In Memoriam

[Grace]

21 June 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Brandon M. Silk, 25, of Orono, Maine, died June 21 of injuries sustained when the helicopter in which he was travelling made a hard landing. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

30 June 2010


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

Spc. Matthew R. Hennigan, 20, of Las Vegas, Nev., died June 30 at Forward Operating Base Shank, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered earlier in Tangi Valley, Afghanistan when enemy forces attacked his unit with machine gun fire. He was assigned to 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany.

[Grace]

1 July 2010



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

Cpl. Larry D. Harris Jr., 24, of Thornton, Colo., died July 1 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Are we so complacent about life right now? Because there is no draft, we don't necessarily have to worry that our son, daughter, grandson, etc might have to go to war.

I'm so angry with those in power. We elected those who said they would end the war - yeah, right :(

I agree completely with you Grace - both on disappointment with those elected to end the war and why we are so complacent. I think bring back the draft - for young men and young women and you would see a different attitude.

One doesn't have to be a "military expert" to see a difference in wars. What would a "win" look like in Iraq or Afghanistan? The same with Vietnam. In WWII - victory - the objective was clearly defined - end the Nazi regime and defeat Japan. We knew where we were going and so could know how to get there.

When the "victory" is ill-defined or undefined - how do you get there?

War, business, education - you name it. You have to know the destination.

We don't.

[Daisy and Delilah]

It was one year ago tonight when I started this topic. 75 pages, 744 posts later, we are no closer to the end of war.

Why do we think we can accomplish what many have tried before? Alexander the Great, the British and Russians - they could not win in Afghanistan.

So we keep sending our young men and women (and some not so young) to that God-forsaken country. For what - to come home in a flag-draped box?

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

I am in total agreement, Gretchen. :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Grace]

This just blows my mind - after all this time . . . . .

WWII


Seven Missing WWII Airmen Identified

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of seven servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Capt. Joseph M. Olbinski, Chicago; 1st Lt. Joseph J. Auld, Floral Park, N.Y.; 1st Lt. Robert M. Anderson, Millen, Ga.; Tech. Sgt. Clarence E. Frantz, Tyrone, Penn.; Pfc. Richard M. Dawson, Haynesville, Va.; Pvt. Robert L. Crane, Sacramento, Calif.; and Pvt. Fred G. Fagan, Piedmont, Ala., were identified and all are to be interred July 15 in Arlington National Cemetery.

On May 23, 1944, the men were aboard a C-47A Skytrain that departed Dinjan, India, on an airdrop mission to resupply Allied forces near Myitkyina, Burma. When the crew failed to return, air and ground searches found no evidence of the aircraft along the intended flight path.

In late 2002, a missionary provided U.S. officials a data plate from a C-47 crash site approximately 31 miles northwest of Myitkyina. In 2003, a Burmese citizen turned over human remains and identification tags for three of the crew members.

A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team excavated the crash site in 2003 and 2004, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment—including an identification tag for Dawson.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of some of the crewmembers’ families – as well as dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

[Grace]

England



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that a Royal Marine was killed in southern Afghanistan yesterday, Thursday 1 July 2010. Next of kin have been informed.

At the request of the next of kin, no further information will be released at this time.

[Grace]

30 June 2010



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

Sgt. 1st Class Kristopher D. Chapleau, 33, of LaGrange, Ky., died June 30 at Forward Operating Base Blessing, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

2 July 2010


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

Spc. Morganne M. McBeth, 19, of Fredricksburg, Va., died July 2 in Al Asad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related incident in Khan Al Baghdadi, Iraq. She was assigned to the 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

2 July 2010



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

Sgt. Johnny W. Lumpkin, 38, of Columbus, Ga., died July 2 in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained July 1 in a non-combat related equipment incident in Taji, Iraq. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga

[Grace]

1 July 2010



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

Pfc. Ryan J. Grady, 25, of Bristow, Okla., died July 1 at Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised-explosive device. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Bradford, Vt.

[Grace]

9 June 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Capt David A. Wisniewski, 31, of Moville, Iowa, died July 2 of wounds sustained June 9 in a helicopter crash near Forward Operating Base Jackson, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 66th Rescue Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

[Grace]

5 July 2010


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

Spc. Louis R. Fastuca, 24, of West Chester, Pa., died July 5 at Abdulhamid Kalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Camp Ederle, Italy.

[Grace]

4 July 2010



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

Spc. Clayton D. McGarrah, 20, of Harrison, Ark., died July 4 at Arghandab, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device and rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

2 July 2010



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

Pfc. David Jefferson, 23, of Philadelphia, died July 2 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

2 July 2010


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

Sgt. Jordan E. Tuttle , 22, of West Monroe, La., died July 2 at Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. He was a member of the 156th Army Band in Bossier City, La., and was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 141st Field Artillery Regiment, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New Orleans, La.

[Grace]

England



Trooper James Anthony Leverett

From: Sheffield, England
Age: 20
Unit: 1st Troop, D (The Green Horse) Squadron, The Viking Group, The Royal Dragoon Guards
Died: July 5, 2010

Killed when his Viking armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

World War I




Soldier Missing In Action from World War I Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War I, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Pvt. Thomas D. Costello of New York, N.Y., will be buried on July 12 at Arlington National Cemetery.

On Sept. 16, 1918, as part of the 60th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, Costello encountered heavy enemy artillery barrage and machine gun fire near Jaulny, France, in a wooded area known as Bois de Bonvaux. He was killed during the battle and his remains were buried with two other soldiers in a wooded area between Bois de Bonvaux and Bois de Grand Fontaine.

Attempts to locate Costello’s remains by Army Graves Registration personnel following the war were unsuccessful. In September 2006, French nationals hunting for metal in the area found human remains and World War I artifacts. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team, operating near the location, was notified of the discovery and recovered human remains upon excavating the site.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC laboratory also used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

[Grace]

5 July 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to 1st Squadron, 71st Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

Killed were:

Pfc. Edwin C. Wood, 18, of Omaha, Neb.

Staff Sgt. Christopher F. Cabacoy, 30, of Virginia Beach, Va.

[Grace]

England



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Private Thomas Sephton, 20, 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment, who died in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, on Monday 5 July 2010, of wounds sustained during service in Afghanistan.

Private Sephton had been in Afghanistan serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (North) when he was wounded in an explosion whilst on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Sunday 4 July.

His patrol was providing protection for the clearance of a road in the Upper Gereshk Valley. Pte Sephton received treatment on site and later at Camp Bastion before being flown to the UK for further treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham where he succumbed to his injuries.

[Grace]

4 July 2010



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

Sgt. Andrew J. Creighton, 23, of Laurel, Del., died July 4 in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained on July 1 while conducting combat operations in Oruzgan province. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

3 July 2010



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

Pfc. Jacob A. Dennis, 22, of Powder Springs, Ga., died July 3 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries sustained June 30 in a weapons system accident at Forward Operating Base Lane, Afghanistan (Zabul province).

He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

5 July 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 5 in Yakuta, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Armor Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Killed were:

Spc. Keenan A. Cooper, 19, of Wahpeton, N.D.

Spc. Jerod H. Osborne, 20, of Royse City, Texas.

[Grace]

6 July 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 6 at Qalat, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, Hohenfels, Germany.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Marc A. Arizmendez, 30, of Anaheim, Calif.

Spc. Roger Lee, 26, of Monterey, Calif.

Pfc. Michael S. Pridham, 19, of Louisville, Ky.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Bombardier Samuel Joseph Robinson, 31, from Carmarthen, Wales, 5th Regiment Royal Artillery, was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday 8 July 2010.

Bombardier Robinson was serving in support of Combined Force Sangin, and died in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Sangin District of Helmand Province.

This was his 4th tour to Afghanistan.

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Templates/GenerateThumbnail.aspx?imageURL=/NR/rdonlyres/6D28819C-A2CB-4B18-B2A6-87BF1F356F7F/0/Picture_002.jpg&maxSize=210

[Daisy and Delilah]

When is this going to end??? :mad: :mad: :mad: :( :( :(

[Grace]

France



Staff Sgt. Laurent Mosic
From: France
Age: 38
Unit: 13e Régiment du Génie (13th Engineer Regiment)
Died: July 6, 2010

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a route clearance mission in the Sherkhel region of Kapisa province, Afghanistan,Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a route clearance mission in the Sherkhel region of Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

8 July 2010



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

Pfc. Anthony W. Simmons, 25, of Tallahassee, Fla., died July 8 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

10 July 2010



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

Spc. Robert W. Crow, 42, of Kansas City, Mo., died July 10 in Paktika, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 203rd Engineer Battalion, Joplin, Mo.

[Grace]

10 July 2010



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

Spc. Joseph W. Dimock II, 21, of Wildwood, Ill, died July 10 in Salerno, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident when an explosion occurred in an ammunition holding facility during an inventory. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

[Grace]

10 July 2010


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

Sgt. Donald R. Edgerton, 33, of Murphy, N.C., died July 10 near Char Dara, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

10 July 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Jesse W. Ainsworth, 24, of Dayton, Texas, died July 10 near Walakan, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

England



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Marine David Charles Hart from 40 Commando Royal Marines was killed in Afghanistan on Thursday 8 July 2010.

Marine Hart was serving as part of Combined Force Sangin and was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Sangin District of Helmand Province.

Marine David Charles Hart was born in York, North Yorkshire and was 23 years old and lived with his family in Upper Poppleton.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I have the most empty feeling every time I read about these fallen soldiers. I am still in shock that this utter nonsense is still going on. WHY???:(

[Grace]

When is this going to end??? :mad: :mad: :mad: :( :( :(

I'm beginning to think - not in my lifetime :(

[Grace]

11 July 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Antonik, 29, of Crystal Lake, Ill., died July 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

9 July 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Daniel G. Raney, 21, of Pleasant View, Tenn., died July 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

10 July 2010



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

Lance Cpl. Tyler A. Roads, 20, of Burney, Calif., died July 10 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

This incident is under investigation.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I'm beginning to think - not in my lifetime :(

I have to agree with you, Gretchen.:(

[Grace]

10 July 2010




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

Spc. Carlos J. Negron, 40, of Fort Meyers, Fla., died July 10 at Asadabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered at Konar, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his unit with rifle and small arms fire. He was assigned to 426th Forward Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

12 July 2010


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

Pfc. Nathaniel D. Garvin, 20, of Radcliff, Ky., died July 12 at Forward Operating Base Frontenac, Afghanistan (Kandahar, Afghanistan), of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 96th Aviation Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Puckstop31]

We should fight to win, or go home.


That said, being a combat vet, I do not think these men and women would want us to mourn their death. Rather we should celebrate their sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.

