In Memoriam

[Grace]

From 1967 - and the Vietnam conflict -

Air Force Pilot Missing In Action From Vietnam War Is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial.

Air Force Maj. Russell C. Goodman of Salt Lake City, Utah, will be honored this week at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., home of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbird demonstration team. At the time of his loss, Goodman was assigned to the Thunderbirds and was flying with the U.S. Navy on an exchange program. He will be buried in Alaska at a date determined by his family.

On Feb. 20, 1967, Goodman and Navy Lt. Gary L. Thornton took off in their F-4B Phantom from the USS Enterprise for a bombing mission against a railroad yard in Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. They were struck by enemy antiaircraft fire and their plane exploded. Thornton was able to eject at just 250 feet altitude, but Goodman did not escape. Thornton survived and was held captive until his release in 1973.

Search and rescue attempts were curtailed because of heavy anti-aircraft and automatic weapons fire in the area of the crash.

Between October 1993 and March 2008, joint U.S.-Vietnamese teams led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) investigated the crash site twice and conducted two excavations, recovering human remains and pilot equipment. The aircraft debris recovered correlates with the type of aircraft the men were flying.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched two of his maternal relatives -- in the identification of Goodman’s remains.

[Grace]

FRANCE

11 January 2010

Staff Sgt. Mathieu Toinette, 27, of Reunion, France.
402e Régiment d'Artillerie (402nd Artillery Regiment), assigned to a French Operational Mentoring Liaison Team

Killed when a joint French-Afghan National Army patrol was attacked during a foot patrol in the village of Alasay, Kapisa province, Afghanistan, on January 11, 2010. Another soldier wounded in the attack died the next day.

[Grace]

FRANCE

12 January 2010

Capt. Fabrice Roullier, 39, Caen, France
1e Brigade Mécanisée (1st Mechanized Brigade), assigned to a French Operational Mentoring Liaison Team

Died on January 12, 2010, of wounds suffered when a joint French-Afghan National Army patrol was attacked during a foot patrol in the village of Alasay, Kapisa province, Afghanistan, on January 11, 2010. Another French soldier was killed in the attack.

[Grace]

11 January 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of three Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.



The following Marines died Jan. 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Staff Sgt. Matthew N. Ingham, 25, of Altoona, Pa.

Cpl. Jamie R. Lowe, 21, of Johnsonville, Ill.

Cpl. Nicholas K. Uzenski, 21, of Tomball, Texas.

Ingham, Lowe and Uzenski were assigned to 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

[Grace]

UNITED KINGDOM

11 January 2010

Capt. Daniel Read, 31, Rainham, Kent, England
821 Squadron, 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on January 11, 2010

[Grace]

13 January 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Spc. Kyle J. Wright, 22, of Romeoville, Ill., died Jan. 13 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier that day when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Kandahar province. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

[Grace]

14 January 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Christopher R. Hrbek, 25, of Westwood, N.J., died Jan. 14 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

13 January 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Lucas T. Beachnaw, 23, of Lowell, Mich., died Jan. 13 in Darya Ya, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Italy.

[Grace]

Suicide report -

Army Releases December Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of December. Among active-duty soldiers, there were ten potential suicides: one has been confirmed as suicide, and nine remain under investigation. For November, the Army reported 11 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, three have been confirmed as suicides, and eight remain under investigation.

There were 160 reported active-duty Army suicides during 2009. Of these, 114 have been confirmed, and 46 are pending determination of manner of death. During 2008, there were 140 suicides among active-duty soldiers.

During December 2009, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were six potential suicides. For the year 2009, among that same group, there were 78 total suicides. Of those, 49 were confirmed as suicides and 29 are pending determination of the manner of death. For 2008, there were 57 suicides among reserve soldiers who were not on active duty.

[phesina]

Oh, my God.

[gini]

May God grant peace to all of their souls.

[Grace]

16 January 2010

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — “A career soldier” and “family man” from Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., has become the first Canadian killed in action in Afghanistan in 2010.

Sgt. John Wayne Faught, from the Edmonton-based 1 Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, stepped on a homemade landmine early Saturday afternoon while leading his section on a joint foot patrol with Afghan army troops, about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City.

The 44-year-old infantryman died near the village of Nakhoney in Panjwaii District, which Canadian forces seized from Taliban-control without a fight late last year. The security patrol he led was to learn more about what villagers needed to build the local economy.

Faught was “affectionately known to his soldiers” as Toast “because, in his words, he was hard and crusty (and) was known for his straightforward approach to soldiering,” Brig.-Gen. Daniel Menard, the Canadian Task Force commander said in announcing the death.

“He could always be counted on to tell it like it is when asked his opinion. A career soldier, his life revolved around the army.”

[Grace]

13 January 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 13 at Combat Outpost McClain, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 118th Military Police Company (Airborne), 503rd Military Police Battalion (Airborne), 16th Military Police Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Daniel D. Merriweather, 25, of Collierville Tenn.

Pfc. Geoffrey A. Whitsitt, 21, of Taylors, S.C.

[Grace]

UNITED KINGDOM

15 January 2010

Cpl. Lee Brownson, 30, Bishop Auckland, England
Rifleman Luke Farmer, 19, Pontefract, West Yorkshire, England

Company A, 3rd Battalion, The Rifles

Two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated while on patrol near Sangin in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on January 15, 2010

[Grace]

31 December 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Anton R. Phillips, 31, of Inglewood, Calif., died Dec. 31, 2009, at Forward Operating Base Methar Lam, Afghanistan. He was assigned to G Forward Support Company, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Task Force Wildhorse, Forward Operating Base Methar Lam, Afghanistan.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.