family. She is acting as a spokesperson for the family.
A few weeks ago, Abbate sustained a minor injury from an improvised explosive device but did not require treatment outside the battle zone, Boyles said.
The 26-year-old sergeant, husband and father who grew up in Piedmont, was killed in the line of duty Thursday in Afghanistan, said his stepmother, Jane Whitfield, who is married to Matt's father, Sal Abbate, owner of Auto On the Go mobile mechanic service.
Abbate lived with his father and stepmother in Piedmont from the age of 4. He attended Beach Elementary School, Piedmont Middle School and spent his freshman year at Piedmont High School before moving to Fresno to live with his mother and stepfather, Karen and James Binion.
He attended Buchanan High School there for three years before graduating from Sierra Charter School in 2002.
After graduation, Abbate moved to Hawaii, where he landed a job on the Norwegian Star cruise ship. He wanted to see the world, and he got his wish, traveling through the Panama Canal and throughout Asia to Thailand, Australia and Fiji, Whitfield said.
But he never gave up his dream to become a Marine, and by age 20 he had joined the Corps. He loved it so much he re-enlisted, Whitfield said. Abbate had already done a 10-month tour of duty in Iraq and spent the past year in sniper training before shipping out for Afghanistan about three months ago, Whitfield said.
They saw him in September, shortly before he left. "I think he really found his place in the Marines," Whitfield said. "He really loved the Marines and found a lot of satisfaction and received a number of honors" and was well-liked and respected among his colleagues, she said.
Whitfield said one of Abbate's most meaningful accolades came from his peers, who voted him the Marine they'd most like to be.
Abbate was a Boy Scout and was athletic, playing football in middle school and his freshman year of high school. Whitfield said Abbate was a good student, but liked to make time for fun.
"He was charismatic and good-looking, and he always had a girlfriend," she recalled. "He was very independent, always doing his own thing. Out of all the kids, he was the least likely to call and say he would be late."
"He was sincere and heartfelt and funny, and a wonderful father," she said. "He really grew into a wonderful young man."
David Sanchez loved Matthew Abbate as if he was his own son. “Anyone would have been proud to call him their son,” said Sanchez. Sanchez added, “He was the most, I would say gracious person the one that always thought of others."
Abbate and Sanchez's son were best friends. Sanchez said he watched Abbate mature from a teenager into a responsible man. “I am feeling like a part of me is gone. I am hoping that this is just a bad dream am I going to wake up,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez said after Abbate graduated high school in California, he moved to Oahu and lived with his family in Aina Haina. He said Abbate fit in with the laid-back island lifestyle. “He loved everything about Hawaii. He loved the surf, the fishing the night life," said Sanchez.
When Abbate expressed interest in joining the Marines, Sanchez said he questioned if it was the right decision. “We had discussions about this, really deep discussions. Is this what you want to do and why do you want to do it?” said Sanchez. Sanchez said abate told him after the events of 9/11, he wanted to defend his country and not let other people do it for him.
Abbate moved back to California to become a Marine. He also married and had a son.
“The last conversation we had I told him your slippers are still by the door so when you coming home and he said, 'Uncle, I'll just show up, just leave them right there,'” said Sanchez.
Abbate is not coming home. On Thursday, the 26-year-old died in combat during his third tour to the Middle East. The Abbate family is planning a private memorial service in California.
Abbate's service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy and Marine Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Marine Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate was killed in action on 12/02/10.
Marine Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate, 26, of Honolulu, Hawaii
Sgt Abbate was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 2, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
"It's surreal. No one believed it. ... It's something that happens to other people's families," said his half-sister, Valerie Binion, 17, of Fresno. "But I think he'd be glad he died instead of someone else. That's why he did what he did, so someone else didn't have to."
Abbate died of a head wound, Valerie said. No other details about his death were immediately available. He served with the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines based in Camp Pendleton.
Friends have posted dozens of comments about Abbate's death on Facebook. Wrote William Cotea, "I always thought Matt would be okay. This is hard. Matt was such a big part of all of our lives ... like everybody's brother."
Valerie, who was nine years younger than Abbate, had heard the family stories about his fascination with the Marines and how he would play Rambo with his G.I. Joe action figures. "He just always figured G.I. Joe was a Marine. He was always running around in boots" playing soldier, she said.
She remembers a brother who would playfully toss his little sisters onto the couch and help them play videos of "Veggie Tales" cartoons.
"He was a fantastic student. He got fantastic grades when he got to us," said principal Lisa Marasco. Abbate graduated with nearly straight A's, she said.
Each senior is asked to write a statement to be read during the graduation ceremony, said Marasco, and Abbate's thanked his family, friends and teachers for his success in school -- and noted that he planned to enlist in the Marines after graduation.
Abbate left home at 18 "to go find himself," his sister said, doing odd jobs, living in Hawaii and working on cruise ships.
By age 22 when he joined the Marines, "it was almost like he'd graduated from college. He'd grown up," Valerie said. Her brother wanted a career in the Marines or possibly the Merchant Marine, she said.
Abbate was on his third deployment, after serving in Iraq and on training assignments in Australia, Okinawa and other locations, according to Lisa Maria Boyles, associate editor of The Bee's opinion pages and a friend of the family. She is acting as a spokesperson for the family.
A few weeks ago, Abbate sustained a minor injury from an improvised explosive device but did not require treatment outside the battle zone, Boyles said.
The 26-year-old sergeant, husband and father who grew up in Piedmont, was killed in the line of duty Thursday in Afghanistan, said his stepmother, Jane Whitfield, who is married to Matt's father, Sal Abbate, owner of Auto On the Go mobile mechanic service.
Abbate lived with his father and stepmother in Piedmont from the age of 4. He attended Beach Elementary School, Piedmont Middle School and spent his freshman year at Piedmont High School before moving to Fresno to live with his mother and stepfather, Karen and James Binion.
He attended Buchanan High School there for three years before graduating from Sierra Charter School in 2002.
After graduation, Abbate moved to Hawaii, where he landed a job on the Norwegian Star cruise ship. He wanted to see the world, and he got his wish, traveling through the Panama Canal and throughout Asia to Thailand, Australia and Fiji, Whitfield said.
But he never gave up his dream to become a Marine, and by age 20 he had joined the Corps. He loved it so much he re-enlisted, Whitfield said. Abbate had already done a 10-month tour of duty in Iraq and spent the past year in sniper training before shipping out for Afghanistan about three months ago, Whitfield said.
They saw him in September, shortly before he left. "I think he really found his place in the Marines," Whitfield said. "He really loved the Marines and found a lot of satisfaction and received a number of honors" and was well-liked and respected among his colleagues, she said.
Whitfield said one of Abbate's most meaningful accolades came from his peers, who voted him the Marine they'd most like to be.
Abbate was a Boy Scout and was athletic, playing football in middle school and his freshman year of high school. Whitfield said Abbate was a good student, but liked to make time for fun.
"He was charismatic and good-looking, and he always had a girlfriend," she recalled. "He was very independent, always doing his own thing. Out of all the kids, he was the least likely to call and say he would be late."
"He was sincere and heartfelt and funny, and a wonderful father," she said. "He really grew into a wonderful young man."
David Sanchez loved Matthew Abbate as if he was his own son. “Anyone would have been proud to call him their son,” said Sanchez. Sanchez added, “He was the most, I would say gracious person the one that always thought of others."
Abbate and Sanchez's son were best friends. Sanchez said he watched Abbate mature from a teenager into a responsible man. “I am feeling like a part of me is gone. I am hoping that this is just a bad dream am I going to wake up,” said Sanchez.
Sanchez said after Abbate graduated high school in California, he moved to Oahu and lived with his family in Aina Haina. He said Abbate fit in with the laid-back island lifestyle. “He loved everything about Hawaii. He loved the surf, the fishing the night life," said Sanchez.
When Abbate expressed interest in joining the Marines, Sanchez said he questioned if it was the right decision. “We had discussions about this, really deep discussions. Is this what you want to do and why do you want to do it?” said Sanchez. Sanchez said abate told him after the events of 9/11, he wanted to defend his country and not let other people do it for him.
Abbate moved back to California to become a Marine. He also married and had a son.
“The last conversation we had I told him your slippers are still by the door so when you coming home and he said, 'Uncle, I'll just show up, just leave them right there,'” said Sanchez.
Abbate is not coming home. On Thursday, the 26-year-old died in combat during his third tour to the Middle East. The Abbate family is planning a private memorial service in California.
Abbate's service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Navy and Marine Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal and Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Marine Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate was killed in action on 12/02/10.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James E. Thode
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. 1st Class James E. Thode, 45, of Kirtland, N.M
SFC Thode was assigned to 1457th Engineer Battalion, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Utah National Guard, Salt Lake City; died Dec. 2, 2010 in Sabari district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
Thode, 45, was a graduate of Catalina High School and the University of Arizona. Born in Show Low, he moved to Tucson when he was six years old.
Thode was assigned to the 1457th Engineer Battalion, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Thode lived in Kirtland, N.M., since graduating from the UA. Thode had served as an officer in the Farmington, N.M., police department for 14 years. Thode was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. was also deployed to Iraq in 2003. Thode is the 50th member of the military with Southern Arizona ties to die in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The last time he was in Tucson was just before his deployment for a visit with his father, sister and some high school friends.
The deployment was the third for Thode, who in 1991 served in Desert Storm but did not see combat. In 2003, he served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"He was a big, quiet man at 6-2, and 240 pounds, but he was a warrior," Ernest Thode said of his son. "He felt it was his job to straighten out the problems of the world."
That attitude is what led to Thode also serving on New Mexico's Farmington Police Department for the last 14 years. In that time he worked as a training officer, a member of the SWAT team and most recently as a sergeant.
"He was just one of those guys," Farmington Police Lt. Daryl Noon said. "He was well-respected. He was a great friend. He was a great leader. He had all those qualities that you would look for in someone."
Thode was nearly halfway through his deployment when he died. He was scheduled to go home for leave in February, his father said.
Ernest Thode learned of his son's death on Thursday. He was returning to his home when he saw two big men waiting out front. Initially he thought his son had returned early for leave. "I thought it was Jim," Ernest Thode said. "But then I saw the dress blues, and Jim doesn't wear those. It was a chaplain, and I knew then before he could even say a word."
On Saturday, Ernest Thode recalled his son's passion for the military from an early age. He was inspired by his uncle who served in the military and was a marksman. "As a kid, Jim learned to shoot a BB gun accurately," his father said. "He shot that until we finally took him to the range, and then he learned how to handle a rifle."
Thode joined the military in 1984 and had already racked up enough service time to retire by the time he went on his third, and final, deployment, his father said.
"I told him he could've retired, but he insisted that these young kids needed someone to take them to war and help keep things together," Ernest Thode said. "He never wanted to take a lot of credit for what he did."
Thode likely would have preferred to be remembered as a family man who loved the outdoors, rather than a hero, his father said.
Funeral services will be held in Farmington in the next week or two, Ernest Thode said.
"We're deeply saddened by the death of Sgt. 1st Class James Thode in Afghanistan," said Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet, the adjutant general of the Utah National Guard. "It's a terrible loss for his family, the soldiers of the 118th Sapper Company and the Utah National Guard."
He is survived by his wife Carlotta, 18-year-old daughter Ashley and 8-year-old son Tommy. Thode is also survived by his mother, Evelyn, his father Ernest, and his sister Mary Ann.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James E. Thode was killed in action on 12/02/10.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James E. Thode, 45, of Kirtland, N.M
SFC Thode was assigned to 1457th Engineer Battalion, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Utah National Guard, Salt Lake City; died Dec. 2, 2010 in Sabari district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device.
Thode, 45, was a graduate of Catalina High School and the University of Arizona. Born in Show Low, he moved to Tucson when he was six years old.
Thode was assigned to the 1457th Engineer Battalion, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Salt Lake City, Utah.
Thode lived in Kirtland, N.M., since graduating from the UA. Thode had served as an officer in the Farmington, N.M., police department for 14 years. Thode was on his second tour of duty in Afghanistan. was also deployed to Iraq in 2003. Thode is the 50th member of the military with Southern Arizona ties to die in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The last time he was in Tucson was just before his deployment for a visit with his father, sister and some high school friends.
The deployment was the third for Thode, who in 1991 served in Desert Storm but did not see combat. In 2003, he served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"He was a big, quiet man at 6-2, and 240 pounds, but he was a warrior," Ernest Thode said of his son. "He felt it was his job to straighten out the problems of the world."
That attitude is what led to Thode also serving on New Mexico's Farmington Police Department for the last 14 years. In that time he worked as a training officer, a member of the SWAT team and most recently as a sergeant.
"He was just one of those guys," Farmington Police Lt. Daryl Noon said. "He was well-respected. He was a great friend. He was a great leader. He had all those qualities that you would look for in someone."
Thode was nearly halfway through his deployment when he died. He was scheduled to go home for leave in February, his father said.
Ernest Thode learned of his son's death on Thursday. He was returning to his home when he saw two big men waiting out front. Initially he thought his son had returned early for leave. "I thought it was Jim," Ernest Thode said. "But then I saw the dress blues, and Jim doesn't wear those. It was a chaplain, and I knew then before he could even say a word."