The oath:

"I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God. "

Gretchen is doing a great thing with this thread. Thank you.

If we want to discuss the politics of the conflicts, it probably should be in he DH, yes? Of couse, I have opinions to offer. LOL

[lizbud]

Gretchen is doing a great thing with this thread. Thank you.





If you want to respect the dead, this is all that needs be said here.

[cassiesmom]

11 July 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Christopher J. Antonik, 29, of Crystal Lake, Ill., died July 11 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

There was a nice piece on the news last night about this man and another soldier from the north suburbs who were recently killed in the Middle East. It was the third story from the beginning and talked about how Sgt. Antonik wanted to serve in the military and was happy when he received this particular assignment (special ops). I think people in the Chicago area support the troops whether they agree with the war or not. Gary Sinise speaks out about soldiers and families and does a lot to help raise awareness and support for them. He's from Chicago and a well-known actor, does a great job of keeping the message alive.

Thank you, Grace for this thread, I look at it almost every day.

[Grace]

13 July 2010


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

Spc. Christopher J. Moon, 20, of Tucson, Ariz., died July 13 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device on July 6 in Arghandab, Afghanistan.

He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

Thank you liz and Elyse.

[phesina]

I look at this thread every day, and I also want to say: Thank you, Gretchen.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I have not said thank you enough, Gretchen. Thanks a million for doing this. It's an incredible thing to keep this thread going. Awesome job!!

[Grace]

10 July 2010


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

Sgt. Shaun M. Mittler, 32, of Austin, Texas, died July 10 in Konar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit using rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fires. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Major James Joshua Bowman, Lieutenant Neal Turkington and Corporal Arjun Purja Pun from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles who were killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 13 July 2010.

The three soldiers, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South), were killed in a suspected premeditated attack by a member of the Afghan National Army.



Major Josh Bowman was 34 years old and from Salisbury. He started his career in the British Army as a rifle platoon commander in B Company 1st Battalion The Light Infantry having commissioned from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1999.



Lieutenant Neal Turkington was born in Craigavon in Northern Ireland and was soon to celebrate his 27th birthday.

After graduating from Imperial College London he attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst from 2007.


Corporal Arjun Purja Pun was 33 years old and was raised and recruited from Khibang village in the Magdi District in Nepal.

He passed the notoriously gruelling Gurkha selection process and was enlisted into the British Army on 30 January 1995.

His career was varied and successful and he was a hugely popular soldier wherever he served

[Grace]

Australia


Pvt. Nathan Bewes

From: Kogarah, New South Wales
Age: 23
Unit: 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment
Died: July 9, 2010

Died of wounds sustained in a roadside bomb attack in the Chora Valley region of Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

For all the mothers out there -

http://abcnews.go.com/International/Afghanistan/mom-recognized-dying-sons-hand-afghanistan-news-video/story?id=11149916

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Marine Matthew Harrison from 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 13 July 2010, the day before his 24th birthday.

During the early evening of Tuesday 13 July 2010, Marine Harrison's unit, Charlie Company, was conducting a joint reassurance patrol with the local Afghan National Army, south of Patrol Base Seylab Doo.

At 1805 hrs local time, the patrol was engaged with small arms fire. Marine Harrison was mortally wounded in the attack. He was evacuated to Camp Bastion Role Three Hospital where he died of his wounds.

[Grace]

14 July 2010


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

Pvt. Brandon M. King, 23, of Tallahassee, Fla., died July 14 at Combat Outpost Nolen, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

From the DOD website -


The Army released suicide data today for the month of June. Among active duty soldiers, there were 21 potential suicides: one was confirmed as a suicide, and 20 remain under investigation. For May, the Army reported 10 potential suicides among active duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, four have been confirmed as suicides, and six remain under investigation.

During June 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 11 potential suicides: one was confirmed as suicide, and 10 remain under investigation. For May, among that same group, there were 13 total suicides. Of those, two were confirmed as suicides and 11 are pending determination of the manner of death.

For reference, the Army's total for the first half of calendar year 2009 was 88 for active duty and 42 for reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty. For the first half of 2010, the totals were 80 for active duty and 65 for reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty.

“Our suicide prevention efforts must continue to be directed at all members of the Army family – our soldiers, Department of the Army civilians and families – during the busy summertime transition period,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, director, Army Suicide Prevention Task Force. “The crucial elements are still caring, concern and decisive leadership. There will never be a substitute for a noncommissioned officer, first-line supervisor or friend who knows when a person is suffering and has the moral courage to act and get that individual the help they need. That ability to make a positive difference is the best method to render effective suicide prevention in the Army,” Philbrick said.

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

[Grace]

England


From the British Department of Defence - guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Appropriately posted in the Dog House.

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/PeopleInDefence/ModPoliceWelcomeNewFourleggedRecruits.htm

[Grace]

13 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 13 in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with rifle, rocket propelled grenade, and small arms fire.

Killed were:

1st Lt. Christopher S. Goeke, 23,of Minn.

Staff Sgt. Christopher T. Stout, 34, of Worthville, Ky.

Staff Sgt. Sheldon L. Tate, 27, of Hinesville, Ga.

1st Lt. Goeke and Staff Sgt. Stout were assigned to 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Tate was assigned to the 782nd Brigade Support Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

14 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.



Killed were:

Spc. Chase Stanley, 21, of Napa, Calif.
Spc. Jesse D. Reed, 26, of Orefield, Penn.
Spc. Matthew J. Johnson, 21, of Maplewood, Minn.
Sgt. Zachary M. Fisher, 24, of Ballwin, Mo.

They died July 14 at Zabul Province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their military vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion (Combat Airborne), 20th Engineer Brigade (Combat), Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

Great Britain


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sergeant David Thomas Monkhouse, 35, from Aspatria; The Royal Dragoon Guards, was killed in Afghanistan, yesterday, Saturday 17 July 2010.

Sergeant Monkhouse, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (North), was killed in an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Marine Jonathan David Thomas Crookes, 26, Halesowen, West Midlands. From 40 Commando Royal Marines, was killed in Afghanistan on Friday 16 July 2010.

Marine Jonathan David Thomas Crookes, from Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, was killed in an explosion while on foot patrol in the Sangin District of Helmand Province.

[lizbud]

Great Britain


Just wondered about the different announcment notices, where the GB
ones also mention the words "with sadness" and the USDOD just says the
standard "in support of OEF". Wonder why we don't express some sympathy
too? Not really important, I guess, just wondered.

[Grace]

Just wondered about the different announcment notices, where the GB
ones also mention the words "with sadness" and the USDOD just says the
standard "in support of OEF". Wonder why we don't express some sympathy
too? Not really important, I guess, just wondered.

It's not just the announcement part, liz. It's the entire notification. Here (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/SeniorAircraftmanKinikkigriffGriffithsKilledInAVeh icleAccidentInAfghanistan.htm) is their official announcement of another serviceman's death - Senior Aircraftman Kinikki "Griff" Griffiths

Pretty amazing - don't you think?

[lizbud]

It's not just the announcement part, liz. It's the entire notification. Here (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/SeniorAircraftmanKinikkigriffGriffithsKilledInAVeh icleAccidentInAfghanistan.htm) is their official announcement of another serviceman's death - Senior Aircraftman Kinikki "Griff" Griffiths

Pretty amazing - don't you think?


I certainly do. It fills out a image of the man & what a huge loss his death truly is.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Staff Sergeant Brett George Linley, from 11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment, The Royal Logistic Corps, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 17 July 2010.


Entire announcement from the Dept. of Defence (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/StaffSergeantBrettGeorgeLinleyKilledInAfghanistan. htm)

[cassiesmom]

Grace, may I please hijack this thread for a moment? We have had two police officers killed in Chicago in the past couple of weeks. I think this is an appropriate place to note it since this thread honors heroes.

1) Officer Michael Bailey was coming home from work yesterday morning and was in front of his home when he was approached by men, shot and killed. He was less than a month away from mandatory retirement.

2) Officer Thor Soderberg was killed in a robbery attempt last week.

It is sad to see this happening more than once. It seems like the violence in Chicago gets worse when the weather gets very hot.

[Grace]

17 July 2010



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

Sgt. Matthew W. Weikert, 29, of Jacksonville, Ill., died July 17 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

15 July 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 15 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:

Sgt. 1st Class John H. Jarrell, 32, of Brunson, S.C.

Sgt. Leston M. Winters, 30, of Sour Lake, Texas.

[Grace]

16 July 2010


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

Cpl. Dave M. Santos, 21, of Rota, Marianas Islands of the Pacific, died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

This incident is under investigation.

[Grace]

16 July 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Justus S. Bartelt, 27, of Polo, Ill., died July 16 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

18 July 2010



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

Sgt. Justin B. Allen, 23, of Coal Grove, Ohio, died July 18 in Zhari, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was shot by insurgents while conducting combat operations. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

[Grace]

18 July 2010



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

Gunnery Sgt. Christopher L. Eastman, 28, of Moose Pass, Ark., died July 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

18 July 2010


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

1st Lt. Robert N. Bennedsen, 25, of Vashon, Wash., died July 18 at Qalat, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

18 July 2010


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

Sgt. Anibal Santiago, 37, of Belvidere, Ill., died July 18 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained July 17 in a non-combat related incident in Kwowst, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

[Grace]

16 July 2010


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

Sgt. Jesse R. Tilton, 23, of Decatur, Ill., died July 16 at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds sustained July 13 when insurgents attacked his unit in Kandahar City, Afghanistan, with rifle, rocket propelled grenade, and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

From the Department of Defence in Great Britain - I thought this was interesting.


The last of 250 World War One soldiers killed in the Battle of Fromelles was laid to rest in a ceremony yesterday at the first Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery built in Europe for 50 years.


The new cemetery, built near the site of the battle in northern France, was dedicated in the ceremony by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.

The soldiers were recently discovered in mass graves, and yesterday's ceremony, on the 94th anniversary of the battle, marks the end of a two-year project to give them a fitting final place of rest.

The ceremony began when the coffin of the last soldier was borne out of Pheasant Wood, location of the original graves, on a WWI Mark X General Service Wagon pulled by horses from the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery.

The procession journeyed through the village of Fromelles, and was joined by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Her Excellency The Governor-General of Australia, Quentin Bryce, along with Chief of the General Staff, General Sir David Richards, Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie, Australian Chief of Army, and soldiers from the British and Australian Armies.

The service was attended by hundreds of members of British and Australian families whose relatives were killed in the battle.

Many took part in the service, reading extracts from letters and diaries from those they lost.

The coffin was borne by soldiers from the British and Australian armies, and a joint firing party fired three shots, followed by a one minute silence.