On Saturday, Ernest Thode recalled his son's passion for the military from an early age. He was inspired by his uncle who served in the military and was a marksman. "As a kid, Jim learned to shoot a BB gun accurately," his father said. "He shot that until we finally took him to the range, and then he learned how to handle a rifle."
Thode joined the military in 1984 and had already racked up enough service time to retire by the time he went on his third, and final, deployment, his father said.
"I told him he could've retired, but he insisted that these young kids needed someone to take them to war and help keep things together," Ernest Thode said. "He never wanted to take a lot of credit for what he did."
Thode likely would have preferred to be remembered as a family man who loved the outdoors, rather than a hero, his father said.
Funeral services will be held in Farmington in the next week or two, Ernest Thode said.
"We're deeply saddened by the death of Sgt. 1st Class James Thode in Afghanistan," said Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet, the adjutant general of the Utah National Guard. "It's a terrible loss for his family, the soldiers of the 118th Sapper Company and the Utah National Guard."
He is survived by his wife Carlotta, 18-year-old daughter Ashley and 8-year-old son Tommy. Thode is also survived by his mother, Evelyn, his father Ernest, and his sister Mary Ann.
Army Sgt. 1st Class James E. Thode was killed in action on 12/02/10.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Marine Cpl. Chad S. Wade
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Cpl. Chad S. Wade, 22, of Bentonville, Ark.
Cpl. Wade was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 1, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Uncle says Fallen Marine Hero to Family and Country
I love his personality and I will miss his smile and I will miss his hugs," said John Gough, Wade's uncle. He is still trying to accept that his nephew is no longer with us.
"We were all hopeful that it was not true, hopefully it was a mistake, it's still not real," said Gough.
Gough said Chad just wasn't an American Hero, he was a hero to the entire family, especially his wife, mother and grandfather.
"When Chad was in it was like everything stopped, it was like the king had arrived," said Gough.
Being an only child Chad didn't have to take a second tour of duty in Afghanistan, but he wanted to. He couldn't leave his fellow Marines behind. What he liked most about deployment was teaching the children to read and write. He left a lasting impression.
Gough said Chad was one of the most loving, spirited people he has ever known. It may seem unusual for an uncle to look up to his nephew, but in this case it was true. "America's lost a great man but hopefully in everything he did, he stood for, hopefully we can learn a lesson from him," said Gough.
Chad's mother and wife have not been able to make any statements to the media regarding their loss or Cpl. Wade's death according to Gough.
Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Camp Pendleton Marine
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement regarding the death of Cpl. Chad S. Wade of Bentonville, AR:
“A brave and selfless Marine was lost with the death of Corporal Chad Wade. He gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country, and Maria and I were saddened to learn of his death. On behalf of all Californians, we extend our condolences to Chad’s family, friends and fellow Marines during this difficult time.”
Wade, 22, died December 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
In honor of Cpl. Wade, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Marine Cpl. Chad S. Wade was killed in action on 12/01/10.
Marine Cpl. Chad S. Wade, 22, of Bentonville, Ark.
Cpl. Wade was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Dec. 1, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Uncle says Fallen Marine Hero to Family and Country
I love his personality and I will miss his smile and I will miss his hugs," said John Gough, Wade's uncle. He is still trying to accept that his nephew is no longer with us.
"We were all hopeful that it was not true, hopefully it was a mistake, it's still not real," said Gough.
Gough said Chad just wasn't an American Hero, he was a hero to the entire family, especially his wife, mother and grandfather.
"When Chad was in it was like everything stopped, it was like the king had arrived," said Gough.
Being an only child Chad didn't have to take a second tour of duty in Afghanistan, but he wanted to. He couldn't leave his fellow Marines behind. What he liked most about deployment was teaching the children to read and write. He left a lasting impression.
Gough said Chad was one of the most loving, spirited people he has ever known. It may seem unusual for an uncle to look up to his nephew, but in this case it was true. "America's lost a great man but hopefully in everything he did, he stood for, hopefully we can learn a lesson from him," said Gough.
Chad's mother and wife have not been able to make any statements to the media regarding their loss or Cpl. Wade's death according to Gough.
Governor Schwarzenegger Issues Statement on Death of Camp Pendleton Marine
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today issued the following statement regarding the death of Cpl. Chad S. Wade of Bentonville, AR:
“A brave and selfless Marine was lost with the death of Corporal Chad Wade. He gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving our country, and Maria and I were saddened to learn of his death. On behalf of all Californians, we extend our condolences to Chad’s family, friends and fellow Marines during this difficult time.”
Wade, 22, died December 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, CA.
In honor of Cpl. Wade, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff.
Marine Cpl. Chad S. Wade was killed in action on 12/01/10.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Daniel E. Duefield
Remember Our Heroes
Family members are mourning the loss of a 24-year-old veteran of the Iraq war who came home two years ago a changed man suffering the after-effects of a traumatic war experience.
Daniel E. Duefield, who served two tours in Iraq before being honorably discharged following injuries he sustained in an explosion, was found dead at his home in Grafton on Wednesday, his mother, Ruth Duefield, said Friday.
"I really am heartbroken," she said.
An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, said his uncle, Frederick Duefield. Ruth said Daniel suffered a seizure at about 3 a.m. Wednesday. She said he'd had several seizures in recent months from complications due to the lingering effects of a traumatic brain injury suffered in the explosion.
Ruth and Frederick said the family has not ruled out suicide, as Daniel was suffering from the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and may have taken as many as 70 methadone pills in a two-day period.
"He died at his battlefield here at home, in his head," Frederick said. "He didn't die on the battlefield in Iraq. If it wasn't suicide, then it's going to come back that he died from a seizure from his injuries."
Daniel's death was the end of a "nightmare" six-day stretch that began Nov. 12, 2010 when Daniel became irate, got a hold of a gun and made threats to kill himself and others, prompting a response from state police, Ruth said. "The only thing that may have saved us was the fact that he didn't have any bullets," she said. "It was a nightmare in hell."
Frederick said he took Daniel to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in White River Junction, Vt., that night, where he was admitted against his will. But he was released the next day and on Monday was able to get a prescription for methadone refilled, Ruth said, despite her reports to the VA that he was abusing the drug, which is often used to treat chronic pain. Meanwhile, no counselor tried to contact Daniel after last weekend's incident, she said.
"Why they ever gave him methadone I'll never know," she said. "I feel the VA is partially responsible for his death. I'm just saying the truth as I see it. I just feel that the VA should have followed up a lot more."
He was dead two days later. Of the 80 pills in the bottle on Monday, just 10 were found on Wednesday, Ruth said. She performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even though she knew it was too late.
"Why was he released from the hospital?" Frederick asked. "He shouldn't have died. He shouldn't have been released from the hospital."
A message left with the VA hospital Friday evening wasn't returned. On its website, the VA says it offers many avenues for veterans with PTSD or depression to seek help, including a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline that connects veterans to a trained professional.
Frederick and Ruth said Daniel also didn't follow through with the counseling he was offered. Ruth said he went to only one counseling session in six months. "I'm not putting all the blame on the hospital," Frederick said. "I blame a portion of this on (Daniel) for not seeking help."
However, he said, "if the disease of PTSD is what it is, you put yourself in denial," he said. "He came back wounded."
According to the VA, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event. Symptoms include confusion, anger and depression. The disorder can lead to many problems, including drug addictions and trouble maintaining relationships and employment.
Ruth said Daniel immediately showed signs of PTSD after his discharge from the Army. He enlisted in the Army in 2005 and was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. He was a gunner on a Humvee while stationed in Iraq, where he fought in the "Triangle of Death" area south of Baghdad, which saw heavy combat against insurgents.
"Before, he was happy-go-lucky. He was always laughing, always smiling," she said. "After the war, he was very much more reserved, very quiet. He started to keep to himself more."
His military vehicle was rocked by an explosion in 2008, resulting in Daniel's injuries and a different person than the one who enlisted in the Army with great enthusiasm, Frederick said.
"He was a great guy. He was loved by his family and friends," he said. "But the war changed him."
"He was a hero," Frederick said. "We were all so proud that he wanted to serve his country and that's how we want him to be remembered, as a hero."
Family members are mourning the loss of a 24-year-old veteran of the Iraq war who came home two years ago a changed man suffering the after-effects of a traumatic war experience.
Daniel E. Duefield, who served two tours in Iraq before being honorably discharged following injuries he sustained in an explosion, was found dead at his home in Grafton on Wednesday, his mother, Ruth Duefield, said Friday.
"I really am heartbroken," she said.
An autopsy is being performed to determine the cause of death, said his uncle, Frederick Duefield. Ruth said Daniel suffered a seizure at about 3 a.m. Wednesday. She said he'd had several seizures in recent months from complications due to the lingering effects of a traumatic brain injury suffered in the explosion.
Ruth and Frederick said the family has not ruled out suicide, as Daniel was suffering from the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and may have taken as many as 70 methadone pills in a two-day period.
"He died at his battlefield here at home, in his head," Frederick said. "He didn't die on the battlefield in Iraq. If it wasn't suicide, then it's going to come back that he died from a seizure from his injuries."
Daniel's death was the end of a "nightmare" six-day stretch that began Nov. 12, 2010 when Daniel became irate, got a hold of a gun and made threats to kill himself and others, prompting a response from state police, Ruth said. "The only thing that may have saved us was the fact that he didn't have any bullets," she said. "It was a nightmare in hell."
Frederick said he took Daniel to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in White River Junction, Vt., that night, where he was admitted against his will. But he was released the next day and on Monday was able to get a prescription for methadone refilled, Ruth said, despite her reports to the VA that he was abusing the drug, which is often used to treat chronic pain. Meanwhile, no counselor tried to contact Daniel after last weekend's incident, she said.
"Why they ever gave him methadone I'll never know," she said. "I feel the VA is partially responsible for his death. I'm just saying the truth as I see it. I just feel that the VA should have followed up a lot more."
He was dead two days later. Of the 80 pills in the bottle on Monday, just 10 were found on Wednesday, Ruth said. She performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation, even though she knew it was too late.
"Why was he released from the hospital?" Frederick asked. "He shouldn't have died. He shouldn't have been released from the hospital."
A message left with the VA hospital Friday evening wasn't returned. On its website, the VA says it offers many avenues for veterans with PTSD or depression to seek help, including a 24-hour suicide prevention hotline that connects veterans to a trained professional.
Frederick and Ruth said Daniel also didn't follow through with the counseling he was offered. Ruth said he went to only one counseling session in six months. "I'm not putting all the blame on the hospital," Frederick said. "I blame a portion of this on (Daniel) for not seeking help."
However, he said, "if the disease of PTSD is what it is, you put yourself in denial," he said. "He came back wounded."
According to the VA, PTSD is an anxiety disorder that can develop after a traumatic event. Symptoms include confusion, anger and depression. The disorder can lead to many problems, including drug addictions and trouble maintaining relationships and employment.
Ruth said Daniel immediately showed signs of PTSD after his discharge from the Army. He enlisted in the Army in 2005 and was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. He was a gunner on a Humvee while stationed in Iraq, where he fought in the "Triangle of Death" area south of Baghdad, which saw heavy combat against insurgents.
"Before, he was happy-go-lucky. He was always laughing, always smiling," she said. "After the war, he was very much more reserved, very quiet. He started to keep to himself more."
His military vehicle was rocked by an explosion in 2008, resulting in Daniel's injuries and a different person than the one who enlisted in the Army with great enthusiasm, Frederick said.
"He was a great guy. He was loved by his family and friends," he said. "But the war changed him."
"He was a hero," Frederick said. "We were all so proud that he wanted to serve his country and that's how we want him to be remembered, as a hero."
Army 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley
Remember Our Heroes
Army 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley, 23, of Sudbury, Mass.
1st Lt Milley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.; died Nov. 30, 2010 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.
FORT DRUM, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2010 - A 10th Mountain Division Solider stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was killed in Logar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, November 30 from wounds sustained in a small arms weapons attack.
Milley joined the Army in August 2009. After training, he arrived at Fort Polk in August 2010. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2010.
1st Lt. Milley’s awards include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne School and Ranger School.
Sudbury, MA -- Scott Milley, 23, a 2005 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was killed in Afghanistan yesterday during the first month of his deployment with the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, according to his father Steven Milley.
Steven Milley said his son wanted to be in the Army since he was three years old. Milley said his son had an "incredible love of life - absolutely not a care in the world and absolutely filled with laughter - until he put his uniform on. And then he became my proudest moment in my life."
Milley was captain of the L-S varsity hockey team and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2009, majoring in psychology and was the executive officer in the school's ROTC program. His father said Milley planned to join the FBI or CIA after his military service.
"I'd like the world to know about Scott, that he wanted no praise for anything he did'' said his father. "We used to find commendations tucked away in drawers. He wanted no limelight and no praise."
But Milley did accomplish much in the Army. He graduated the grueling Ranger school and was featured on a Discovery Channel show. Of the 338 cadets who started Ranger school, only 90 finished. Milley was deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Baracki Barak, Afghanistan.
After a month in the country, Scott Milley was killed while on foot patrol by small arms fire, his father said. The family does not know any other details about the death. A pair of military officers delivered the news to Scott Milley's mother, Janice, Tuesday evening.