Wreaths were then laid by HRH The Prince of Wales, Her Excellency Quentin Bryce, and Monsieur Hubert Falco, the French Minister of State for Defence and Veterans, and the cemetery was dedicated by His Royal Highness.

The Battle of Fromelles began on 19 July 1916, 19 days after the opening of the Somme campaign, and was the first major battle on the Western Front involving Australian troops.

The 5th Australian Division suffered losses of 5,533 either killed, wounded, taken prisoner or missing; and the 61st British Division suffered 1,547 similar losses.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's records suggest that between 19 and 20 July 1916 the Australian dead at Fromelles amounted to 1,780, the British 503.

[Grace]

Canada



OTTAWA — One Canadian soldier was killed after an improvised explosive device detonated during a foot patrol in the Panjwa’i District, about 15 kilometres southwest of Kandahar City, at approximately 9:00 a.m. Kandahar time on 20 July 2010.

Killed in action was Sapper Brian Collier, 24, of Brandtford, Ontario, from 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, based in Edmonton, Alberta. Sapper Collier was serving with 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group.

We are all thinking of the family and friends of our Canadian fallen comrade during this sad time. We will not forget Sapper Collier’s sacrifice as we continue to bring security and hope to the people of Kandahar Province.

[Grace]

19 July 2010



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

Cpl. Paul J. Miller, 22, of Traverse City, Mich., died July 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

[Grace]

19 July 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Brian F. Piercy, 27, of Clovis, Calif., died July 19 in Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

20 July 2010


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

Cpl. Julio Vargas, 23, of Sylmar, Calif., died July 20 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Assault Amphibian Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

18 July 2010



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

Cpl. Joe L. Wrightsman, 23, of Jonesboro, La., died July 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

[Grace]

21 July 2010



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

1st Lt. Michael L. Runyan, 24, of Newark, Ohio, died July 21 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his convoy vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Muqdadiyah, Iraq. He was assigned to the 52nd Infantry, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Matthew James Stenton from the Royal Dragoon Guards and Lance Corporal Stephen Daniel Monkhouse from 1st Battalion Scots Guards were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday, 21 July 2010.

Entire statement from the Ministry of Defence. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/CorporalMatthewJamesStentonAndLanceCorporalStephen DanielMonkhouseKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

23 July 2010



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

Pfc. James J. Oquin, 20, of El Paso, Texas, died July 23 in Orgun-E, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident when he was swept away by the current when a levee broke near his military vehicle in Paktika, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Arlington National Cemetery (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/25/AR2010072503070.html?referrer=emailarticlepg)

[Grace]

22 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The following Marines died July 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Lt. Col. Mario D. Carazo, 41, of Springfield, Ohio.

Maj. James M. Weis, 37, of Toms River, N.J.

Carazo and Weis were assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

24 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 24, at Qalat, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Conrad A. Mora, 24, of San Diego, Calif.

Sgt. Daniel Lim, 23, of Cypress, Calif.

Spc. Joseph A. Bauer, 27, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Pfc. Andrew L. Hand, 25, of Enterprise, Ala.

They were assigned to 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

24 July 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Frederik E. Vazquez, 20, of Melrose Park, Ill., died July 24 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, IIMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Denmark



Lt. Jonas Peter Pløger

From: Denmark
Age: 26
Unit: Kompagniets C, Gardehusarregimentet (Company C, Guard Hussar Regiment)
Died: July 21, 2010

Killed when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb while on patrol near Forward Operating Base Budwan, north of Gereshk, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- One of two U.S. sailors missing in Afghanistan since last week has been confirmed dead and his body recovered, a NATO spokesman said Tuesday.

The search continues for the other missing sailor, said Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale, a spokesman for NATO and U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

The two Navy personnel went missing Friday in the eastern province of Logar, after an armored sport utility vehicle was seen driving into a Taliban-held area. NATO officials were unable to say what they were doing in such a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan.

The Taliban have said previously that they killed one of the two men in a firefight and captured the other.

Jim Kerr, a Colorado legislator from the Denver suburb of Littleton, said the sailor killed was his wife's nephew, Justin McNeley, 30. He said the family learned of his death Monday. He said McNeley's mother is in Kingman, Arizona, but declined to give her name.

Kerr told The Denver Post that McNeley, a noncommissioned officer and father of two sons, was due to return to the U.S. in August.

The Taliban have said the captured sailor is in a ''safe place'' where he will not be found.


source (http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/07/27/world/asia/AP-AS-Afghanistan.html?_r=1&hp)

[Grace]

From the DoD -



The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor and the identity of another sailor listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN). The announcement resulted from a July 23 incident in Logar province, Afghanistan, while the sailors were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin McNeley, 30, of Wheatridge, Colo., died from wounds sustained from the July 23 incident. Coalition Forces recovered his body July 25 after an extensive search. He was assigned to Assault Craft Unit One (ACU-1), San Diego.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Wash., is listed as DUSTWUN from the July 23 incident. Search and recovery efforts are ongoing, and the incident is under investigation.

[Grace]

Great Britain



Sapper Mark Antony Smith killed in Afghanistan
A Military Operations news article

28 Jul 10

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Mark Antony Smith, from 36 Engineer Regiment, serving with the Counter-IED Task Force, was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 26 July 2010.


Entire announcement from the Ministry of Defence. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/SapperMarkAntonySmithKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

Updating posts #839 and 840 -



KABUL, Afghanistan – A second U.S. Navy sailor who went missing in a dangerous part of eastern Afghanistan was found dead and his body recovered, a senior U.S. military official and Afghan officials said Thursday.

The family of Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, a 25-year-old from the Seattle area, had been notified of his death, the U.S. military official said on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Full story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100729/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan)

[Grace]

27 July 2010



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

Lance Cpl. Abram L. Howard, 21, of Williamsport, Pa., died July 27 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Headquarters and Service Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of North Versailles, Pa.

[Grace]

Canadian cowboy - cool story


The British Army has recruited a Canadian cowboy to teach soldiers how to look for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in the ground when deployed in Afghanistan.

The cowboy is professional tracker Terry Grant, aged 52, who is famed for his hit reality television show 'Mantracker' in which he tracks contestants over vast swathes of the Canadian wilderness.

He has now been employed to pass on his unique ground sign awareness skills to the soldiers of 7th Armoured Brigade (the Desert Rats) who are set to deploy to Afghanistan next year.

The Desert Rats are currently training on Exercise Prairie Thunder 1 at the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) located in the heart of the vast plains of Alberta in the west of Canada.

Entire article (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/CanadianCowboyTrainsBritishSoldiersToSpotIeds.htm)

[Grace]

23 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was previously listed as duty status whereabouts unknown while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Jarod Newlove, 25, of Renton, Wash., died from wounds sustained from an incident in Logar province, Afghanistan, on July 23. Coalition forces recovered his body July 28 after an extensive search. He was assigned to commander, Navy Reserve Force Command. The July 23 incident remains under investigation.

[Grace]

Italy


Cpl. Maj. Pierdavide De Cillis

From: Bisceglie, Italy
Age: 33
Unit: 21° Reggimento Genio (21st Engineer Regiment)
Died: July 28, 2010


1st Sgt. Mauro Gigli

From: Sassari, Italy
Age: 41
Unit: 32° Reggimento Genio (32nd Engineer Regiment)
Died: July 28, 2010


Two Italian soldiers killed when the roadside bomb they were defusing detonated in Herat, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

From the Associated Press -


KABUL, Afghanistan – Three U.S. troops died in blasts in Afghanistan, bringing the death toll for July to at least 63 and surpassing the previous month's record as the deadliest for American forces in the nearly 9-year-old war.


link (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100730/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan)

[Grace]

This is beautiful - be sure to have some kleenex ready.

Special lady for each Arlington soldier. (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37416579/?GT1=43001)


Thanks for the link, liz :love:

[Grace]

29 July 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Shane R. Martin, 23, of Spring, Texas, died July 29 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

29 July 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died July 29 at Tsagay, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked their military vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Capt. Jason E. Holbrook, 28, of Burnet, Texas,

Staff Sgt. Kyle R. Warren, 28, of Manchester, N.H.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

30 July 2010


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

Spc. Michael L. Stansbery, 21, of Mount Juliet, Tenn., died July 30 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

30 July 2010


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

Sgt. Kyle B. Stout, 25, of Texarkana, Texas, died July 30 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Great Britain


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Marine Adam Brown was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 1 August 2010.

Marine Brown, of Alpha Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines, who was serving as part of Combined Force Sangin, died in an explosion as 3 Troop Alpha Company were conducting a local area reassurance patrol to provide security to the locals in the area.

At approximately 1750hrs, there was an explosion in the vicinity of his Patrol Base and Marine Adam Brown was killed instantly in the blast.


Entire statement from the Ministry of Defence (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/MarineAdamBrownKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Sergeant Dale Alanzo McCallum of 1st Battalion Scots Guards was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 1 August 2010.


Lance Sergeant McCallum, who was serving as part of Combined Force Lashkar Gah, was killed by small arms fire whilst commanding his men in an operation to provide security to Afghan local nationals in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province.

At approximately 1320 hours, the sangar at his checkpoint came under effective enemy fire from insurgent forces.

Lance Sergeant McCallum quickly moved to the sangar and as he was moving into a position to engage the insurgents he received a fatal gunshot wound.

Entire statement from the Ministry of Defence. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceSergeantDaleAlanzoMccallumKilledInAfghanistan .htm)

[Grace]

New Zealand


Lt. Timothy Andrew O'Donnell

From: Feilding, New Zealand
Age: 28
Unit: 2/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment
Died: August 4, 2010

Killed when his mounted patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb, rocket-propelled grenades and other small arms fire in Bamiyan province, Afghanistan.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.timothy.odonnell.nzmod.jpg

[Grace]

World War II



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

He is Sgt. John P. Bonnassiolle, U.S. Army, of Oakland, Calif. He will be buried Tuesday in San Francisco.

On April 29, 1944, he was aboard a B-24J Liberator with nine other crewmen. They failed to return following a bombing mission over Berlin. German documents captured after the war established the aircraft had crashed near the town of East Meitze, Germany, north of Hannover. German forces removed the remains of three crewmen from the site and buried them in a cemetery in Hannover.

In 1946, The U.S. Army’s Graves Registration Command located the remains of the men buried in Hannover and reburied them at the U.S. Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, Belgium, after confirming the identities of two of the three.

In 2003, a German citizen began excavating the East Meitze crash site and turned over human remains to U.S. officials. A Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team traveled to excavate the crash site in 2005 and 2007, recovering additional remains and crew-related equipment -- including identification tags for Bonnassiolle and three other crew members.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Bonnassiolle’s sister -- in the identification of his remains.