The family, including Milley's older siblings Steven and Ashley are flying to Washington D.C. late today to meet his body and have been told President Obama will meet the body when it arrives in the U.S.
Lt. Colonel Paul Webber, professor of military science in the UNH ROTC program, recalled Milley as a committed student and dedicated officer.
“Scott was an exceptional young man,” Webber said. “He was in my first class when I came to the university and after he graduated we had the opportunity to work together for the summer. He was everything we could have asked for in a cadet and his death is such a loss. Scott was the best that our organization represents. His death is a devastating loss to his family, to the Army and to the nation. We are all mourning Scott’s death and our sympathies go out to his friends and family.”
Sudbury mourns soldier killed in Afghanistan -- Army Ranger shot in insurgent attack
First Lieutenant Scott Milley of Sudbury was captain of his high school ice hockey team and a cum laude graduate from college, but since the age of 3 his ultimate goal was to join the US Army.
Milley, 23, was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan’s Logar Province when insurgents attacked his unit, according to the Department of Defense.
Milley, a 2005 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was the first person from Sudbury to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Sudbury’s director of veterans services, Brian Stearns. News of Milley’s death rocked the community.
“He was the most lovable kid I ever coached,’’ Peter Elenbaas, one of Milley’s hockey coaches, said in an e-mail to Lincoln-Sudbury staff. “He combined the toughness of a prize-fighter with the effervescent joy and energy of a teenage boy. Truly, a treasure of this high school.’’
Milley’s father, Steve, said yesterday that the family was devastated.
“From the time he was 3 years old, that was his absolute dream, to be an Army man,’’ Steve Milley said. “His dream has now become the family nightmare. The family’s heart has been broken. Our baby son has gone.’’
Scott Milley was caught in a firefight outside Baraki Barak, his father said. Milley was an Army Ranger in the 10th Mountain Division and had been in Afghanistan for only a month.
“He was the happiest, most joyful person without a care in the world,’’ his father said. “His first e-mail home was, ‘Boy, this country’s beautiful.’ ’’
His goal after serving in the military was to join the FBI or the CIA, his father said.
Lincoln-Sudbury’s superintendent, Scott Carpenter, said Milley was popular in school and a prominent student athlete. “The type of scholar he was here and the type of leader he was amongst his peers would have prepared him well for anything,’’ said Carpenter, who was Milley’s house master.
Visitors streamed in and out of the Milleys’ home to comfort the family yesterday, said Alison Corwin, who lives next door.
“It’s such a quiet little town; you don’t expect anything to happen,’’ she said. “It’s definitely a shock to the community.’’
Town officials released a statement yesterday afternoon extending condolences to the family and said they would wait to hear from the family before planning a memorial.
"He's the true American hero, he has always wanted to serve his country," said his uncle Fran Brown.
A flag flutters in the afternoon wind outside the Sudbury, Massachusetts home of First Lieutenant Scott Milley, just 23 years old, shot to death Tuesday in Afghanistan.
He was an elite army ranger in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division who had arrived overseas less than a month ago.
He's a pretty tough kid, It's just sad, it's really just sad," said Brian Stearns, Sudbury's Veterans Services director.
His aunt told me he was a gem, captain of the hockey team at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, a 2005 graduate who then went on to the University of New Hampshire.
There he was in the ROTC program and graduated with honors in 2009.
He has the sad distinction of being the first serviceman from Sudbury to die in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"And I hope we don't have any more, I tell ya. It's just not a good thing. He served his country well and we're very proud of him," Stearns said.
"He loved god, country, and family," Brown said.
Scott Milley was baptized on the day of his ranger graduation.
He leaves behind a close-knit family, his parents and an older brother and sister.
Back outside the family home, his uncle Fran Brown said his nephew always wanted to be a soldier.
"Everyone is very devastated, it's going to be a long time before anyone gets over it," Brown added.
In an email sent this morning to the Lincoln-Sudbury staff, his hockey coach, Peter Elenbaas wrote,
"I had the privilege of coaching Scott for four years in hockey. He was the most lovable kid I ever coached. He combined the toughness of a prize-fighter with the effervescent joy and energy of a teenage boy. Truly, a treasure of this high school."
Army 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley was killed in action on 11/30/10.
Army 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley, 23, of Sudbury, Mass.
1st Lt Milley was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.; died Nov. 30, 2010 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small-arms fire.
FORT DRUM, N.Y., Dec. 1, 2010 - A 10th Mountain Division Solider stationed at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was killed in Logar province, Afghanistan, Tuesday, November 30 from wounds sustained in a small arms weapons attack.
Milley joined the Army in August 2009. After training, he arrived at Fort Polk in August 2010. He deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2010.
1st Lt. Milley’s awards include the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal and the Army Service Ribbon. He completed the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Airborne School and Ranger School.
Sudbury, MA -- Scott Milley, 23, a 2005 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was killed in Afghanistan yesterday during the first month of his deployment with the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division, according to his father Steven Milley.
Steven Milley said his son wanted to be in the Army since he was three years old. Milley said his son had an "incredible love of life - absolutely not a care in the world and absolutely filled with laughter - until he put his uniform on. And then he became my proudest moment in my life."
Milley was captain of the L-S varsity hockey team and graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2009, majoring in psychology and was the executive officer in the school's ROTC program. His father said Milley planned to join the FBI or CIA after his military service.
"I'd like the world to know about Scott, that he wanted no praise for anything he did'' said his father. "We used to find commendations tucked away in drawers. He wanted no limelight and no praise."
But Milley did accomplish much in the Army. He graduated the grueling Ranger school and was featured on a Discovery Channel show. Of the 338 cadets who started Ranger school, only 90 finished. Milley was deployed with the 10th Mountain Division to Baracki Barak, Afghanistan.
After a month in the country, Scott Milley was killed while on foot patrol by small arms fire, his father said. The family does not know any other details about the death. A pair of military officers delivered the news to Scott Milley's mother, Janice, Tuesday evening.
The family, including Milley's older siblings Steven and Ashley are flying to Washington D.C. late today to meet his body and have been told President Obama will meet the body when it arrives in the U.S.
Lt. Colonel Paul Webber, professor of military science in the UNH ROTC program, recalled Milley as a committed student and dedicated officer.
“Scott was an exceptional young man,” Webber said. “He was in my first class when I came to the university and after he graduated we had the opportunity to work together for the summer. He was everything we could have asked for in a cadet and his death is such a loss. Scott was the best that our organization represents. His death is a devastating loss to his family, to the Army and to the nation. We are all mourning Scott’s death and our sympathies go out to his friends and family.”
Sudbury mourns soldier killed in Afghanistan -- Army Ranger shot in insurgent attack
First Lieutenant Scott Milley of Sudbury was captain of his high school ice hockey team and a cum laude graduate from college, but since the age of 3 his ultimate goal was to join the US Army.
Milley, 23, was killed Tuesday in Afghanistan’s Logar Province when insurgents attacked his unit, according to the Department of Defense.
Milley, a 2005 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, was the first person from Sudbury to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Sudbury’s director of veterans services, Brian Stearns. News of Milley’s death rocked the community.
“He was the most lovable kid I ever coached,’’ Peter Elenbaas, one of Milley’s hockey coaches, said in an e-mail to Lincoln-Sudbury staff. “He combined the toughness of a prize-fighter with the effervescent joy and energy of a teenage boy. Truly, a treasure of this high school.’’
Milley’s father, Steve, said yesterday that the family was devastated.
“From the time he was 3 years old, that was his absolute dream, to be an Army man,’’ Steve Milley said. “His dream has now become the family nightmare. The family’s heart has been broken. Our baby son has gone.’’
Scott Milley was caught in a firefight outside Baraki Barak, his father said. Milley was an Army Ranger in the 10th Mountain Division and had been in Afghanistan for only a month.
“He was the happiest, most joyful person without a care in the world,’’ his father said. “His first e-mail home was, ‘Boy, this country’s beautiful.’ ’’
His goal after serving in the military was to join the FBI or the CIA, his father said.
Lincoln-Sudbury’s superintendent, Scott Carpenter, said Milley was popular in school and a prominent student athlete. “The type of scholar he was here and the type of leader he was amongst his peers would have prepared him well for anything,’’ said Carpenter, who was Milley’s house master.
Visitors streamed in and out of the Milleys’ home to comfort the family yesterday, said Alison Corwin, who lives next door.
“It’s such a quiet little town; you don’t expect anything to happen,’’ she said. “It’s definitely a shock to the community.’’
Town officials released a statement yesterday afternoon extending condolences to the family and said they would wait to hear from the family before planning a memorial.
"He's the true American hero, he has always wanted to serve his country," said his uncle Fran Brown.
A flag flutters in the afternoon wind outside the Sudbury, Massachusetts home of First Lieutenant Scott Milley, just 23 years old, shot to death Tuesday in Afghanistan.
He was an elite army ranger in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division who had arrived overseas less than a month ago.
He's a pretty tough kid, It's just sad, it's really just sad," said Brian Stearns, Sudbury's Veterans Services director.
His aunt told me he was a gem, captain of the hockey team at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, a 2005 graduate who then went on to the University of New Hampshire.
There he was in the ROTC program and graduated with honors in 2009.
He has the sad distinction of being the first serviceman from Sudbury to die in Iraq or Afghanistan.
"And I hope we don't have any more, I tell ya. It's just not a good thing. He served his country well and we're very proud of him," Stearns said.
"He loved god, country, and family," Brown said.
Scott Milley was baptized on the day of his ranger graduation.
He leaves behind a close-knit family, his parents and an older brother and sister.
Back outside the family home, his uncle Fran Brown said his nephew always wanted to be a soldier.
"Everyone is very devastated, it's going to be a long time before anyone gets over it," Brown added.
In an email sent this morning to the Lincoln-Sudbury staff, his hockey coach, Peter Elenbaas wrote,
"I had the privilege of coaching Scott for four years in hockey. He was the most lovable kid I ever coached. He combined the toughness of a prize-fighter with the effervescent joy and energy of a teenage boy. Truly, a treasure of this high school."
Army 1st Lt. Scott F. Milley was killed in action on 11/30/10.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Army Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Calif.
Spc. Ramsey was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Specialist Matthew Wayne Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, CA, was an Infantryman who joined the Army in April 2008 and arrived at Fort Campbell in September 2008.
His awards and decorations include: National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal and Air Assault Badge.
Ramsey is survived by his wife, Mirella Ramsey; son, Zachary Ramsey of Lancaster, CA and parents, William and Melissa Cochran.
Army Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Calif.
Spc. Ramsey was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Specialist Matthew Wayne Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, CA, was an Infantryman who joined the Army in April 2008 and arrived at Fort Campbell in September 2008.
His awards and decorations include: National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal and Air Assault Badge.
Ramsey is survived by his wife, Mirella Ramsey; son, Zachary Ramsey of Lancaster, CA and parents, William and Melissa Cochran.
Army Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio
SSgt Oakes was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Staff Sergeant Curtis Allen Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio, was a Fire Support Specialist who joined the Army in March 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in September 2004.
His awards and decorations include: Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Valorous Unit Award; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Driver and Mechanic Badge; Combat Action Badge and Air Assault Badge.
Oakes is survived by his wife, Brandi Oakes; son, Bradley Oakes and step-son, Tyler Jones, all of Clarksville, Tennessee. Oakes is also survived by his daughter Mia Robus of White City, KS and his parents Terry and Valarie Oakes of Athens, Ohio.
Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio
SSgt Oakes was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Staff Sergeant Curtis Allen Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio, was a Fire Support Specialist who joined the Army in March 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in September 2004.
His awards and decorations include: Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Valorous Unit Award; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Driver and Mechanic Badge; Combat Action Badge and Air Assault Badge.
Oakes is survived by his wife, Brandi Oakes; son, Bradley Oakes and step-son, Tyler Jones, all of Clarksville, Tennessee. Oakes is also survived by his daughter Mia Robus of White City, KS and his parents Terry and Valarie Oakes of Athens, Ohio.
Army Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga.
Pfc Staggs was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
A Weatherford soldier was killed Monday along with five other U.S servicemen while on a training exercise in Eastern Afghanistan.
Austin Staggs, 19, attended Weatherford High School until his junior year before transferring to North Hills Private School in Millsap for his senior year in 2008.
Staggs’ unit came under attack when a border policeman turned his weapon on American troops, killing all six soldiers before being killed in a gun battle, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said.
The incident appears to be one of the worst in a string of attacks in which members of Afghan security forces have turned against the international troops with whom they’re supposed to be partnered.
The shooting took place in Nangarhar province, in the remote district of Pachir Agam, Afghan and U.S. officials said. The district, which borders Pakistan, is home to the Tora Bora mountains, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden made a last stand against invading U.S.-led forces in late 2001 before escaping to Pakistan.
“He’s a good kid. He had a good heart. He loved people. He finished what he started. He accomplished his goal,” said Kaye Jordan, Staggs' mother.
Army Pvt. Austin G. Staggs, who was deployed in June, was killed, his family confirmed. “He was just a child,” said Staggs’ stepfather Judd Jordan, with emotion heavy in his voice.
Jordan and his wife, Kaye, Staggs’ mother, were unable to comment further because they headed out Tuesday to Dover, Del., to view Staggs’ body.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Department of Defense spokesman declined to give specifics about the incident, citing a 72-hour wait period for families to be informed of the incident. Information will likely be released today.
The Afghanistant News Net noted six soldiers were killed Monday by a man dressed as a police officer, who fired upon them. It is not yet known if that incident was the one in which Staggs died, and names of the soldiers who died in that incident were not released Tuesday.
Staggs lived with his mother and stepfather in Weatherford from 2000 to 2009, Jordan said. According to a release put out by the Army in February, Staggs graduated from the Fire Support Specialist Advanced Individual Training Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. Specialists in that field serve in intelligence activities, such as division artillery, cannon battalions and fire support.
According to a family member, Staggs has been married for about nine months and has a 2-year-old son. Staggs is the son of Kaye L. Jordan of Henry Lane, Weatherford, Texas, and Byram G. Staggs of Lone Oak Drive, Senoia, Ga.
Private 1st Class Austin Garrett Staggs, 19, of Senoia, GA, was a Fire Support Specialist who joined the Army in September 2009 and arrived at Fort Campbell in February 2010. His awards and decorations include: National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon and NATO Medal.
Staggs is survived by his wife, Sheena Staggs of Clarksville, Tennessee; son, Kallen O’Neal of Weatherford, Texas; parents, Byram Staggs of Senoia, GA and Kaye Jordan of Weatherford, Texas.
Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga.
Pfc Staggs was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
A Weatherford soldier was killed Monday along with five other U.S servicemen while on a training exercise in Eastern Afghanistan.
Austin Staggs, 19, attended Weatherford High School until his junior year before transferring to North Hills Private School in Millsap for his senior year in 2008.
Staggs’ unit came under attack when a border policeman turned his weapon on American troops, killing all six soldiers before being killed in a gun battle, NATO’s International Security Assistance Force said.
The incident appears to be one of the worst in a string of attacks in which members of Afghan security forces have turned against the international troops with whom they’re supposed to be partnered.
The shooting took place in Nangarhar province, in the remote district of Pachir Agam, Afghan and U.S. officials said. The district, which borders Pakistan, is home to the Tora Bora mountains, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden made a last stand against invading U.S.-led forces in late 2001 before escaping to Pakistan.
“He’s a good kid. He had a good heart. He loved people. He finished what he started. He accomplished his goal,” said Kaye Jordan, Staggs' mother.
Army Pvt. Austin G. Staggs, who was deployed in June, was killed, his family confirmed. “He was just a child,” said Staggs’ stepfather Judd Jordan, with emotion heavy in his voice.
Jordan and his wife, Kaye, Staggs’ mother, were unable to comment further because they headed out Tuesday to Dover, Del., to view Staggs’ body.
On Tuesday afternoon, a Department of Defense spokesman declined to give specifics about the incident, citing a 72-hour wait period for families to be informed of the incident. Information will likely be released today.
The Afghanistant News Net noted six soldiers were killed Monday by a man dressed as a police officer, who fired upon them. It is not yet known if that incident was the one in which Staggs died, and names of the soldiers who died in that incident were not released Tuesday.
Staggs lived with his mother and stepfather in Weatherford from 2000 to 2009, Jordan said. According to a release put out by the Army in February, Staggs graduated from the Fire Support Specialist Advanced Individual Training Course at Fort Sill in Lawton, Okla. Specialists in that field serve in intelligence activities, such as division artillery, cannon battalions and fire support.
According to a family member, Staggs has been married for about nine months and has a 2-year-old son. Staggs is the son of Kaye L. Jordan of Henry Lane, Weatherford, Texas, and Byram G. Staggs of Lone Oak Drive, Senoia, Ga.
Private 1st Class Austin Garrett Staggs, 19, of Senoia, GA, was a Fire Support Specialist who joined the Army in September 2009 and arrived at Fort Campbell in February 2010. His awards and decorations include: National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Army Service Ribbon and NATO Medal.
Staggs is survived by his wife, Sheena Staggs of Clarksville, Tennessee; son, Kallen O’Neal of Weatherford, Texas; parents, Byram Staggs of Senoia, GA and Kaye Jordan of Weatherford, Texas.
Army Pfc. Austin G. Staggs was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pvt. Buddy W. McLain
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine
Pvt. McLain was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen and Pfc. Austin G. Staggs.
For the third time in a month, a Mainer has died while on duty in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
Pvt. Buddy McLain "was one hell of a nice kid, immediately likable," said his friend Robert Acheson of Dixfield.
Army Pvt. Buddy McLain, 24, of Mexico was killed by enemy fire Monday, according to Gov. John Baldacci's office. McLain was a cavalry scout with the 101st Airborne Division.
The wife of a Maine soldier killed by an Afghan police officer says he had misgivings about training and arming Afghans.
Chelsea McLain of Peru says Pvt. Buddy McLain expressed his concern a week before his death. She said he told her he was going on a dangerous mission. She told the Sun Journal, "He didn't think it was right to train these people and give them guns."
One of three brothers, McLain graduated from Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, school officials said. He was deployed on June 27 to Afghanistan for six months.
Jonathan True, 21, of Mexico said he was shocked when he learned Monday that his best friend had been killed.
True said that after McLain married Chelsea Freeman, he was stationed with the 101st Airborne in Fort Campbell, Ky. After completing basic training, he returned home for 30 days this spring and met his baby son, Owen, for the first time.
True said McLain graduated from Mountain Valley High School in 2006 and joined the Army to provide for his family because he had no job or money, and was stuck in a small town that didn't offer good job opportunities.
"People told him that he wasn't going to make it in life and that he was a nobody, and he was like, 'Well, all right, I'm going to prove you all wrong,' and the one way he could do that was by joining the military," True said.
People told McLain he'd never make it through boot camp, True said. "But one day he came back in uniform and he proved everybody wrong."
Christmas lights, frosted pine cones and a red bow adorned a wreath placed on a Congress Street lamppost around a shield bearing the name of U.S. Army Pvt. Buddy McLain. It and others like it were made by former Selectman J. Arthur Boivin and placed this summer on lampposts lining the street to honor River Valley soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.
Boivin learned Tuesday that McLain, 24, of Peru was killed by enemy fire on Monday in Afghanistan, according to reports from Maine's top elected officials and Gov. John Baldacci.
Because the shield was modeled after Rumford firefighter and police shields, Boivin and area military officials will soon place a black band across the bottom half of the shield below McLain's name. That's what police and firefighters do when one of their own is killed on duty, he said.
McLain was one of six U.S. troops killed in an attack by an Afghan border policeman during a training mission in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border. The attacker was killed in the shootout, and the Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings, according to published reports.
McLain leaves behind his wife, Chelsea McLain, 20, and 15-month-old son, Owen, according to a story on WMTW TV's website Tuesday. "He knew he was going to come home a hero; we just didn't want it to be this way," Chelsea McLain said.
McLain said her husband last spoke with them shortly before heading out on a mission he said was going to be dangerous. "He called my son a couple weeks ago — our son — and he said how proud he was of him, and how he couldn't wait to come home and go sledding and build snowmen," she said.
In the same story, McLain's high school Principal Matthew Gilbert said the 2006 graduate of Mountain Valley High School met the goal listed in his high school yearbook profile, that of making something of himself and making his parents proud.
"That one hits home pretty hard," Gilbert said. "I think that he met that ambition. It was his goal to go make something of his life and make a good life for his family."
Chelsea McLain said life wasn't going to be the same without her husband. "He was my high school sweetheart," she said. "It was hard being in the military and being apart so long, but I'm so thankful we have a son together. I can watch him grow up. It's so hard knowing that I'm going to grow old without him."
Rumford Town Manager Carlo Puiia said McLain's shield would likely be taken down at some point and presented to his parents or to his wife and young son.
“We're proud of our veterans and you'd like to think they will come home,” Puiia said. “It's a sad day for the family and the town. It's horrible.”
“Almost everyone in the country has a veteran from a former war or current," he said. "But when it hits home like this, it's shocking to your mind when you lose someone that young from your community.”
Townspeople and officials reacted with stunned disbelief and sorrow in mourning the loss of McLain, a cavalry scout with the Army's 2nd Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
“It's god-awful sad,” Robert Acheson of Dixfield said Tuesday of the young man he'd met several months prior through friends. “He was one hell of a nice kid, immediately likable.”
“I am devastated,” said state Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico. She met McLain a few times while working at the Mexico Town Office and through the young man's father, Larry McLain of Mexico.
“They're a good family,” Briggs said. “Larry has worked very hard and struggled to take care of and be there for his children.”
“It's an awful thing,” she said. Buddy “gave us the ultimate sacrifice and I'm just devastated. All we can do is be there for his family and support them in our prayers. It's just unbelievable.”
Briggs said the American Legion Auxiliary in Rumford and Mexico residents were taking news of Buddy's death “very hard.”
The auxiliary, she said, had just completed a shipment of Comforts From Home care packages for deployed servicemen and women; they had specifically mailed two to Buddy.
Peru Town Clerk Vera Parent said she was stunned by the news. Buddy and his wife, Chelsea, moved from Mexico to Peru, where his widow now lives with their young son, Owen.
Rumford's American Legion Post 24, of which McLain was a member, will provide full military honors during a legion ceremony at his funeral, Commander Bryan Lucas said.
And, sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, the legion will conduct a Gold Star ceremony for McLain's family. Gold Stars are presented to families of service members who lose their lives.
Army Pvt. Buddy W. McLain was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine
Pvt. McLain was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen and Pfc. Austin G. Staggs.
For the third time in a month, a Mainer has died while on duty in Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday.
Pvt. Buddy McLain "was one hell of a nice kid, immediately likable," said his friend Robert Acheson of Dixfield.
Army Pvt. Buddy McLain, 24, of Mexico was killed by enemy fire Monday, according to Gov. John Baldacci's office. McLain was a cavalry scout with the 101st Airborne Division.
The wife of a Maine soldier killed by an Afghan police officer says he had misgivings about training and arming Afghans.
Chelsea McLain of Peru says Pvt. Buddy McLain expressed his concern a week before his death. She said he told her he was going on a dangerous mission. She told the Sun Journal, "He didn't think it was right to train these people and give them guns."
One of three brothers, McLain graduated from Mountain Valley High School in Rumford, school officials said. He was deployed on June 27 to Afghanistan for six months.
Jonathan True, 21, of Mexico said he was shocked when he learned Monday that his best friend had been killed.
True said that after McLain married Chelsea Freeman, he was stationed with the 101st Airborne in Fort Campbell, Ky. After completing basic training, he returned home for 30 days this spring and met his baby son, Owen, for the first time.
True said McLain graduated from Mountain Valley High School in 2006 and joined the Army to provide for his family because he had no job or money, and was stuck in a small town that didn't offer good job opportunities.
"People told him that he wasn't going to make it in life and that he was a nobody, and he was like, 'Well, all right, I'm going to prove you all wrong,' and the one way he could do that was by joining the military," True said.
People told McLain he'd never make it through boot camp, True said. "But one day he came back in uniform and he proved everybody wrong."
Christmas lights, frosted pine cones and a red bow adorned a wreath placed on a Congress Street lamppost around a shield bearing the name of U.S. Army Pvt. Buddy McLain. It and others like it were made by former Selectman J. Arthur Boivin and placed this summer on lampposts lining the street to honor River Valley soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.
Boivin learned Tuesday that McLain, 24, of Peru was killed by enemy fire on Monday in Afghanistan, according to reports from Maine's top elected officials and Gov. John Baldacci.
Because the shield was modeled after Rumford firefighter and police shields, Boivin and area military officials will soon place a black band across the bottom half of the shield below McLain's name. That's what police and firefighters do when one of their own is killed on duty, he said.
McLain was one of six U.S. troops killed in an attack by an Afghan border policeman during a training mission in Nangarhar province near the Pakistan border. The attacker was killed in the shootout, and the Taliban claimed responsibility for the killings, according to published reports.
McLain leaves behind his wife, Chelsea McLain, 20, and 15-month-old son, Owen, according to a story on WMTW TV's website Tuesday. "He knew he was going to come home a hero; we just didn't want it to be this way," Chelsea McLain said.
McLain said her husband last spoke with them shortly before heading out on a mission he said was going to be dangerous. "He called my son a couple weeks ago — our son — and he said how proud he was of him, and how he couldn't wait to come home and go sledding and build snowmen," she said.
In the same story, McLain's high school Principal Matthew Gilbert said the 2006 graduate of Mountain Valley High School met the goal listed in his high school yearbook profile, that of making something of himself and making his parents proud.
"That one hits home pretty hard," Gilbert said. "I think that he met that ambition. It was his goal to go make something of his life and make a good life for his family."
Chelsea McLain said life wasn't going to be the same without her husband. "He was my high school sweetheart," she said. "It was hard being in the military and being apart so long, but I'm so thankful we have a son together. I can watch him grow up. It's so hard knowing that I'm going to grow old without him."
Rumford Town Manager Carlo Puiia said McLain's shield would likely be taken down at some point and presented to his parents or to his wife and young son.
“We're proud of our veterans and you'd like to think they will come home,” Puiia said. “It's a sad day for the family and the town. It's horrible.”
“Almost everyone in the country has a veteran from a former war or current," he said. "But when it hits home like this, it's shocking to your mind when you lose someone that young from your community.”