More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

4 August 2010


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

Master Sgt. Jared N. Van Aalst, 34, of Laconia, N.H., died Aug. 4 in Kunduz province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered while his unit was conducting combat operations. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

Poland



Pfc. Dariusz Tylenda

From: Poland
Age: 31
Unit: 15 Goldapski Pulk Przeciwlotniczylat (15th Air Defense Regiment)
Died: August 6, 2010

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his convoy in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

six Americans, a Briton, a German and four Afghans - seven men and three women


Gunmen Kill Medical Aid Workers in Afghanistan (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/world/asia/08afghan.html?ref=asia)

[Grace]

7 August 2010


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

Cpl. Max W. Donahue, 23, of Highlands Ranch, Colo., died Aug. 7 of wounds received Aug. 4 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Denmark



Pfc. Erik Berre Rolandsen

From: Denmark
Age: 26
Unit: Kompagniet B, 1. Bataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Company B, 1st Battalion, Royal Life Guards)
Died: August 7, 2010

One of two Danish soldiers killed when their infantry fighting vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Denmark



Pfc. Jimmi Bøgebjerg Petersen

From: Denmark
Age: 28
Unit: Kompagniet B, 1. Bataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Company B, 1st Battalion, Royal Life Guards)
Died: August 7, 2010

One of two Danish soldiers killed when their infantry fighting vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

7 August 2010



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

Spc. Faith R. Hinkley, 23, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Aug. 7 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit in Iskandariya, Iraq. She was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 201st Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

8 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Aug. 8 at Zhari Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. Andrew C. Nicol, 23, of Eaton, Mich.,

Pfc. Bradley D. Rappuhn, 24, of Grand Ledge, Mich.

They were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.

[Grace]

7 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

The following Marines died Aug. 7 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Lance Cpl. Kevin M. Cornelius, 20, of Ashtabula, Ohio.

Pfc. Vincent E. Gammone III, 19, of Christiana, Tenn.

Cornelius and Gammone were assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

8 August 2010


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

Pfc. Paul O. Cuzzupe, 23, of Plant City, Fla., died Aug. 8 in Akhtar-Mohammad-Khan, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Calvary Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

Vietnam



Soldiers Missing in Action from Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

U.S. Army 1st Lt. Paul G. Magers of Sidney, Neb., will be buried on Aug. 27 in Laurel, Mont., and Army Chief Warrant Officer Donald L. Wann of Shawnee, Okla., will be buried on Aug. 21 in Fort Gibson, Okla.

On June 1, 1971, both men were flying aboard an AH-1 Cobra gunship in support of an emergency extraction of an Army ranger team in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam. After the rangers were extracted, helicopters were ordered to destroy claymore mines which had been left behind in the landing zone. During this mission their helicopter was hit by ground fire, crashed and exploded. Pilots who witnessed the explosions concluded that no one could have survived the crash and explosions. Enemy activity in the area precluded a ground search.

In 1990, analysts from DPMO, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and their predecessor organizations interviewed both American and Vietnamese witnesses and produced leads for field investigations. In 1993 and 1998, two U.S.-Socialist Republic of Vietnam teams, led by JPAC, surveyed the suspected crash site and found artifacts and debris consistent with a Cobra gunship. In mid-1999, another joint team excavated the site, but it stopped for safety reasons when the weather deteriorated. No remains were recovered, but the team did find wreckage associated with the specific crash they were investigating.

The Vietnamese government subsequently declared the region within Quang Tri Province where the aircraft crashed as off-limits to U.S. personnel, citing national security concerns. As part of an agreement with JPAC, a Vietnamese team unilaterally excavated the site and recovered human remains and other artifacts in 2008. The Vietnamese returned to the site in 2009, expanded the excavation area and discovered more remains and additional evidence.

Forensic analysis, circumstantial evidence and the mitochondrial DNA match to the Magers and Wann families by the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory confirmed the identification of the remains.

[Grace]

For anyone interested, there is a website where you can get information about prisoner of war and missing in action troops.

It's The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) (http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/)

[cassiesmom]

this is about a firefighter who fell down a ladder while trying to put out a grease fire at a restaurant - he was carrying about 75 lb of equipment at the time. Sad.

Christopher D. Wheatley, C.F.D., 31, died August 9, 2010 in line of duty. Beloved son of Dan and Mary, nee Delaney; dearest brother of Kimberley (Chris) Skubic; cherished fiancée of Jessica Roberts; also survived by many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Chris loved all of his brothers and sisters at the Chicago Fire Department, the City of Chicago and the Chicago Bears. Funeral Friday 9:15 a.m. from Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 W. 103rd Street, Oak Lawn to St. John Fisher Church, 103rd & Fairfield, Chicago, Mass 10:30 a.m. Entombment Mausoleum of the Archangels, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Alsip, IL. Visitation Thursday 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorials to the Burn Camp-Illinois Fire Safety Alliance, P.O. Box 911, Mt. Prospect, IL 60056 will be appreciated.

[Grace]

7 August 2010


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

Pfc. John E. Andrade, 19, of San Antonio, Texas, died Aug. 7 at DE Khak Chupan Turah, Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[RICHARD]

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/message-in-a-bottle-found-by-gulf-oil-spill-workers/19587400?icid=main|main|dl1|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww .aolnews.com%2Fworld%2Farticle%2Fmessage-in-a-bottle-found-by-gulf-oil-spill-workers%2F19587400

[Grace]

I saw that on NBC Evening News the other night - isn't it fantastic, and wonderful.

[Grace]

9 August 2010


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

Sgt. Jose L. Saenz III, 30, of Pleasanton, Texas, died Aug. 9 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

11 August 2010


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

Sgt. Christopher N. Karch, 23, of Indianapolis, Ind., died Aug. 11 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[lizbud]

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

Sgt. Christopher N. Karch, 23, of Indianapolis, Ind., died Aug. 11 in Arghandab Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.


I saw this on a local news report.:( So sad, he was just a kid. Maybe
it's my age, but in his picture, he looks like such a baby to me.:(

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/24613986/detail.html

[Grace]

Korean War



Soldier Missing from Korean War 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 Korean War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

He is Cpl. Roy Stewart, U.S. Army, of Jackson, Miss. His funeral will be held Tuesday at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. Representatives from the Army’s mortuary office met with the next-of-kin of Stewart to explain the recovery and identification process and to coordinate interment with military honors on behalf of the secretary of the Army.

Stewart was assigned to Company A, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, deployed to North Korea near Kujang-dong. In late November 1950, he was captured by enemy forces and reportedly died March 14, 1951, while in captivity near Pyoktong, North Korea.

During Operation Glory in the fall of 1954, North Korea turned over 4,167 caskets including remains they claimed to be those of Stewart. This was part of an agreement in which each side would return remains of enemy soldiers. The United States returned caskets containing the remains of more than 12,000 communist soldiers. At the time the Army was unable to identify Stewart and the remains were buried as “unknown” along with 415 other servicemembers.

In 2008, an analyst from DPMO and an independent researcher concluded they had evidence that supported identification of several unknown soldiers buried at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu. The remains were exhumed in September 2008. Scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command identified Stewart’s remains through dental comparisons and circumstantial evidence related to the 1954 turnovers.

More than 2,000 servicemen died as prisoners of war during the Korean War. With the accounting of Stewart, 8,023 servicemembers still remain missing from that conflict.

[Grace]

8 August 2010


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

Cpl. Kristopher D. Greer, 25, of Ashland City, Tenn., died Aug. 8 of wounds received Aug. 6 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 4th Combat Engineering Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, based out of Knoxville, Tenn.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lieutenant John Charles Sanderson of 1st Battalion The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire) [1 MERCIAN], attached to 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles Battle Group, died on Wednesday 11 August 2010 of wounds sustained in Afghanistan.

Lt Sanderson was wounded in an explosion whilst on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on 13 July 2010.

He was treated at the scene before being flown to the UK for further treatment. On Wednesday 11 August 2010, surrounded by his family, he finally succumbed to his injuries.

Minstry of Defence statement (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LieutenantJohnCharlesSandersonDiesOfWoundsSustaine dInAfghanistan.htm)

Interesting, this man was born in Oklahoma.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Darren Foster of 21 Engineer Regiment was killed on Friday 13 August 2010.

At 0653hrs on 13 August 2010 whilst manning a sangar in order to provide security to his colleagues in Patrol Base SANGIN FULOD, he was engaged by small arms fire and suffered a gunshot wound.

He received medical treatment on site and was evacuated by helicopter to the Bastion Role 3 Hospital where he died of his wounds.


Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/SapperDarrenFosterKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

Nepal



Rifleman Remand Kulung

From: Basaha, Nepal
Age: 27
Unit: Company G, 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire)
Died: August 12, 2010

Kulung died on August 12, 2010, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, of injuries sustained when a CH-47 Chinook helicopter accidentally came into contact with his guard post, causing part of it to collapse, at Patrol Base Bahadur in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Statement from the Ministry of Defence. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/RiflemanRemandKulungKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

Great Britain/Nepal



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Ishwor Gurung from 69 Gurkha Field Squadron, 21 Engineer Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Friday 13 August 2010.

On 13 August 2010, whilst constructing a new sangar to increase the protection and security of the soldiers at Forward Operating Base (FOB) Shahzad in south west Helmand province, Sapper Ishwor Gurung's Troop came under insurgent attack and he was caught in insurgent fire. Despite the best efforts of his Troop to save his life, Sapper Ishwor was killed in action.


Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/SapperIshworGurungKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

13 August 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bock, 26, of Leesburg, Fla., died Aug. 13 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

[Grace]

Australia



Trooper Jason Thomas Brown

From: Sydney, New South Wales
Age: 29
Unit: Australian Special Air Service Regiment
Died: August 14, 2010

Died of gunshot wounds sustained in a firefight in southern Afghanistan.

[Grace]

15 August 2010



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

Spc. Jamal M. Rhett, 24, of Palmyra, N.J., died Aug. 15 in Ba Qubah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with grenades. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

World War II



Airman Missing In Action From WWII Identified

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

U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Ray F. Fletcher, of Westborough, Mass., will be buried Aug. 20 in Burlington, Vt.

On May 10, 1944, he and four others aboard a B-25C Mitchell bomber took off from Ajaccio, Corsica, on a routine courier mission to Ghisonaccia, Corsica. They failed to reach the destination and were officially reported missing on May 13, 1944. Two days later, French police reported finding aircraft wreckage on the island’s Mount Cagna.

The U.S. Army’s Graves Registration Command visited the crash site in 1944 and reported remains were not recoverable. It was not until May 1989 that Corsican authorities notified U.S. Army Memorial Affairs Activity-Europe that they had found wreckage of an American WWII-era aircraft and turned over human remains collected at the mountainous location. They sent a survey team to the site and determined the terrain was too rugged to support a recovery effort. In 2003 and 2004, two French nationals provided U.S. authorities with crew-related equipment recovered from the crash site.

A Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC) team excavated the location in September 2005 and recovered additional human remains as well as more crew-related equipment.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA in the identification of Fletcher’s remains.

This month marks the 65th anniversary of the end of World War II. More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served during the war died. At the end of the conflict, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 World War II Americans remain unaccounted-for.

[Grace]

17 August 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Derek J. Farley, 24, of Nassau, N.Y., died Aug. 17 at Bala Boluk, Farah, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated as he attempted to disarm it. He was assigned to the 18th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

[Grace]

17 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Aug.17 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when an improvised explosive device caused a military vehicle roll-over.

Killed were:

Pfc. Benjamen G. Chisholm, 24, of Fort Worth, Texas.

Pvt. Charles M. High, IV, 21, of Albuquerque, N.M.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Army Releases July Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of July. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: three were confirmed as suicides, and nine remain under investigation. For June, the Army reported 21 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, 10 have been confirmed as suicides, and 11 remain under investigation.

During July 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 15 potential suicides. For June, among that same group, there were 11 suicides. Of those, five were confirmed as suicides and six are pending determination of the manner of death.


source (http://www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=13810)

[Grace]

18 August 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Kevin E. Oratowski, 23, of Wheaton, Ill., died Aug. 18 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

17 August 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Edgar N. Roberts, 39, of Hinesville, Ga., died Aug. 17 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds sustained June 26 at Sayed Abad, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 810th Engineer Company (SAPPER), Swainsboro, Ga.

[Grace]

19 August 2010


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

Sgt. Martin A. Lugo, 24, of Tucson, Ariz., died Aug. 19 in Puli Alam, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Air Field, Ga.

[Grace]

18 August 2010



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

Chief Petty Officer (SEAL) Collin Thomas, 33, of Morehead, Ky., died Aug. 18 during a combat operation in eastern Afghanistan. Thomas was assigned to an east coast-based SEAL team.

[Grace]

19 August 2010



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

Cpl. Christopher J. Boyd, 22, of Palatine, Ill., died Aug. 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, IMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

20 August 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Cody S. Childers, 19, of Chesapeake, Va., died Aug. 20 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, IIMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Great Britain



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Corporal Jordan Dean Bancroft of 1st Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, part of Combined Force Nad-e Ali, was killed in Afghanistan on 21 August 2010.


Lance Corporal Bancroft deployed to Afghanistan in March 2010 as a Section Second in Command with 1 Platoon, Anzio Company, 1st Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment.


Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalJordanDeanBancroftKilledInAfghanistan .htm)

[Grace]

19 August 2010



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

Spc. Christopher S. Wright, 23, of Tollesboro, Ky., died Aug. 19 in Pech, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Air Field, Ga.

[Grace]

21 August 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Nathaniel J. A. Schultz, 19, of Safety Harbor, Fla., died Aug. 21 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

21 August 2010



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

Pfc. Alexis V. Maldonado, 20, of Wichita Falls, Texas, died Aug. 21 at Kandahar Air Field, Afghanistan of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire in Zhari province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

France



Cpl. Jean-Nicolas Panezyck

From: France
Age: 25
Unit: 21è Régiment d’Infanterie de Marine (21st Marine Infantry Regiment)
Died: August 23, 2010

One of two French soldiers killed by small-arms fire during a firefight south of Tagab in Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

France


Lt. Lorenzo Mezzasalma

From: Paris, France
Age: 43
Unit: 4e compagnie, 21è Régiment d’Infanterie de Marine (Company 4, 21st Marine Infantry Regiment)
Died: August 23, 2010

One of two French soldiers killed by small-arms fire during a firefight south of Tagab in Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Hungary


Lt. Judith Abraham Pappné

From: Sajószentpétertől, Hungary
Age: 32
Unit: 25. Klapka György Lövészdandár (25th Klapka Infantry Brigade)
Died: August 23, 2010


Killed when her Baghlan Provincial Reconstruction Team convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb and small-arms fire 12.4 miles (20 km) northwest of Pul-e Khumri in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Here we go again - 0ne right after the other :(

[Grace]

22 August 2010 - Iraq, where the combat troops have left.


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

Sgt. Brandon E. Maggart, 24, of Kirksville, Mo., died Aug. 22 at Basrah, Iraq, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using indirect fire. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

22 August 2010


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

Sgt. Jason D. Calo, 23, of Lexington, Ky., died Aug. 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

22 August 2010


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

Spc. Pedro A. Millet Meletiche, 20, of Elizabeth, N. J., died Aug. 22 at Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

[Grace]

22 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Aug. 22 at Paktika, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked their unit with small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire.

Killed were:

Sgt. Steven J. Deluzio, 25, of South Glastonbury, Conn.

Spc. Tristan H. Southworth, 21, of West Danville, Vt.

They were assigned to the 172nd Infantry, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Jericho, Vt.

[Grace]

23 August 2010


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

Sgt. Ronald A. Rodriguez, 26, of Falls Church, Va., died Aug. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

23 August 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Robert J. Newton, 21, of Creve Coeur, Ill., died Aug. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

[Grace]

24 August 2010



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

Pfc. Justin B. Shoecraft, 28, of Elkhart, Ind., died Aug. 24 at Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device at Kakarak, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

Australia



Lance Cpl. Jared MacKinney

From: Brisbane, Australia
Age: 28
Unit: 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment
Died: August 24, 2010

Killed when insurgents fired on his joint Afghan-Australian patrol, launching a three-hour firefight, near Deh Rawod in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Spain



Ensign Abraham Leoncio Bravo Picallo

From: Vimianzo, Spain
Age: 33
Unit: Unidad de Acción Rural, Guardia Civil (Rural Action Unit, Spanish Civil Guard)
Died: August 25, 2010

One of two Spanish Guardia Civil agents killed when their driver opened fire on them while they were teaching a police training class to 47 Afghan students in Qala-i-Naw, Baghdis province, Afghanistan, on August 25, 2010. The driver was subsequently shot and killed by other Guardia Civil agents.

[Grace]

Spain



Capt. José María Córdoba Galera

From: Albacete, Spain
Age: 33
Unit: Unidad de Acción Rural, Guardia Civil (Rural Action Unit, Civil Guard)
Died: August 25, 2010

One of two Spanish Guardia Civil agents killed along with an Afghan interpreter when their driver opened fire on them while they were teaching a police training class to 47 Afghan students in Qala-i-Naw, Baghdis province, Afghanistan, on August 25, 2010. The driver was subsequently shot and killed by other Guardia Civil agents.

[Grace]

27 August 2010


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

Petty Officer 3rd Class James M. Swink, 20, of Yucca Valley, Calif., died Aug. 27 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Swink was a hospital corpsman assigned to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Forces.

[Grace]

Get ready -

[Grace]

27 Auguwt 2010



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

Master Sgt. Daniel L. Fedder, 34, of Pine City, Minn., died Aug. 27 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

29 August 2010


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

Staff Sgt. James R. Ide, 32, of Festus, Mo., died Aug. 29 at Hyderabad, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 230th Military Police Company, 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Sembach, Germany.

[Grace]

28 August 2010


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

Spc. James C. Robinson, 27, of Lebanon, Ohio, died Aug. 28 at Paktika, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

27 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device Aug. 27 in Paktiya, Afghanistan.

Killed were:

Pfc. Chad D. Coleman, 20, of Moreland, Ga.

Pvt. Adam J. Novak, 20, of Prairie du Sac, Wis.




They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 33rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

29 August 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Aug. 29 at Nangahar, Afghanistan, of wound sustained when their military vehicle was struck by rocket propelled grenade on Aug. 28 at Nangahar, Afghanistan.

Killed were:

Capt. Ellery R. Wallace, 33, of Utah.

Pfc. Bryn T. Raver, 20, of Harrison, Ark.

Wallace was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Raver was assigned to 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

29 August 2010



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

Gunnery Sgt. Floyd E. C. Holley, 36, of Casselberry, Fla., died Aug. 29 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Canada



Canadian soldier dies in hospital from injuries sustained in Afghanistan

CEFCOM NR10.019 - August 30, 2010

OTTAWA– A Canadian soldier, who sustained injuries in Afghanistan, passed away at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany today.

Corporal (Cpl) Brian Pinksen, 21, from 2nd Battalion, The Royal Newfoundland Regiment, based in Corner Brook Newfoundland, was serving in Afghanistan with the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group. Cpl Pinksen sustained his injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during a routine patrol in the Panjwa’i District, southwest of Kandahar City at approximately 1:40 p.m., Kandahar time on 22 Aug, 2010.

Cpl Pinksen was treated on scene and evacuated by helicopter to the Role 3 Multi-National Medical Facility at Kandahar Airfield then subsequently moved to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Centre in Germany. He arrived in Ramstein, Germany on 25 August and succumbed to his injuries earlier today at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of our fallen comrade during this very difficult time. We will not forget Cpl Pinksen’s sacrifice as we continue to bring security and hope to the people of Kandahar Province.

Canada in partnership with the government of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF remain committed to improving the security situation in order to set the conditions for reconstruction and development in the region. Joint Task Force Afghanistan, continues to be fully engaged in an initiative that serves to gradually enhance security, to strengthen governance and to expand the government’s authority in key areas of Kandahar Province.

[Grace]

28 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 28 in Babur, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. Patrick K. Durham, 24, of Chattanooga, Tenn.

Spc. Andrew J. Castro, 20, of Westlake Village, Calif.

Durham was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Castro was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Korea



U.S. Soldier MIA From Korean War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Korean War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

United States Army Sgt. Charles P. Whitler will be buried Sept. 2 in his hometown of Cloverport, Ky.

In early November 1950, Whitler was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, occupying a defensive position near the town of Unsan by the Kuryong River known as the “Camel’s Head.” Two enemy elements attacked the U.S. forces, collapsing their perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Whitler’s unit was involved in fighting which devolved into hand-to-hand combat around the 3rd Battalion’s command post. Almost 400 men were reported missing or killed in action following the battle.

In late November 1950, a U.S. soldier captured during the battle of Unsan reported during his debriefing that he and nine American soldiers were moved to a house near the battlefield. The POWs were taken to an adjacent field and shot. Three of the 10 Americans survived, though one later died. The surviving solider provided detailed information on the incident location.

Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 58 years. Through interviews with eyewitnesses, experts evaluated circumstances surrounding Whitler’s captivity and death and researched wartime documentation of his loss.