Townspeople and officials reacted with stunned disbelief and sorrow in mourning the loss of McLain, a cavalry scout with the Army's 2nd Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
“It's god-awful sad,” Robert Acheson of Dixfield said Tuesday of the young man he'd met several months prior through friends. “He was one hell of a nice kid, immediately likable.”
“I am devastated,” said state Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico. She met McLain a few times while working at the Mexico Town Office and through the young man's father, Larry McLain of Mexico.
“They're a good family,” Briggs said. “Larry has worked very hard and struggled to take care of and be there for his children.”
“It's an awful thing,” she said. Buddy “gave us the ultimate sacrifice and I'm just devastated. All we can do is be there for his family and support them in our prayers. It's just unbelievable.”
Briggs said the American Legion Auxiliary in Rumford and Mexico residents were taking news of Buddy's death “very hard.”
The auxiliary, she said, had just completed a shipment of Comforts From Home care packages for deployed servicemen and women; they had specifically mailed two to Buddy.
Peru Town Clerk Vera Parent said she was stunned by the news. Buddy and his wife, Chelsea, moved from Mexico to Peru, where his widow now lives with their young son, Owen.
Rumford's American Legion Post 24, of which McLain was a member, will provide full military honors during a legion ceremony at his funeral, Commander Bryan Lucas said.
And, sometime between 5 and 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 5, the legion will conduct a Gold Star ceremony for McLain's family. Gold Stars are presented to families of service members who lose their lives.
Army Pvt. Buddy W. McLain was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis.
Pfc Gassen was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Pfc. Jacob Gassen, a former UW Oshkosh student, was killed Monday while on duty as a medic in Afghanistan.
Back home, family and friends shared memories about Gassen's life.
Jeff Rauscher said Gassen had been his neighbor since he was 8 years old, and they had been best friends almost the whole time they knew each other.
"He was like my brother," Rauscher said. "We were really close up until he went to college, but then when he came home we were close again right up until he joined the Army. He kept in touch the whole time he was in Afghanistan, too. The last time I talked to him was the day before he died."
Rauscher said he would always remember Gassen by what made him such a great friend. "He was an easy-going, happy person," Rauscher said. "He got along with everybody. He never had any enemies."
Even more than being an enjoyable person to be around, Rauscher described Gassen as a huge role model in his life. "Every time he'd come home, he'd tell me if I was doing something stupid, and he would encourage me to change it," Rauscher said. "The last time I saw him, he saw how I had changed some things in my life and he told me he was proud of me."
Rauscher said Gassen was just as loyal to his country as he was to his friends.
"The day before he left for Afghanistan he cried on my shoulder, saying he didn't want to go, but he did," Rauscher said.
Rich Zeman, the orchestra teacher for Beaver Dam High School, where Gassen graduated from in 2008, said he will always remember Gassen for his loyalty.
"The viola is sort of in between the violin and the cello," Zeman said, "and it's that instrument that nobody ever really notices."
According to Zeman, Gassen was one of the few people that did take notice of the instrument and was very loyal to it. "He was never a great player, but he was a dependable young man and you knew it was going to be a big part of his life," Zeman said.
Zemen said the last time he saw Gassen was after he finished basic training in the spring of 2009, and Gassen surprised him with just how loyal to the instrument he was. "He said, ‘come here, I've got to show you something,' and there on his right side was an alto clef, a musical symbol unique to the viola," Zemen said. "You really don't know what it is unless you're a musician."
"The joke was that the guys in the Army asked him what it was since they didn't know, and he decided to tell them it was a Chinese symbol that meant ‘good luck,'" Zemen said.
Steve Vessey, the superintendent of Beaver Dam High School, said that he remembered Gassen as a hardworking young man. "You saw that in the school orchestra, and the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra, and in his work at the YMCA," Vessey said. "He was very popular there."
Vessey added how Gassen played a part in getting the boys' swim team at the YMCA started. "He worked both as a lifeguard and as a mentor for the young people there," Vessey said. "He was well-liked by everyone."
Greg Gassen says his son, Jacob, who turned 21 on Nov. 19, was serving as a medic in his first tour of duty when he was killed. U.S. Army officials broke the news to Gassen at his Beaver Dam home Monday afternoon. Gassen says he doesn't yet know the details surrounding his son's death.
Gassen says he last talked to his son Sunday. He says Jacob was looking forward to coming home for a visit. The family planned a combined birthday and Christmas celebration when Jacob was scheduled for leave in January.
On Tuesday night, the Gassen family flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the return of Jacob’s remains. A ceremony for the family is being held there today, and then the family will return to Beaver Dam.
Gassen’s body will follow in several days accompanied by a military escort that will include Beaver Dam native Mike Richardson. Richardson, a U.S. Marine stationed in Pensacola, Fla., was a friend of Jacob, according to Gassen’s father Greg Gassen.
“Mike is really honored that he can escort Jacob’s remains back here,” Gassen said.
Funeral arrangements are pending with Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam.
Greg Gassen said the family has no further details about his son’s death. “Each day is a day we have to get through,” Gassen said. “He was my little boy. I’m going to miss him badly.”
Classmates have established a memorial fund in his name, according to 2008 class vice president Brittany Clifton, who said the funds may be used for a scholarship. “I felt it was something we should do as a class,” Clifton said.
Gassen also was being remembered Tuesday at St. Jerome School in Columbus where he attended first through fifth grade from 1996 to 2001.
“All of our thoughts and prayers from the entire community of St. Jerome School go out to the Gassen family at the loss of their son Jacob in Afghanistan,” said St. Jerome principal Jamie Cotter. “This week students are remembering Jacob in their daily prayer.”
Gail Tietz, the fifth grade teacher at St. Jerome said, “Jacob was a student that usually had a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye. He was creative and at times, mischievous. It came as no surprise to me that he was serving his country.”
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis.
Pfc Gassen was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Pfc. Jacob Gassen, a former UW Oshkosh student, was killed Monday while on duty as a medic in Afghanistan.
Back home, family and friends shared memories about Gassen's life.
Jeff Rauscher said Gassen had been his neighbor since he was 8 years old, and they had been best friends almost the whole time they knew each other.
"He was like my brother," Rauscher said. "We were really close up until he went to college, but then when he came home we were close again right up until he joined the Army. He kept in touch the whole time he was in Afghanistan, too. The last time I talked to him was the day before he died."
Rauscher said he would always remember Gassen by what made him such a great friend. "He was an easy-going, happy person," Rauscher said. "He got along with everybody. He never had any enemies."
Even more than being an enjoyable person to be around, Rauscher described Gassen as a huge role model in his life. "Every time he'd come home, he'd tell me if I was doing something stupid, and he would encourage me to change it," Rauscher said. "The last time I saw him, he saw how I had changed some things in my life and he told me he was proud of me."
Rauscher said Gassen was just as loyal to his country as he was to his friends.
"The day before he left for Afghanistan he cried on my shoulder, saying he didn't want to go, but he did," Rauscher said.
Rich Zeman, the orchestra teacher for Beaver Dam High School, where Gassen graduated from in 2008, said he will always remember Gassen for his loyalty.
"The viola is sort of in between the violin and the cello," Zeman said, "and it's that instrument that nobody ever really notices."
According to Zeman, Gassen was one of the few people that did take notice of the instrument and was very loyal to it. "He was never a great player, but he was a dependable young man and you knew it was going to be a big part of his life," Zeman said.
Zemen said the last time he saw Gassen was after he finished basic training in the spring of 2009, and Gassen surprised him with just how loyal to the instrument he was. "He said, ‘come here, I've got to show you something,' and there on his right side was an alto clef, a musical symbol unique to the viola," Zemen said. "You really don't know what it is unless you're a musician."
"The joke was that the guys in the Army asked him what it was since they didn't know, and he decided to tell them it was a Chinese symbol that meant ‘good luck,'" Zemen said.
Steve Vessey, the superintendent of Beaver Dam High School, said that he remembered Gassen as a hardworking young man. "You saw that in the school orchestra, and the Beaver Dam Area Orchestra, and in his work at the YMCA," Vessey said. "He was very popular there."
Vessey added how Gassen played a part in getting the boys' swim team at the YMCA started. "He worked both as a lifeguard and as a mentor for the young people there," Vessey said. "He was well-liked by everyone."
Greg Gassen says his son, Jacob, who turned 21 on Nov. 19, was serving as a medic in his first tour of duty when he was killed. U.S. Army officials broke the news to Gassen at his Beaver Dam home Monday afternoon. Gassen says he doesn't yet know the details surrounding his son's death.
Gassen says he last talked to his son Sunday. He says Jacob was looking forward to coming home for a visit. The family planned a combined birthday and Christmas celebration when Jacob was scheduled for leave in January.
On Tuesday night, the Gassen family flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for the return of Jacob’s remains. A ceremony for the family is being held there today, and then the family will return to Beaver Dam.
Gassen’s body will follow in several days accompanied by a military escort that will include Beaver Dam native Mike Richardson. Richardson, a U.S. Marine stationed in Pensacola, Fla., was a friend of Jacob, according to Gassen’s father Greg Gassen.
“Mike is really honored that he can escort Jacob’s remains back here,” Gassen said.
Funeral arrangements are pending with Murray Funeral Home in Beaver Dam.
Greg Gassen said the family has no further details about his son’s death. “Each day is a day we have to get through,” Gassen said. “He was my little boy. I’m going to miss him badly.”
Classmates have established a memorial fund in his name, according to 2008 class vice president Brittany Clifton, who said the funds may be used for a scholarship. “I felt it was something we should do as a class,” Clifton said.
Gassen also was being remembered Tuesday at St. Jerome School in Columbus where he attended first through fifth grade from 1996 to 2001.
“All of our thoughts and prayers from the entire community of St. Jerome School go out to the Gassen family at the loss of their son Jacob in Afghanistan,” said St. Jerome principal Jamie Cotter. “This week students are remembering Jacob in their daily prayer.”
Gail Tietz, the fifth grade teacher at St. Jerome said, “Jacob was a student that usually had a smile on his face and a sparkle in his eye. He was creative and at times, mischievous. It came as no surprise to me that he was serving his country.”
Army Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis
Remember Our Heroes
Army Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind.
SFC Jarvis was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Sgt. 1st Class Barry Jarvis, born Nov. 24, 1974, the son of Bill and Alma Jean Jarvis, was a “jack of all trades” and a “leader who took in newcomers and took care of them,” according to his brother and sister, Johnny Jarvis and Tressie James. Bill Jarvis now resides in Jacksonville, Fla.
Barry Jarvis graduated from Army basic training in May 1998 and “lived for the military and for Harley Davidson motorcycles,” his brother and sister said Wednesday. She added that her brother was “always the life of the party who could make a person laugh.”
He was primarily a cavalry scout, but had undergone training to become a drill sergeant “because he wanted to be home, close to his family,” James said. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., before deploying to Afghanistan Aug. 23. He has also served at Fort Knox, Ky., Fort Riley, Kan., Fort Lewis, Wash., and in Korea.
His wife, Tina Jarvis, posted a message on his Facebook page Wednesday: "Today is the day that they are bringing Barry home. He will be brought in at Dover Delaware at the airfield. I miss you so much Barry."
Jarvis is survived by his wife, Tina, and four children ranging in age from 2 to 17 years. Funeral arrangements were being handled by Huber Funeral Home and were pending the return of his body through Dover Air Force Base, Del. He was to be buried at Deer Creek Cemetery.
Sergeant 1st Class Barry Edward Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, IN, was a Cavalry Scout who joined the Army in May 1999 and arrived at Fort Campbell in May 2009. His awards and decorations include: Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Valorous Unit Award; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Drill Sergeant Identification Badge; Combat Action Badge and Air Assault Badge.
Jarvis is survived by his wife, Tina L. Jarvis; daughters, Kitaira and Aleesha Jarvis and sons, Donovan and William, all of Clarksville, Tennessee. He is also survived by his parents, William Jarvis of Atlantic Beach, FL and Alma Jarvis of Tell City, IN.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind.
SFC Jarvis was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 29, 2010 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an insurgent attacked his unit with small-arms fire. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, Pfc. Austin G. Staggs and Pvt. Buddy W. McLain.
Sgt. 1st Class Barry Jarvis, born Nov. 24, 1974, the son of Bill and Alma Jean Jarvis, was a “jack of all trades” and a “leader who took in newcomers and took care of them,” according to his brother and sister, Johnny Jarvis and Tressie James. Bill Jarvis now resides in Jacksonville, Fla.
Barry Jarvis graduated from Army basic training in May 1998 and “lived for the military and for Harley Davidson motorcycles,” his brother and sister said Wednesday. She added that her brother was “always the life of the party who could make a person laugh.”
He was primarily a cavalry scout, but had undergone training to become a drill sergeant “because he wanted to be home, close to his family,” James said. He was stationed at Fort Campbell, Ky., before deploying to Afghanistan Aug. 23. He has also served at Fort Knox, Ky., Fort Riley, Kan., Fort Lewis, Wash., and in Korea.
His wife, Tina Jarvis, posted a message on his Facebook page Wednesday: "Today is the day that they are bringing Barry home. He will be brought in at Dover Delaware at the airfield. I miss you so much Barry."
Jarvis is survived by his wife, Tina, and four children ranging in age from 2 to 17 years. Funeral arrangements were being handled by Huber Funeral Home and were pending the return of his body through Dover Air Force Base, Del. He was to be buried at Deer Creek Cemetery.
Sergeant 1st Class Barry Edward Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, IN, was a Cavalry Scout who joined the Army in May 1999 and arrived at Fort Campbell in May 2009. His awards and decorations include: Meritorious Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Army Achievement Medal; Valorous Unit Award; Army Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Korean Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon; Army Service Ribbon; Overseas Service Ribbon; NATO Medal; Drill Sergeant Identification Badge; Combat Action Badge and Air Assault Badge.
Jarvis is survived by his wife, Tina L. Jarvis; daughters, Kitaira and Aleesha Jarvis and sons, Donovan and William, all of Clarksville, Tennessee. He is also survived by his parents, William Jarvis of Atlantic Beach, FL and Alma Jarvis of Tell City, IN.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis was killed in action on 11/29/10.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Airforce Senior Airman Tre Porfirio
Remember Our Heroes
An 88th Communication Squadron voice network systems technician wounded in action on November 21, 2009, one year ago in Afghanistan, died Nov. 28, 2010 Senior Airman Tre Porfirio passed away while visiting friends over the Thanksgiving holiday in Missouri. He was 22 years old.
Porfirio, who is from St. Marys, Ga., was assigned to a small base near the border with Pakistan when he was shot three times by an insurgent on Nov. 21, 2009. He underwent two surgeries in Afghanistan and one in Germany before he was brought to Washington.
Tuesday was a sad day at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, as air force men and women mourned the loss of a friend.
Senior Airman Tre Porfirio, who made national news after undergoing ground breaking surgery after an ambush in Afghanistan, died on Sunday. He was visiting family in Missouri over Thanksgiving weekend when he died suddenly.
In November, 2009 Porfirio was shot three times in the back. The attack took place in a very remote area of Afghanistan, where his unit was installing communications lines.
The bullets shattered Porfirio's stomach. In a ground breaking procedure considered a medical miracle, doctors removed his bullet ridden pancreas, and flew the organ to the University of Miami.
Doctors there harvested islet cells from the pancreas and transferred them to his liver. The procedure saved Porfirio from living life with a severe case of diabetes.
2 News interviewed Porfirio in March, 2010. He appeared to be recovering well from the surgery, but said he was still tired and in pain. He was looking forward to the birth of his son.
February 24, 2010 (Hollywood, FL) Three months ago, US Senior Airman Tre F. Porfirio was critically wounded after being struck from behind by three high velocity bullets while serving in Afghanistan. On February 13, Porfirio made an extraordinary trip from Washington, D.C., to Miami to appear before an awestruck crowd of 600 at the Love and Hope Ball benefiting the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) – the very organization that helped save him from a life with diabetes. The gala’s theme, “Honoring America,” was certainly most appropriate given the presence of a true war hero and the patriotic announcement of two of the DRI’s most notable supporters.
“I almost died – twice from loss of blood – and once from the problems with my pancreas,” said the 21-year-old Airman, whose entire abdominal cavity needed to be restructured. “I have a child on the way. That is all I could think about [when I was shot.] I thought I was done.”
Porfirio’s injuries occurred on November 21 in a remote area of Afghanistan. He was operated on twice in field hospitals and then air lifted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he came under the care of Dr. Craig D. Shriver, chief of general surgery. Porfirio’s pancreas was damaged beyond repair, but removal of the organ would cause the most severe form of diabetes.
Walter Reed doctors then contacted the Diabetes Research Institute’s scientific director, Dr. Camillo Ricordi, who immediately agreed to help. The organ was removed and shipped from Washington, D.C., to Miami, where members of the DRI team spent six hours isolating the insulin-producing islet cells from the Airman’s pancreas.
Dr. Ricordi, a pioneer in the diabetes field, is world renowned for developing the method to isolate islets from the pancreas. The islets were flown back, and Dr. Ricordi assisted Walter Reed surgeons via the Internet in successfully infusing the isolated cells into Porfirio’s liver on Thanksgiving Day.
“It makes me feel good that while we are fighting to find a cure for a disease that affects 240 million worldwide, we can actually help one person at a time when the occasion presents itself,” said Dr. Ricordi.
“There’s no other patient in the world who has had their entire pancreas removed for trauma, survived, and had the pancreas islet cells put back in the liver and have them function 100 percent perfectly. Tre is not on any insulin. His sugars are normal. He really is a one-of-a-kind case,” stated Dr. Shriver.
At the Love and Hope Ball, Drs. Ricordi and Shriver were recognized for their efforts alongside Porfirio in front of an audience of DRI supporters, whose fundraising efforts over the past 36 years helped save this soldier from a life of diabetes.
Also apropos of this year’s theme, Love and Hope International Chairmen Linda and Barry Gibb announced their new American citizenship, something the music legend dreamed of when he was 17 years old.
“The Love and Hope Ball has had many different themes – all to raise money for the DRI. Tonight we give tribute to our country and our fighting men and women who allow us to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave,” Barry Gibb said. “The Diabetes Research Institute has come so far and is close to the defining moment when a cure is found. We salute the DRI and we salute our country, the United States of America.”
“Tre is the hero of the evening,” Dr. Ricordi added. “He risked his life in the war against terrorism, and it’s a miracle he is alive.”
An 88th Communication Squadron voice network systems technician wounded in action on November 21, 2009, one year ago in Afghanistan, died Nov. 28, 2010 Senior Airman Tre Porfirio passed away while visiting friends over the Thanksgiving holiday in Missouri. He was 22 years old.
Porfirio, who is from St. Marys, Ga., was assigned to a small base near the border with Pakistan when he was shot three times by an insurgent on Nov. 21, 2009. He underwent two surgeries in Afghanistan and one in Germany before he was brought to Washington.
Tuesday was a sad day at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, as air force men and women mourned the loss of a friend.
Senior Airman Tre Porfirio, who made national news after undergoing ground breaking surgery after an ambush in Afghanistan, died on Sunday. He was visiting family in Missouri over Thanksgiving weekend when he died suddenly.
In November, 2009 Porfirio was shot three times in the back. The attack took place in a very remote area of Afghanistan, where his unit was installing communications lines.
The bullets shattered Porfirio's stomach. In a ground breaking procedure considered a medical miracle, doctors removed his bullet ridden pancreas, and flew the organ to the University of Miami.
Doctors there harvested islet cells from the pancreas and transferred them to his liver. The procedure saved Porfirio from living life with a severe case of diabetes.
2 News interviewed Porfirio in March, 2010. He appeared to be recovering well from the surgery, but said he was still tired and in pain. He was looking forward to the birth of his son.
February 24, 2010 (Hollywood, FL) Three months ago, US Senior Airman Tre F. Porfirio was critically wounded after being struck from behind by three high velocity bullets while serving in Afghanistan. On February 13, Porfirio made an extraordinary trip from Washington, D.C., to Miami to appear before an awestruck crowd of 600 at the Love and Hope Ball benefiting the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) – the very organization that helped save him from a life with diabetes. The gala’s theme, “Honoring America,” was certainly most appropriate given the presence of a true war hero and the patriotic announcement of two of the DRI’s most notable supporters.
“I almost died – twice from loss of blood – and once from the problems with my pancreas,” said the 21-year-old Airman, whose entire abdominal cavity needed to be restructured. “I have a child on the way. That is all I could think about [when I was shot.] I thought I was done.”
Porfirio’s injuries occurred on November 21 in a remote area of Afghanistan. He was operated on twice in field hospitals and then air lifted to Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where he came under the care of Dr. Craig D. Shriver, chief of general surgery. Porfirio’s pancreas was damaged beyond repair, but removal of the organ would cause the most severe form of diabetes.
Walter Reed doctors then contacted the Diabetes Research Institute’s scientific director, Dr. Camillo Ricordi, who immediately agreed to help. The organ was removed and shipped from Washington, D.C., to Miami, where members of the DRI team spent six hours isolating the insulin-producing islet cells from the Airman’s pancreas.
Dr. Ricordi, a pioneer in the diabetes field, is world renowned for developing the method to isolate islets from the pancreas. The islets were flown back, and Dr. Ricordi assisted Walter Reed surgeons via the Internet in successfully infusing the isolated cells into Porfirio’s liver on Thanksgiving Day.
“It makes me feel good that while we are fighting to find a cure for a disease that affects 240 million worldwide, we can actually help one person at a time when the occasion presents itself,” said Dr. Ricordi.
“There’s no other patient in the world who has had their entire pancreas removed for trauma, survived, and had the pancreas islet cells put back in the liver and have them function 100 percent perfectly. Tre is not on any insulin. His sugars are normal. He really is a one-of-a-kind case,” stated Dr. Shriver.
At the Love and Hope Ball, Drs. Ricordi and Shriver were recognized for their efforts alongside Porfirio in front of an audience of DRI supporters, whose fundraising efforts over the past 36 years helped save this soldier from a life of diabetes.
Also apropos of this year’s theme, Love and Hope International Chairmen Linda and Barry Gibb announced their new American citizenship, something the music legend dreamed of when he was 17 years old.
“The Love and Hope Ball has had many different themes – all to raise money for the DRI. Tonight we give tribute to our country and our fighting men and women who allow us to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave,” Barry Gibb said. “The Diabetes Research Institute has come so far and is close to the defining moment when a cure is found. We salute the DRI and we salute our country, the United States of America.”
“Tre is the hero of the evening,” Dr. Ricordi added. “He risked his life in the war against terrorism, and it’s a miracle he is alive.”
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Army Pvt. Devon J. Harris
Remember Our Heroes
Army Pvt. Devon J. Harris, 24, of Mesquite, Texas
Pvt Harris was assigned to Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, at Ft. Polk, La.; died Nov. 27, 2010 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade.
A half-decorated Christmas tree stands in the Harris home. The family's holiday celebration was interrupted this weekend by a knock at the door.
Sorainya Harris must now face Christmas this year without her youngest son, Devon Harris. The 24-year-old Army private had been in Afghanistan only a month when a rocket-propelled grenade killed him.
"He wanted to make something of himself," she said. "He wanted to be a history teacher and thought that was the best way for him to go."
"I think the job he did, he enjoyed it," said Christopher Harris, Devon's brother. "Like I said, that was what he always talked about."
He joined the military only last year. But, for years, Harris had served others by volunteering at his church and his school, Skyline High School in Dallas.
Family members said he was a deep, thoughtful man who played the violin for years.
"He was like my best friend, always watched out for me," said Ashley Harris, his twin sister. "I trusted him with anything."
Now, at a time when they should be celebrating, silence fills the Harris home. "Its going to be empty, for sure," his mother said.
Harris joined the Army in August 2009. After training, he arrived at Fort Polk in December 2009 and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2010.
Harris's awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
Army Pvt. Devon J. Harris was killed in action on 11/27/10.
Army Pvt. Devon J. Harris, 24, of Mesquite, Texas
Pvt Harris was assigned to Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, at Ft. Polk, La.; died Nov. 27, 2010 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade.
A half-decorated Christmas tree stands in the Harris home. The family's holiday celebration was interrupted this weekend by a knock at the door.
Sorainya Harris must now face Christmas this year without her youngest son, Devon Harris. The 24-year-old Army private had been in Afghanistan only a month when a rocket-propelled grenade killed him.
"He wanted to make something of himself," she said. "He wanted to be a history teacher and thought that was the best way for him to go."
"I think the job he did, he enjoyed it," said Christopher Harris, Devon's brother. "Like I said, that was what he always talked about."
He joined the military only last year. But, for years, Harris had served others by volunteering at his church and his school, Skyline High School in Dallas.
Family members said he was a deep, thoughtful man who played the violin for years.
"He was like my best friend, always watched out for me," said Ashley Harris, his twin sister. "I trusted him with anything."
Now, at a time when they should be celebrating, silence fills the Harris home. "Its going to be empty, for sure," his mother said.
Harris joined the Army in August 2009. After training, he arrived at Fort Polk in December 2009 and deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in October 2010.
Harris's awards include the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Army Service Ribbon.
Army Pvt. Devon J. Harris was killed in action on 11/27/10.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Marine 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV
Remember Our Heroes
Marine 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV, 27, of Picayune, Miss.
1st Lt. Donnelly was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 25, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Friends and family said Marine Corps 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV always wanted to go into the military and fight for his country. He ended up giving his life in combat in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day for that ideal.
"He lived to serve his country, and he refused to just sit on the sidelines," said his sister, Melissa Donnelly Weed.
A release issued by the military base said Donnelly, a 27-year-old infantry officer from Picayune, was killed while conducting dismounted combat operations against enemy forces in the Helmand province Thursday. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
This was Donnelly's first combat deployment, officials said.
Picayune Mayor Ed Pinero said it's always hard to lose a hero and that his city extends its heartfelt condolences to Donnelly's family during their holiday tragedy.
"As a city we will do everything for the family that's within our power to ease this very trying time," he said. "There's never a good time for something like this, and it's even tougher during the holidays."
Donnelly accepted his commission into the Marine Corps June 16, 2008. His personal service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
The Donnelly family went Saturday to meet the Marine's remains at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del.