In May 2004, a joint U.S.-North Korean team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, excavated a mass grave near the “Camel’s Head.” An elderly North Korean man reported he had witnessed the death of seven or eight U.S. soldiers near that location and provided the team with a general description of the burial site.

The excavation team recovered human remains and other personal artifacts, ultimately leading to the identification of seven soldiers from that site, one of whom was Whitler.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used dental comparisons and mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of Whitler’s sister and niece—in the identification.

More than 2,000 servicemen died as prisoners of war during the Korean War. With this accounting, 8,022 service members still remain missing from the conflict.

[Grace]

30 August 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of five soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 30 in the Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. All were based at Fort Carson, Colo.

Killed were:

Capt. Dale A Goetz, 43, of White, S.D. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Staff Sgt. Jesse Infante, 30, of Cypress, Texas. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Staff Sgt. Kevin J. Kessler, 32, of Canton, Ohio. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Staff Sgt. Matthew J. West, 36, of Conover, Wis. He was assigned to the 71st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group.

Pfc. Chad D. Clements, 26, of Huntington, Ind. He was assigned to the 4th Brigade Support Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

[Grace]

Estonia


Sgt. Herdis Sikka

From: Estonia
Age: 20
Unit: Estcoy-10
Died: August 30, 2010


Died following a roadside bomb attack in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

France


1st Sgt. Herve Enaux

From: France
Age: 35
Unit: 35e Régiment d’Infanterie (35th Infantry Regiment)
Died: August 30, 2010

Died of wounds sustained when his VAB armored vehicle fell into a ravine in the Uzbin Valley, located in the Surobi district of Kabul province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

31 August 2010


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

Sgt. Joseph A. Bovia, 24, of Kenner, La., died Aug. 31 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

[Grace]

31 August 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Cody A. Roberts, 22, of Boise, Idaho, died Aug. 31 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Every once in awhile, it's nice to have a post in here that's not about the dead. This is one of those posts.

It's about dogs :) specifically Military Working Dogs from Britain.

In service to their country. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/TrainingAndAdventure/DogsAndHandlersPrepareForAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

1 September 2010



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

Lance Cpl. Christopher B. Rodgers, 20, of Griffin, Ga., died Sept. 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

30 August 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 30 in Malajat, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

Killed were:

1st Lt. Mark A. Noziska, 24, of Papillon, Neb.

Staff Sgt. Casey J. Grochowiak, 34, of Lompoc, Calif.

[Grace]

2 September 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg, 21, of Indiana, Pa., died Sept. 2 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

31 August 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Aug. 31 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Vinson B. Adkinson III, 26, of Harper, Kan.

Sgt. Raymond C. Alcaraz, 20, of Redlands, Calif.

Pfc. Matthew E. George, 22, of Gransboro, N.C.

Pfc. James A. Page, 23, of Titusville, Fla.

They were assigned to the 173rd Brigade Support Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany.

[CatsMeow]

I was just thinking about this today - yes it's news when a celebrity dies, but then it's all you hear about for months. When a soldier (or even a fireman or policeman) dies in the line of duty, there's a small article on the 3rd page of the paper. Thanks for this thread, and lots of prayers and thoughts going out to those who risk their lives every day.

^^

[Grace]

Scotland


It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Corporal Joseph McFarlane Pool of The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 5 September 2010.

Lance Corporal Pool was serving as part of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force in Helmand province, involved in conducting operations over the last few months aimed at bettering the lives of the local people by improving security and increasing their freedom of movement.

On Sunday 5 September 2010, the Brigade Reconnaissance Force were completing an operation in the Nad 'Ali (North) district to disrupt the insurgency by denying enemy freedom of movement and were conducting a series of searches on compounds of interest.

At approximately 0700hrs during an exchange of fire with insurgents, Lance Corporal Pool was killed in action following a rocket-propelled grenade attack.


Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/LanceCorporalJosephMcfarlanePoolKilledInAfghanista n.htm)

[Grace]

England


It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Captain Andrew Griffiths, from the 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (2 LANCS) Theatre Reserve Battalion, died on Sunday 5 September 2010 at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

Captain Andy Griffiths was wounded in action by an explosion whilst leading his soldiers on an operation in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Tuesday 24 August 2010.

His platoon had cleared and occupied a compound that was to be used as a future patrol base during a security operation, but as he moved through the compound to allow entry for an approaching patrol he was caught in an explosion which seriously injured him.

He was given exceptional first aid, which undoubtedly kept him alive, before being evacuated by his soldiers and returned to the UK for further treatment. On Sunday 5 September 2010, with his family present, he died of his wounds at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/CaptainAndrewGriffithsDiesOfWoundsSustainedInAfgha nistan.htm)

[Grace]

The country of Georgia



1st Lt. Mukhran Shukvani

From: Mestia, Georgia
Age: 28
Unit: 31st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade
Died: September 5, 2010

Killed during an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan.

[Grace]

2 September 2010


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

Pfc. Diego M. Montoya, 20, of San Antonio, Texas, died Sept. 2 in Laghman province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

5 September 2010


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

Capt. Jason T. McMahon, 35, of Mulvane, Kan., died Sept. 5 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire in Jalalabad. He was assigned to the 184th Ordnance Battalion (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), 52nd Ordnance Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

3 September 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Ross S. Carver, 21, of Rocky Point, N.C., died Sept. 3 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

A brief FYI -

I will be away from my computer for the rest of the week. Any further notices will have to wait until I'm back - hopefully by Sunday.

[Grace]

4 September 2010



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

Sgt. Jesse M. Balthaser, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, died Sept. 4 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, Calif.

[Grace]

7 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation New Dawn.

They died Sept. 7 at Balad, Iraq, of wounds suffered in a shooting incident in Salah ad-Din province. This incident is under investigation.

Killed were:

Sgt. Philip C. Jenkins, 26, of Decatur, Ind.

Pvt. James F. McClamrock, 22, of Huntersville, N.C.

They were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Advise and Assist Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

8 September 2010


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

Cpl. John C. Bishop, 25, of Columbus, Ind., died Sept. 8 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

9 September 2010


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

1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver, 26, of Hampton, Va., died Sept. 9 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Hungary


2nd Lt. Gyorgy Kolozsvari

From: Papa, Hungary
Age: 36
Unit: 25. Klapka György Lövészdandár (25th Klapka Infantry Brigade)
Died: September 7, 2010

Died on September 7, 2010 at a military hospital in Budapest, Hungary, of wounds sustained when his convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb and small-arms fire 12.4 miles (20 km) northwest of Pul-e Khumri in Baghlan province, Afghanistan, on August 23, 2010. Another Hungarian soldier was killed in the attack.

[wombat2u2004]

September 04, 2010

Philadelphia Inquirer

Richard Etchberger died in Laos in 1968, saving fellow Americans at a top-secret radar station overrun by North Vietnamese commandos.

Etchberger, who grew up north of Reading, Pa., was nominated that year for the Medal of Honor. But there was a problem: The United States was not supposed to have troops in Laos. President Lyndon B. Johnson declined to award the medal.

On July 7 of this year, Etchberger's son, Cory, received a phone call. "Will you please hold for the president?" a woman asked.

President Obama then told Cory Etchberger that his father would finally receive the Medal of Honor.

"It's been a long time coming," Obama told Etchberger, 51, of Schwenksville, Montgomery County.

Cory Etchberger, who recounted the conversation with Obama, was 9 when his father died at Lima Site 85, which directed bombing missions into North Vietnam and Laos.

Richard Etchberger, a chief master sergeant in the Air Force, was selected to work at the radar station and was converted into a civilian employee of Lockheed so his presence in Laos would not technically violate that country's neutrality.

The radar station directed 507 strike missions against North Vietnamese targets from November 1967 until March 11, 1968, when enemy soldiers engaged the facility in a fierce battle, according to the Air Force.

Under withering fire, Etchberger loaded wounded comrades into slings to be raised into a rescue helicopter before coming aboard himself. He was mortally wounded by an armor-piercing bullet that had ripped through the chopper. He was 27.

Etchberger was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross in a secret Pentagon ceremony. His family, except for his parents, who were sworn to secrecy, was not told what really happened.

The mission was declassified years later, but Etchberger was not eligible for the Medal of Honor because of a time limit. In 2008, Congress approved a waiver.

His family will attend a White House medal ceremony on Sept. 21.

[Grace]

Thank you, John, for posting this - I had not heard about it.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a Kingsman Darren Deady from the 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham on 10 September 2010 as a result of injuries sustained in Afghanistan.


Kingsman Deady, serving as part of Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (South), died from the injuries sustained from a gunshot wound in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province on the morning of 23 August 2010.


Ministry of Defence statement (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/KingsmanDarrenDeadyDiesOfWoundsSustainedInAfghanis tan.htm)

[Grace]

On this day we salute those men and women who served our nation as prisoners of war as well as the 81,864 who remain unaccounted for, missing from Vietnam 1,713, Cold War 125, Korean War 8,025 and World War Two 74,074.


Presidential Proclamation (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2010/09/16/presidential-proclamation-national-powmia-recognition-day)




.

[Grace]

From the DoD -


Pentagon’s POW/MIA Corridor Dedicated

Michele Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy, dedicated a new Pentagon display today honoring POWs and MIAs from all conflicts.

The corridor, located on the 3rd floor, has been added to the Pentagon’s public tour route where thousands of visitors and more than 23,000 Pentagon employees may view it.

In her dedication remarks, Flournoy noted that the displays in the corridor send many messages, and urged visitors and employees to pause and learn more about POW/MIA history, and of those Americans who are still missing from all conflicts.

“America is among a handful of nations committed to finding and bringing home those lost on former battlefields or isolated burial sites,” she said. “There is no question that the lessons of past conflicts have helped us improve our ability to recover personnel who become isolated or missing in today’s conflicts - and I hope this provides some small comfort to those of you who lost family members in past wars.”

The ceremony was attended by invited guests including veterans, families of the missing, and former POWs. In addition to panels depicting many aspects of the American POW/MIA experience, display cases include artifacts obtained during excavations for wartime remains, as well as POW memorabilia, and examples of grass roots efforts by MIA families to draw national attention to the issue.

[Grace]

Iraq


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

Sgt. Ryan J. Hopkins, 21, of Livermore, Calif., died Jan. 8, at Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas, of injuries sustained in a motor pool accident in Baghdad, Iraq, on Oct. 4, 2008. At the time of the incident, he was assigned to the 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo. At the time of his death, he was assigned to the Warrior Transition Unit, Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.

[Grace]

Another in Iraq


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Senior Airman James A. Hansen, 25, of Athens, Mich., died Sept. 15 of wounds suffered during a controlled detonation at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. He was assigned to the 46th Operations Support Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

[Grace]

And one more in Iraq


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Sgt. John F. Burner III, 32, of Baltimore, Md., died Sept. 16, in Iskandariya, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 63rd Signal Battalion (Expeditionary), 35th Signal Brigade, Fort Gordon, Ga.

[Grace]

Army Releases August Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of August 2010. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 13 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and all 13 remain under investigation. For July, the Army reported 12 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, five have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.

During August, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 10 potential suicides. For July, among that same group, there were 16 total suicides. Of those, eight were confirmed as suicides and eight are pending determination of the manner of death.

“With the release of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention Report in July, the Army has transitioned suicide prevention efforts to the Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force. These two elements will help analyze, shape and implement the more than 240 additional changes to Army policy, procedure and processes recommended in the report,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Council and Task Force.

“Our efforts continue to evolve as we learn more about the multiple factors contributing to suicides and high-risk behavior within our Army family. The end state remains the ability to provide our soldiers, civilians and families with the quality care and support they need and deserve,” Philbrick said.

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact Military OneSource or the Defense Center of Excellence (DCoE) for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury Outreach Center. Trained consultants are available from both organizations 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

[Grace]

16 September 2010



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

Sgt. Aaron K. Kramer, 22, of Salt Lake City, Utah, died Sept. 16 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

16 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez, 23, of El Paso, Texas, died Sept. 16 while conducting combat operations in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 23rd Special Tactics Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.

[Grace]

17 September 2010



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

Spc. Deangelo B. Snow, 22, of Saginaw, Mich., died Sept. 17 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attached his vehicle with a rocket propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

17 September 2010


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

1st Lt. Scott J. Fleming, 24, of Marietta, Ga., died Sept. 17 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

[Grace]

17 September 2010
18 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died in the Zhari district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:

1st Lt. Eric Yates, 26, of Rineyville, Ky., who died Sept. 18.

Staff Sgt. Jaime C. Newman, 27, of Richmond, Va., who died Sept. 17.

[Grace]

18 September 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Ronald A. Grider, 30, Brighton, Ill., died Sept. 18 at Kunduz province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he was struck by machine gun fire. He was assigned to U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

16 September 2010


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

Spc. Timothy L. Johnson, 24, of Randolph, N.Y., died Sept. 16 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device at Arghandab River Valley, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

[Grace]

18 September 2010


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

Pfc. Barbara Vieyra, 22, of Mesa, Ariz., died Sept. 18 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit using an improvised explosive device and rocket propelled grenade fire in Kunar province, Afghanistan. She was assigned to the 720th Military Police Battalion, 89th Military Police Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

18 September 2010


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

Maj. Paul D. Carron, 33, of Mo. died Sept. 18 at Qalat, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

18 September 2010


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

Spc. Joshua A. Harton, 23, of Bethlehem, Penn., died Sept. 18 in Kaftar Khan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

20 September 2010


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

Pfc. Joshua S. Ose, 19, of Hernando, Miss., died Sept. 20 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

21 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Senior Airman Michael J. Buras, 23, of Fitzgerald, Ga., died Sept. 21 of wounds suffered as the result of an improvised explosive device detonation in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 99th Civil Engineer Squadron, Nellis Air Force Base, Nev.

[Grace]

Italy


Lt. Alessandro Romani

From: Rome, Italy
Age: 36
Unit: 9º Reggimento d'Assalto Paracadutisti (9th Parachute Assault Regiment)
Died: September 17, 2010

Killed during a gunfight that began as his unit was chasing men who were trying to emplace a roadside bomb in Herat, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

South Wales


Sgt. Andrew James Jones

From: Newport, South Wales
Age: 35
Unit: Royal Engineers, attached to 1st Troop, Fondouk Squadron, The Queen's Royal Lancers
Died: September 18, 2010

One of two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a vehicle patrol in the Bolan district north of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Afghanistan

[Grace]

England


Trooper Andrew Martin Howarth

From: Bournemouth, England
Age: 20
Unit: Fondouk Squadron, The Queen's Royal Lancers
Died: September 18, 2010

One of two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a vehicle patrol in the Bolan district north of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[wombat2u2004]

http://i970.photobucket.com/albums/ae186/wombat2u2004/image001.jpg



Eileen Nearne, Wartime Spy, Dies at 89

LONDON — After she died earlier this month, a frail 89-year-old alone in a flat in the British seaside town of Torquay, Eileen Nearne, her body undiscovered for several days, was listed by local officials as a candidate for what is known in Britain as a council burial, or what in the past was called a pauper’s grave.

After World War II, Eileen Nearne, here in a photo from that era, faded into obscurity.

But after the police looked through her possessions, including a Croix de Guerre medal awarded to her by the French government after World War II, the obscurity Ms. Nearne had cultivated for decades began to slip away.

Known to her neighbors as an insistently private woman who loved cats and revealed almost nothing about her past, she has emerged as a heroine in the tortured story of Nazi-occupied France, one of the secret agents who helped prepare the French resistance for the D-Day landings in June 1944.

On Tuesday, the anonymity that Ms. Nearne had cherished in life was denied her in death. A funeral service in Torquay featured a military bugler and piper and an array of uniformed mourners. A red cushion atop her coffin bore her wartime medals. Eulogies celebrated her as one of 39 British women who were parachuted into France as secret agents by the Special Operations Executive, a wartime agency known informally as “Churchill’s secret army,” which recruited more than 14,000 agents to conduct espionage and sabotage behind enemy lines.

Funeral costs were paid by the British Legion, the country’s main veterans’ organization, and by anonymous donors who came forward after the circumstances of Ms. Nearne’s death made front-page news in Britain.

The funeral organizers said that in accordance with her wishes, her ashes would be scattered at sea.

Ms. Nearne, known as Didi, volunteered for work that was as dangerous as any that wartime Britain had to offer: operating a secret radio link from Paris that was used to organize weapons drops to the French resistance and to shuttle messages back and forth between controllers in London and the resistance.

After several narrow escapes, she was arrested by the Gestapo in July 1944 and sent to the Ravensbruck concentration camp near Berlin, a camp that was primarily intended for women, tens of thousands of whom died there.

Ms. Nearne survived, though other women working for the Special Operations Executive were executed in the Nazi camps.

As she related in postwar debriefings, documented in Britain’s National Archives, the Gestapo tortured her — beating her, stripping her naked, then submerging her repeatedly in a bath of ice-cold water until she began to black out from lack of oxygen. Yet they failed to force her to yield the secrets they sought: her real identity, the names of others working with her in the resistance and the assignments given to her by London. At the time, she was 23.

The account she gave her captors was that she was an innocent and somewhat gullible Frenchwoman named Jacqueline Duterte, and that she had been recruited by a local businessman to transmit radio coded messages that she did not understand.

She recalled one interrogator’s attempts to break her will: “He said, ‘Liar! Spy!’ and hit me on the face. He said, ‘We have ways of making people who don’t want to talk, talk. Come with us.’ ”

From Ravensbruck, Ms. Nearne was shuttled eastward through an archipelago of Nazi death camps, her head shaved. After first refusing to work in the camps, she changed her mind, seeing the work assignments as the only means of survival.

In December 1944 she was moved to the Markleberg camp, near Leipzig, where she worked on a road-repair gang for 12 hours a day. But while being transferred yet again, she and two Frenchwomen escaped and eventually linked up with American troops.

Even then, her travails were not over. American intelligence officers initially identified her as a Nazi collaborator and held her at a detention center with captured SS personnel until her account, that she was a British secret agent, was verified by her superiors in London.

Asked by her postwar debriefers how she kept up hope, she replied: “The will to live. Willpower. That’s the most important. You should not let yourself go. It seemed that the end would never come, but I always believed in destiny, and I had a hope.”

“If you are a person who is drowning, you put all your efforts into trying to swim.”

Ms. Nearne was born on March 15, 1921, into an Anglo-Spanish family that later moved to France, where she grew up speaking French.

The family fled to Spain ahead of the German occupation of France, arriving in Britain in 1942. Ms. Nearne, her older sister, Jacqueline, and their brother, Francis, were recruited by the Special Operations Executive. In March 1944, Didi Nearne followed her sister in parachuting into France, remaining there, under the code name Agent Rose, after her sister was airlifted back to Britain.

The Gestapo had infiltrated many of the Allied spying networks, and Ms. Nearne lived on a knife’s edge. On a train journey to a new safe house south of Paris, her cover came close to being blown when a German soldier offered to carry her suitcase, which contained her secret radio. After telling him that it contained a gramophone, she hurriedly got off the train and walked with the case the rest of the way.

Describing how she lived undercover, she said after the war: “I wasn’t nervous. In my mind, I was never going to be arrested. But of course I was careful. There were Gestapo in plain clothes everywhere. I always looked at my reflection in the shop windows to see if I was being followed.”

In July 1944, the Gestapo arrived at her Paris hide-out moments after she had completed a coded transmission. She burned the messages and hid the radio, but the Germans found the radio and the pad she had used for coding the transmissions.

Parts of her story were later told in books written about wartime secret operations, including the 1966 history “SOE in France, 1940-1944,” by Michael Foot, part of a government history series by authors given special access to secret government records.

But wartime friends said after her death, on Sept. 2, that she had found it difficult to adjust to peacetime life, and a medical report in the government archives said she was suffering from psychological symptoms brought on by her wartime service. She never married, and she lived alone after her sister died in 1982.

Friends said that she withdrew into herself and shunned all opportunities to earn celebrity from her wartime experiences. In 1993, she returned to Ravensbruck for a visit, but otherwise she cherished her anonymity. As she told an interviewer several years before she died: “It was a life in the shadows, but I was suited for it. I could be hard and secret. I could be lonely. I could be independent. But I wasn’t bored. I liked the work."

[Grace]

Lt. Brendan Looney, 29, USN (SEAL), USNA '04



The real America's Team

By Scott Garceau, September 23, 2010 1:12 PM | 0 Comments

blogshot_scott-garceau.jpg

While we were debating Joe Flacco and Michael Vick and wondering where Buck Showalter hides his magic wand, a story with a sports connection likely evaded many of us.

Tuesday a Blackhawk helicopter went down in Southern Afghanistan, the crash took nine lives, among them Brendan Looney a Navy Seal and a former Navy lacrosse player, class of 2004. Andrew Dow, also a former Navy lacrosse player, survived the crash.

Brendan Looney was a three-sport star at DeMatha High School in Maryland and went to Navy to play football. His commitment to his country didn't change, but his sport did.

With an opportunity to play with his brothers Steve and Billy, Brendan switched from football to lacrosse.

The three Looney brothers were part of Navy's incredible run to the NCAA Championship game in Baltimore in 2004. With the country rallying behind the service academies just a year after the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Navy captured the hearts of lacrosse fans with a fantastic tournament.