Officials from Camp Pendleton also stressed in the release issued Friday that they have lost one of their own family.
"The Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Division mourn the loss of 1st Lt. Donnelly," the release read. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
Weed said the loss was not just to the Marines, nor to Donnelly's immediate family, but to everyone he knew.
"Will was the best husband, son, brother, uncle and friend anyone had," said Weed. "He was totally committed to his wife Linsey, his family, his friends and his Marine Corps."
Pinero said Donnelly's sacrifice and that of all the men and women who fall in combat protecting our country's freedom should never be forgotten.
"We are proud of all of our soldiers and we're proud of him for the service he did for his country," Pinero said. "He made the ultimate sacrifice as a citizen of the United States of America."
Weed said her brother was proud to be a Marine and was known by all for his professionalism and caring spirit.
"He was respected by all who knew him and loved by everyone," she said. "He was always there for his family and friends, no matter what time or place. He will be missed by so many."
Marine 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV was killed in action on 11/25/10.
Marine 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV, 27, of Picayune, Miss.
1st Lt. Donnelly was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 25, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
Friends and family said Marine Corps 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV always wanted to go into the military and fight for his country. He ended up giving his life in combat in Afghanistan on Thanksgiving Day for that ideal.
"He lived to serve his country, and he refused to just sit on the sidelines," said his sister, Melissa Donnelly Weed.
A release issued by the military base said Donnelly, a 27-year-old infantry officer from Picayune, was killed while conducting dismounted combat operations against enemy forces in the Helmand province Thursday. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.
This was Donnelly's first combat deployment, officials said.
Picayune Mayor Ed Pinero said it's always hard to lose a hero and that his city extends its heartfelt condolences to Donnelly's family during their holiday tragedy.
"As a city we will do everything for the family that's within our power to ease this very trying time," he said. "There's never a good time for something like this, and it's even tougher during the holidays."
Donnelly accepted his commission into the Marine Corps June 16, 2008. His personal service awards include the Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, and Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
The Donnelly family went Saturday to meet the Marine's remains at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del.
Officials from Camp Pendleton also stressed in the release issued Friday that they have lost one of their own family.
"The Marines and sailors of the 1st Marine Division mourn the loss of 1st Lt. Donnelly," the release read. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family."
Weed said the loss was not just to the Marines, nor to Donnelly's immediate family, but to everyone he knew.
"Will was the best husband, son, brother, uncle and friend anyone had," said Weed. "He was totally committed to his wife Linsey, his family, his friends and his Marine Corps."
Pinero said Donnelly's sacrifice and that of all the men and women who fall in combat protecting our country's freedom should never be forgotten.
"We are proud of all of our soldiers and we're proud of him for the service he did for his country," Pinero said. "He made the ultimate sacrifice as a citizen of the United States of America."
Weed said her brother was proud to be a Marine and was known by all for his professionalism and caring spirit.
"He was respected by all who knew him and loved by everyone," she said. "He was always there for his family and friends, no matter what time or place. He will be missed by so many."
Marine 1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV was killed in action on 11/25/10.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Marine Lance Cpl. Arden J. Buenagua
Remember Our Heroes
Marine Lance Cpl. Arden J. Buenagua, 19, of San Jose, Calif.
LCpl Buenagua was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 24, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
A 19-year-old Marine from San Jose was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, less than two months after arriving in the country for his first combat deployment, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
Lance Cpl. Ardenjoseph A. Buenagua, a decorated engineer, enlisted in July 2009 and was assigned to the First Marine Division's First Combat Battalion at Camp Pendleton.
The Marines did not provide details of his death. Buenagua's decorations included a Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon and other honors for combat service.
Family members could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Buenagua used his iPhone to make his last post on his Facebook page on Sept. 30 "after a few days of traveling. we're finally gonna arrive in afghan today," he wrote.
His mother wrote in response, "Pray, pray, and pray always...and we're praying for ur SAFETY. GOD is always w/u all the time...luv u so much -- MOM :)"
On his Facebook profile page, Buenagua described himself as a gregarious young man who liked to make friends. He wrote, "Aj Buenagua better known as Arden. I like meeting people that are interested in things that I'm into and strange cats that are entertaining because that's just the way they are. I don't try to start anything with anyone ever and just don't like having 'beef'. But everything else I make friends pretty easily since I just start talking to people and if they like me they like me and if they don't then too bad right? But that's just the way it is."
He listed San Jose's Piedmont Hills High School and Independence High School as his Facebook networks.
One friend wrote on his Facebook wall: "Arden Joseph Buenagua, it's still unreal to me & everyone else.. :/ thankyou for everything you've done. thanks for the memories, love you. Rest In Paradise."
On the blogging site Tumblr, friends posted remembrances of the young soldier. "Rest in Paradise Arden Joseph Buenagua," one wrote. "You did your country, hometown, friends and family proud. You will never be forgotten." Another wrote: "R.I.P. Algebra 2 buddy." Morgan Cannon wrote: RIP Arden Joseph Buenagua. You were always upbeat and awesome to be around and you made even the longest days a little bit easier. You were a great friend and a great marine. God Bless you and your family. i will definitely miss you man..
From his guest book:
November 27, 2010: Arden, we your family is sooooo very proud of you! You risk your own life just to protect this country, you are now safe in the hands of our creator, may you also find peace in paradise!.. you will be missed but never forgotten. It's hard to accept that this had happened but who are we to question Him, don't worry about your mom we'll always be her to support her. We love u and Godbless... happy trip! ~ Geraldine, West Covina, California
November 27, 2010: I couldn't believe it, but now I have to face reality. You're really gone and there's nothing I can do to bring you back. Your friends, family and this country are very proud of you. This Thanksgiving and every other Thanksgiving, I will thank you for giving your life to protect us. I will never forget the memories we had when you were a poolee at RSS McKee. You will be missed, but never forgotten, my friend, my brother. <3 ~ Baby Ho, San Jose, California
November 26, 2010: My heart goes out to my coworker Veronica who lost her precious son Arden. A young man taken away to soon. We were just talking about you on Tuesday. Come to find out on Wednesday you passed away. Your mother was so happy talking about u Arden. She was so very proud of you. I know you will be watching over her and your two young brothers. Rest in Peace Arden... ~ Teresa, San Jose, California
Marine Lance Cpl. Arden J. Buenagua was killed in action on 11/24/10.
Marine Lance Cpl. Arden J. Buenagua, 19, of San Jose, Calif.
LCpl Buenagua was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.; died Nov. 24, 2010 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations.
A 19-year-old Marine from San Jose was killed Wednesday in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, less than two months after arriving in the country for his first combat deployment, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
Lance Cpl. Ardenjoseph A. Buenagua, a decorated engineer, enlisted in July 2009 and was assigned to the First Marine Division's First Combat Battalion at Camp Pendleton.
The Marines did not provide details of his death. Buenagua's decorations included a Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon and other honors for combat service.
Family members could not be reached for comment Thursday night.
Buenagua used his iPhone to make his last post on his Facebook page on Sept. 30 "after a few days of traveling. we're finally gonna arrive in afghan today," he wrote.
His mother wrote in response, "Pray, pray, and pray always...and we're praying for ur SAFETY. GOD is always w/u all the time...luv u so much -- MOM :)"
On his Facebook profile page, Buenagua described himself as a gregarious young man who liked to make friends. He wrote, "Aj Buenagua better known as Arden. I like meeting people that are interested in things that I'm into and strange cats that are entertaining because that's just the way they are. I don't try to start anything with anyone ever and just don't like having 'beef'. But everything else I make friends pretty easily since I just start talking to people and if they like me they like me and if they don't then too bad right? But that's just the way it is."
He listed San Jose's Piedmont Hills High School and Independence High School as his Facebook networks.
One friend wrote on his Facebook wall: "Arden Joseph Buenagua, it's still unreal to me & everyone else.. :/ thankyou for everything you've done. thanks for the memories, love you. Rest In Paradise."
On the blogging site Tumblr, friends posted remembrances of the young soldier. "Rest in Paradise Arden Joseph Buenagua," one wrote. "You did your country, hometown, friends and family proud. You will never be forgotten." Another wrote: "R.I.P. Algebra 2 buddy." Morgan Cannon wrote: RIP Arden Joseph Buenagua. You were always upbeat and awesome to be around and you made even the longest days a little bit easier. You were a great friend and a great marine. God Bless you and your family. i will definitely miss you man..
From his guest book:
November 27, 2010: Arden, we your family is sooooo very proud of you! You risk your own life just to protect this country, you are now safe in the hands of our creator, may you also find peace in paradise!.. you will be missed but never forgotten. It's hard to accept that this had happened but who are we to question Him, don't worry about your mom we'll always be her to support her. We love u and Godbless... happy trip! ~ Geraldine, West Covina, California
November 27, 2010: I couldn't believe it, but now I have to face reality. You're really gone and there's nothing I can do to bring you back. Your friends, family and this country are very proud of you. This Thanksgiving and every other Thanksgiving, I will thank you for giving your life to protect us. I will never forget the memories we had when you were a poolee at RSS McKee. You will be missed, but never forgotten, my friend, my brother. <3 ~ Baby Ho, San Jose, California
November 26, 2010: My heart goes out to my coworker Veronica who lost her precious son Arden. A young man taken away to soon. We were just talking about you on Tuesday. Come to find out on Wednesday you passed away. Your mother was so happy talking about u Arden. She was so very proud of you. I know you will be watching over her and your two young brothers. Rest in Peace Arden... ~ Teresa, San Jose, California
Marine Lance Cpl. Arden J. Buenagua was killed in action on 11/24/10.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Army Spc. William K. Middleton
Remember Our Heroes
Army Spc. William K. Middleton
26, of Norfolk, Va.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 22, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery.
Virginia soldier Spec. William K. 'Kyle' Middleton killed in Afghanistan
It was something of a surprise to Kyle Middleton's family when the handsome young Virginia man who had once been a soccer star decided to join the Army nearly two years ago. But then, he had always loved being part of a team.
"That family of soldiers - he loved that," said his stepmother, Diane Middleton, 51, of Amelia County. "He loved family. He really thrived in that kind of a family environment."
Spec. William K. Middleton, 26, known to friends and family as Kyle, was killed Monday when Afghan insurgents attacked his foot patrol in Kandahar province with a makeshift bomb, according to relatives and the military. Another member of his unit, Sgt. Sean M. Flannery of Pennsylvania, also was killed.
Friends and military officials said Middleton was a decorated infantryman who had attended high school in Chesterfield, Va. He received a bachelor's degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and studied film. He had a way of making those around him feel like they mattered.
"He was always genuinely interested in where you were at in life," said Bret Kelly, a fraternity brother. "He was one of those all-around good guys. There aren't many of those."
Middleton was also someone who followed several sports religiously and relished a good prank, according to friends and family. "He was very spontaneous. If he got an idea in his head, he would just do it," said his half brother, Zachary Middleton, 21.
A college roommate, Christian Parsons, 28, said visitors ventured at their risk to their ODU lair, knowing that if they fell asleep after a night of partying, they were liable to awake covered in goo from the kitchen or with a mustache or a unibrow drawn on their faces with marker. Middleton and his roommates could become so carried away with practical jokes that they were driven to sue one another for peace and draw up armistices agreements on notebook paper and tack them to their doors.
"If you didn't have that, you might be woken up with an electric guitar amp at full-up at 4 o'clock in the morning," said Parsons, who also was a member of Middleton's fraternity.
Until he joined the Army, the teams that Middleton loved most were those that played soccer. His family said Middleton played the sport from an early age and longed to play professionally until a knee injury slowed his play. One of the beneficiaries of his life insurance policy is the FC Richmond Soccer Club, for whose travel team "Magic" Middleton had played, his stepmother said.
When his father, Clarence "Hank" Middleton, suggested that he enlist in the National Guard to help pay for college, Kyle Middleton was opposed. After college, Middleton tended bar in Norfolk.
But Middleton's hunger for physical challenges, camaraderie and adventure led him to enlist in the Army in April 2009. Unable to find work in the movie industry, he was looking for something more disciplined and meaningful than tending bar.
"He never really pondered the 'what-if's.' I always knew that as a soldier, there was always a possibility he wouldn't come back, and he knew that," said Parsons, a Defense Department employee in Suffolk, Va.
When Middleton first arrived in Afghanistan, he sounded let down, telling friends and family he had been shipped to a place with nothing but sand and more waiting-around.
"He wanted to be one of the guys out there in the field. He wanted to be at the front," Parsons said.
Middleton had never sounded happier than when the family spoke to him the Saturday before his death. He was happy to be on patrols and in the middle of the action, his stepmother said.
"You could hear it in his voice: He was finally doing what he wanted to be doing over there," Diane Middleton said.
The military has not yet released details about his death but his mother, Marlene Blackburn, said he was on a foot patrol when a homemade bomb exploded nearby.
"He joined the Army because he liked being part of a team - he loved camaraderie," said Blackburn, speaking by phone Tuesday night from Richmond. "And he wanted colorful stories to tell his grandchildren."
Blackburn said her son was an accomplished soccer player. As a boy he traveled all over for tournaments, including to Holland when he was 12. During his junior year at ODU, he studied abroad and played soccer in England.
"After soccer, I think he missed being part of a team," Blackburn said. "He decided the Army was what he wanted, and he's the kind of person who always follows through. So he did it."
He wasn't married. He had one sibling, a half brother, his mother said.
She said she last spoke to her son Saturday. "He said he'd just gotten the package I sent," Blackburn said. "He sounded good - happy."
Middleton, along with Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery of Wyomissing, Pa., died Nov. 22 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device while they were patrolling the village of Ghotamudkha. Both men were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Middleton's body was brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday at Morrissett Funeral Home in Richmondd.
Kyle Middleton is to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, although final arrangements have not been made.
Middleton, who used his middle name Kyle, joined the Army in April 2009 and is survived by his father, Clarence Middleton of Amelia, Va., his mother, Marlene Blackburn of Richmond, Va. and a half brother Zachary Middleton, 21, also of Virginia.
Army Spc. William K. Middleton was killed in action on 11/22/10.
Army Spc. William K. Middleton
26, of Norfolk, Va.; assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 22, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery.
Virginia soldier Spec. William K. 'Kyle' Middleton killed in Afghanistan
It was something of a surprise to Kyle Middleton's family when the handsome young Virginia man who had once been a soccer star decided to join the Army nearly two years ago. But then, he had always loved being part of a team.
"That family of soldiers - he loved that," said his stepmother, Diane Middleton, 51, of Amelia County. "He loved family. He really thrived in that kind of a family environment."
Spec. William K. Middleton, 26, known to friends and family as Kyle, was killed Monday when Afghan insurgents attacked his foot patrol in Kandahar province with a makeshift bomb, according to relatives and the military. Another member of his unit, Sgt. Sean M. Flannery of Pennsylvania, also was killed.
Friends and military officials said Middleton was a decorated infantryman who had attended high school in Chesterfield, Va. He received a bachelor's degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where he joined the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity and studied film. He had a way of making those around him feel like they mattered.
"He was always genuinely interested in where you were at in life," said Bret Kelly, a fraternity brother. "He was one of those all-around good guys. There aren't many of those."
Middleton was also someone who followed several sports religiously and relished a good prank, according to friends and family. "He was very spontaneous. If he got an idea in his head, he would just do it," said his half brother, Zachary Middleton, 21.
A college roommate, Christian Parsons, 28, said visitors ventured at their risk to their ODU lair, knowing that if they fell asleep after a night of partying, they were liable to awake covered in goo from the kitchen or with a mustache or a unibrow drawn on their faces with marker. Middleton and his roommates could become so carried away with practical jokes that they were driven to sue one another for peace and draw up armistices agreements on notebook paper and tack them to their doors.
"If you didn't have that, you might be woken up with an electric guitar amp at full-up at 4 o'clock in the morning," said Parsons, who also was a member of Middleton's fraternity.
Until he joined the Army, the teams that Middleton loved most were those that played soccer. His family said Middleton played the sport from an early age and longed to play professionally until a knee injury slowed his play. One of the beneficiaries of his life insurance policy is the FC Richmond Soccer Club, for whose travel team "Magic" Middleton had played, his stepmother said.
When his father, Clarence "Hank" Middleton, suggested that he enlist in the National Guard to help pay for college, Kyle Middleton was opposed. After college, Middleton tended bar in Norfolk.
But Middleton's hunger for physical challenges, camaraderie and adventure led him to enlist in the Army in April 2009. Unable to find work in the movie industry, he was looking for something more disciplined and meaningful than tending bar.
"He never really pondered the 'what-if's.' I always knew that as a soldier, there was always a possibility he wouldn't come back, and he knew that," said Parsons, a Defense Department employee in Suffolk, Va.
When Middleton first arrived in Afghanistan, he sounded let down, telling friends and family he had been shipped to a place with nothing but sand and more waiting-around.
"He wanted to be one of the guys out there in the field. He wanted to be at the front," Parsons said.
Middleton had never sounded happier than when the family spoke to him the Saturday before his death. He was happy to be on patrols and in the middle of the action, his stepmother said.
"You could hear it in his voice: He was finally doing what he wanted to be doing over there," Diane Middleton said.
The military has not yet released details about his death but his mother, Marlene Blackburn, said he was on a foot patrol when a homemade bomb exploded nearby.
"He joined the Army because he liked being part of a team - he loved camaraderie," said Blackburn, speaking by phone Tuesday night from Richmond. "And he wanted colorful stories to tell his grandchildren."
Blackburn said her son was an accomplished soccer player. As a boy he traveled all over for tournaments, including to Holland when he was 12. During his junior year at ODU, he studied abroad and played soccer in England.
"After soccer, I think he missed being part of a team," Blackburn said. "He decided the Army was what he wanted, and he's the kind of person who always follows through. So he did it."
He wasn't married. He had one sibling, a half brother, his mother said.
She said she last spoke to her son Saturday. "He said he'd just gotten the package I sent," Blackburn said. "He sounded good - happy."
Middleton, along with Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery of Wyomissing, Pa., died Nov. 22 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device while they were patrolling the village of Ghotamudkha. Both men were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Middleton's body was brought to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday. Funeral services are scheduled for Sunday at Morrissett Funeral Home in Richmondd.
Kyle Middleton is to be interred at Arlington National Cemetery, although final arrangements have not been made.
Middleton, who used his middle name Kyle, joined the Army in April 2009 and is survived by his father, Clarence Middleton of Amelia, Va., his mother, Marlene Blackburn of Richmond, Va. and a half brother Zachary Middleton, 21, also of Virginia.
Army Spc. William K. Middleton was killed in action on 11/22/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery
Remember Our Heroes
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery, 29, of Wyomissing, Pa.
SSgt Flannery was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 22, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Spc. William K. Middleton.
Bronze Star recipient, 29, had also served in Iraq
A soldier from Wyomissing was killed by a roadside bomb while he was on patrol with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, his family said Tuesday.
Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery, a squad leader, was in a vehicle on patrol Monday in Kandahar province near the Zhari District Station, where he was based, when he was killed by an improvised explosive device, according to his mother, Charlene "Charlie" Flannery.
She was notified of her son's death by two soldiers who knocked on the door of her Wyomissing home Monday.
She said the soldiers told her that a number of other soldiers were injured in the blast but that no one else was killed.
It was the 29-year-old Flannery's fourth tour of duty, his mother said, following two stints in Iraq and another in Afghanistan with both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
Flannery, who earned the Bronze Star, had never been injured in combat. However, his mother said he had been worried in recent months as combat operations heated up in the volatile Taliban stronghold where he was stationed.
"It's been especially bad the past two months when he lost both his best friend and platoon sergeant," Charlene Flannery said. "I last talked to him on the telephone on Friday and he sounded concerned about the unit and every body's safety.
"I'm not sure if I should say this, but he told me he might not make it home."
Charlene Flannery said Sean joined the Army in 2004, a year after he graduated from Shippensburg University. He graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1999.
His father served in Vietnam.
"He was not sure what direction to take in life and thought long and hard about the Army," she said.
Her late husband and Sean's father, attorney Michael F. Flannery, was an Army veteran with the 82nd Airborne and had earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam.
"They had a little bit of a legacy here," Charlene Flannery said.
One of Sean's two younger brothers, Brian, is a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne based at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was in Afghanistan for a year and returned to the U.S. in September. On Tuesday, he was on his way home to Wyomissing.
"They both said this is a different kind of war (in Afghanistan) and was more fierce and intense; more evil," Charlene Flannery said. "The enemy has evolved in their tactics."
The mother feared for the safety of both her sons while they were in combat.
"It was a daily fear," she said. "I had angst you could not escape. I lived with it every day."
Then on Monday came the moment she had dreaded for years.
'I'm extremely proud of him'
"I kept saying to him, 'Please don't let me go to the front door and see two uniformed officers.' And that's what happened yesterday (Monday)," Charlene Flannery said.
She always ended their conversations with the warning: "Stay safe."
"He was getting fearful because the fighting was getting so fierce," she said. "But he was a very dedicated and intelligent soldier.
"I am extremely proud of him and his brother for what they've done."
Sean Flannery's body is scheduled to arrive this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
"I hope people stop and think about the sacrifices our young men and women are making, and hopefully this war will end very soon," Charlene Flannery said. "It needs to end very soon."
She said Sean was "a wonderful young man, tall and handsome and dedicated to whatever task he took on."
He believed in the Army creed, she said, and used common sense to keep the soldiers serving under him safe.
"We don't expect to have to bury our children," Charlene Flannery said. "I expected to live to a very old age and be buried by them. I had to bury my husband seven years ago and didn't expect I'd have to do this for one of my sons."
She said support from her family, friends, neighbors, church and co-workers strengthen her. And, she said, she needs to remain strong for her two surviving sons.
Staff Sgt. Sean Michael Flannery was due home in less than a month. He was to marry Chrissy Martin of Raleigh, North Carolina over the Christmas holidays. Now, instead of a wedding, his heartbroken family is making funeral plans after Staff Sgt. Flannery and Spc. Middleton were killed by a bomb while on a foot patrol.
Staff Sgt. Sean Flannery is survived by his mother, Charlene Flannery, two brothers Sgt. Brian P. Flannery and Devin J. Flannery and fiance, Chrissy Martin of Raleigh, NC.
He was preceded in death by his father Michael F. Flannery.
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery was killed in action on 11/22/10.
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery, 29, of Wyomissing, Pa.
SSgt Flannery was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Nov. 22, 2010 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Also killed was Army Spc. William K. Middleton.
Bronze Star recipient, 29, had also served in Iraq
A soldier from Wyomissing was killed by a roadside bomb while he was on patrol with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, his family said Tuesday.
Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery, a squad leader, was in a vehicle on patrol Monday in Kandahar province near the Zhari District Station, where he was based, when he was killed by an improvised explosive device, according to his mother, Charlene "Charlie" Flannery.
She was notified of her son's death by two soldiers who knocked on the door of her Wyomissing home Monday.
She said the soldiers told her that a number of other soldiers were injured in the blast but that no one else was killed.
It was the 29-year-old Flannery's fourth tour of duty, his mother said, following two stints in Iraq and another in Afghanistan with both the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions.
Flannery, who earned the Bronze Star, had never been injured in combat. However, his mother said he had been worried in recent months as combat operations heated up in the volatile Taliban stronghold where he was stationed.
"It's been especially bad the past two months when he lost both his best friend and platoon sergeant," Charlene Flannery said. "I last talked to him on the telephone on Friday and he sounded concerned about the unit and every body's safety.
"I'm not sure if I should say this, but he told me he might not make it home."
Charlene Flannery said Sean joined the Army in 2004, a year after he graduated from Shippensburg University. He graduated from Wyomissing High School in 1999.
His father served in Vietnam.
"He was not sure what direction to take in life and thought long and hard about the Army," she said.
Her late husband and Sean's father, attorney Michael F. Flannery, was an Army veteran with the 82nd Airborne and had earned a Bronze Star in Vietnam.
"They had a little bit of a legacy here," Charlene Flannery said.
One of Sean's two younger brothers, Brian, is a sergeant with the 82nd Airborne based at Fort Bragg, N.C. He was in Afghanistan for a year and returned to the U.S. in September. On Tuesday, he was on his way home to Wyomissing.
"They both said this is a different kind of war (in Afghanistan) and was more fierce and intense; more evil," Charlene Flannery said. "The enemy has evolved in their tactics."
The mother feared for the safety of both her sons while they were in combat.
"It was a daily fear," she said. "I had angst you could not escape. I lived with it every day."
Then on Monday came the moment she had dreaded for years.
'I'm extremely proud of him'
"I kept saying to him, 'Please don't let me go to the front door and see two uniformed officers.' And that's what happened yesterday (Monday)," Charlene Flannery said.
She always ended their conversations with the warning: "Stay safe."
"He was getting fearful because the fighting was getting so fierce," she said. "But he was a very dedicated and intelligent soldier.
"I am extremely proud of him and his brother for what they've done."
Sean Flannery's body is scheduled to arrive this afternoon at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
"I hope people stop and think about the sacrifices our young men and women are making, and hopefully this war will end very soon," Charlene Flannery said. "It needs to end very soon."
She said Sean was "a wonderful young man, tall and handsome and dedicated to whatever task he took on."
He believed in the Army creed, she said, and used common sense to keep the soldiers serving under him safe.
"We don't expect to have to bury our children," Charlene Flannery said. "I expected to live to a very old age and be buried by them. I had to bury my husband seven years ago and didn't expect I'd have to do this for one of my sons."
She said support from her family, friends, neighbors, church and co-workers strengthen her. And, she said, she needs to remain strong for her two surviving sons.
Staff Sgt. Sean Michael Flannery was due home in less than a month. He was to marry Chrissy Martin of Raleigh, North Carolina over the Christmas holidays. Now, instead of a wedding, his heartbroken family is making funeral plans after Staff Sgt. Flannery and Spc. Middleton were killed by a bomb while on a foot patrol.
Staff Sgt. Sean Flannery is survived by his mother, Charlene Flannery, two brothers Sgt. Brian P. Flannery and Devin J. Flannery and fiance, Chrissy Martin of Raleigh, NC.
He was preceded in death by his father Michael F. Flannery.
Army Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery was killed in action on 11/22/10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)