A heavy underdog to powerful Syracuse, Navy thrilled an M&T Bank Stadium crowd of 44,000 with a typical "everything we've got" effort. Syracuse won the title in a 14-13 thriller, but the Looney boys and the Navy team won the hearts of the big crowd on that Memorial Day.

Navy lacrosse coach Richie Meade knows the midshipmen that play for him are warriors in the true sense of the word. Players like Brendan Looney will give Navy everything they have on the field, while at the same time going through exhaustive physical and mental training to get them ready for their military commitment.

For Navy lacrosse players, the month of May usually means NCAA lacrosse playoffs and graduation. While graduates of most schools celebrate with a trip to a sandy beach, the midshipmen, often in a matter of days, are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan.

It's upsetting to see well compensated grown men playing a kid's game and referring to themselves as warriors. Wrong - Tough football players, yes, warriors no!

Looney, 29, was the oldest of six lacrosse-playing children of Kevin and Maureen Looney.

Brendan Looney and eight other WARRIORS gave their lives to protect our freedom this week. May they rest in peace.

[Grace]

21 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of four sailors who died in a helicopter crash Sept. 21 during combat operations in the Zabul province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Killed were:

Lt. (SEAL) Brendan J. Looney, 29, of Owings, Md., assigned to a West Coast-based SEAL Team.

Senior Chief Petty Officer David B. McLendon, 30, of Thomasville, Ga., assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

Petty Officer 2nd Class (SEAL) Adam O. Smith, 26, of Hurland, Mo., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

Petty Officer 3rd Class (SEAL) Denis C. Miranda, 24, of Toms River, N.J., assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

[Grace]

21 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of five soldiers who died in a helicopter crash Sept. 21 during combat operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan, while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. All soldiers were assigned to 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:

Maj. Robert F. Baldwin, 39, of Muscatine, Iowa.

Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah.

Chief Warrant Officer Jonah D. McClellan, 26, of St. Louis Park, Minn.

Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill.

Sgt. Marvin R. Calhoun Jr., 23, of Elkhart, Ind.

Baldwin was assigned to the brigade headquarters; Wagstaff, McClellan and Calhoun were assigned to the 5th Battalion; and Powell was assigned to the 6th Battalion.

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World War II



Missing WWII Soldier is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Pfc. James C. Konyud, of Cleveland, will be buried on Sept. 25 in his hometown. From mid-September 1944 to early February 1945, the Army was engaged against German forces in the Hürtgen Forest, along the Germany/Belgium border, in the longest continuously fought battle in American history. In early January 1945, elements of the 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division were deployed defensively in the area southeast of Aachen. Konyud, a member of K Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, was reported missing near the location on Jan. 1.

In 2007, a German explosive ordnance disposal team working in an agricultural field between Vossenack and Hürtgen, found human remains and military-related equipment, including Konyud’s military identification tag. The remains and items were turned over to Army Memorial Affairs Activity-Europe officials for further analysis.

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams traveled to excavate the site twice in 2007 and once in 2008, recovering additional remains and other military-related equipment, including a second identification tag for Konyud.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of Konyud’s brother and niece, in the identification of his remains.

More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

World War II



Missing WWII Soldier is Identified in Germany

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Sgt. Edward T. Jones, of West Pawlet, Vt., will be buried on Sept. 25 in Saratoga, N.Y. In November 1944, the 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division was traveling east through the Hürtgen Forest in an attempt to capture the German towns of Vossenack and Schmidt. On Nov. 6, Jones and five other members of A Company, 112th Infantry Regiment, were killed in the town of Kommerscheidt when a German tank fired point-blank on their position.

In 2008, a German explosive ordnance disposal team, working at a construction site in the town of Kommerscheidt, found fragments of a World War II-era U.S. military boot. The team notified the German War Graves Commission who recovered remains of two individuals at the site and military equipment including two identification tags. The items were turned over to a Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command team in the area for further analysis.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the JPAC used dental comparisons in the identification of the remains.

[Grace]

23 September 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Rosa, 20, of Swanton, Vt., died Sept. 23 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

England


RAF helicopter pilot Flight Lieutenant Ian Fortune has been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC) for his heroic actions whilst on operations in Afghanistan.

Ministry of Defence statement (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/HistoryAndHonour/RafPilotHonouredForSavingColleaguesAfterShotToTheF ace.htm)

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Matthew Thomas, from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, was killed in the Garmsir district of Helmand province on Saturday 25 September 2010.

Ministry of Defence statement. (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/CorporalMatthewThomasKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

Denmark


Pvt. Simon Mundt Jorgensen

From: Denmark
Age: 21
Unit: Kompagnie C, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Company C, The Royal Life Guard)
Died: September 22, 2010

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a dismounted patrol south of Patrol Base Bridzar, nearly four miles (six km) northeast of Gereshk, in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

24 September 2010


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

Pfc. Clinton E. Springer II, 21, of Sanford, Maine, died Sept. 24 in Kabul, Afghanistan, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y

[Grace]

24 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation New Dawn.

They died Sept. 24 in Fallujah, Iraq, of injuries sustained Sept. 23 in a non-combat incident. They were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

Killed were:

Spc. John Carrillo Jr., 20, of Stockton, Calif.

Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan, 26, of Watertown, Conn.

[Grace]

World War II



Missing WWII Naval Aviators Identified

The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Navy Lt. Francis B. McIntyre of Mitchell, S.D., will be buried on Sept. 29, and Aviation Radioman Second Class William L. Russell of Cherokee, Okla., will be buried on Oct. 1. Both men will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

On Nov. 10, 1943, the two men took off on a bombing and strafing mission in their SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber from Munda Field, New Georgia, in the Solomon Islands. Witnesses last saw the aircraft flying at low altitude through a large explosion on an enemy airfield on Buka Island, Papua New Guinea. None reported seeing the crash of the aircraft itself.

The American Graves Registration Service searched numerous South Pacific Islands in 1949 in an effort to gather data about aircraft crashes or missing Americans. The team was unable to find any useful information, and failed to recover any American remains in the area. A board of review declared both men unrecoverable.

In 2007, a Papuan national found a World War II crash site near the Buka airport, which was reported to U.S. officials. In May 2008, specialists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), working with the country’s national museum, investigated the crash site but were unable to excavate it because of inclement weather. Local officials turned over human remains, McIntyre’s identification tag and other military-related items which had been recovered earlier. After examining the remains in 2008 and 2009, JPAC determined that no excavation would be required since the two sets of remains were nearly complete.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons for both men and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA which matched a sample from Russell’s relatives and DNA extracted from a hat belonging to McIntyre.

At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 individuals. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

24 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation New Dawn.

Spc. Marc C. Whisenant, 23, of Holly Hill, Fla., died Sept. 24 in Kuwait of injuries sustained in a military vehicle roll-over. He was attached to the Florida National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment, Miami, Fla.

[Grace]

24 Sepyember 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Sept. 24 of wounds suffered while traveling between Ghanzi and Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, when their military vehicle was attacked with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, U.S. Army, Alaska, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Killed were:

Pfc. William B. Dawson, 20, of Tunica, Miss.

Pfc. Jaysine P. S. Petree, 19, of Yigo, Guam.

[Grace]

26 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Sept. 26 at Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their military vehicle with an improvised explosive device on Sept. 25 at Forward Operating Base Frontenac, Afghanistan. They were assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

Killed were:

Sgt. Mark A. Simpson, 40, of Peoria, Ill.

Spc. Donald S. Morrison, 23, of Cincinnati, Ohio.

[Grace]

28 September 2010



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

Lance Cpl. Ralph J. Fabbri, 20, of Gallitzin, Pa., died Sept. 28 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the HeadquartersBattalion, 1st Marine Division, IMarine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Poland


Sgt. Kazimierz Kasprzak

From: Poland
Age: 32
Unit: 15 Pułk Obrony Powietrznej (15th Air Defense Regiment)
Died: September 27, 2010

Died of injuries sustained when a roadside bomb detonated in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Four suicides in one week at Fort Hood. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/30/us/30hood.html)

[Grace]

29 September 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Senior Airman Mark Forester, 29, of Tuscaloosa, Ala., died Sept. 29 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, while conducting combat operations in the area. He was assigned to the 21st Special Tactics Squadron, Pope Air Force Base, N.C.

[Grace]

30 September 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Timothy M. Jackson, 22, of Corbin, Ky., died Sept. 30 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

29 September 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Calvin B. Harrison, 31, of San Antonio, Texas, died Sept. 29 in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

1 October 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died Oct. 1 in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their military vehicle with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1221st Engineer Clearance Company, Graniteville, S.C.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Willie J. Harley Jr., 48, of Aiken, S.C.

Spc. Luther W. Rabon Jr., 32, of Lexington, S.C.

[Grace]

1 October 2010


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

Sgt. Anthony D. Matteoni, 22, of Union City, Mich., died Oct. 1 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

1 October 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Lance H. Vogeler, 29, of Frederick, Md., died Oct.1 in Bastion, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered in Helmand, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

[Grace]

4 October 2010


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

Spc. Joseph T. Prentler, 20, of Fenwick, Mich., died Oct. 4 in Mama Kariz, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his military vehicle using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

2 October2010


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

Sgt. Brian J. Pedro, 27, of Rosamond, Calif., died Oct. 2 in Pol-e-Khumri, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 2nd Engineer Battalion, White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

[Grace]

World War II


Missing WWII Soldiers Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Pfc. Lawrence N. Harris, of Elkins, W.V., will be buried on Oct. 8 in Clarksburg, W.V, and Army Cpl. Judge C. Hellums, of Paris, Miss., will be buried on Oct. 9 in Randolph, Miss. In late September 1944, their unit, the 773rd Tank Battalion, was clearing German forces out of the Parroy Forest near Lunéville. On Oct. 9, 1944, in the final battle for control of the region, Hellums, Harris and three other soldiers were attacked by enemy fire in their M-10 Tank Destroyer. Harris and Hellums were reported to have been killed, and evidence at the time indicated the remains of the men had been destroyed in the attack and were neither recovered nor buried near the location.

In November 1946, a French soldier working in the Parroy Forest found debris associated with an M-10 vehicle and human remains, which were turned over to the American Graves Registration Command (AGRC). The remains were buried as unknowns in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Belgium. A year later, the AGRC returned to the Parroy Forest to conduct interviews and search for additional remains. Investigators noted at that time that all remains of U.S. soldiers had reportedly been removed and that the soldiers were likely buried elsewhere as unknowns.

In 2003, a French citizen exploring the Parroy Forest discovered human remains and an identification bracelet engraved with Hellums’ name. The information was eventually sent to the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC). In April 2006, the man turned over the items to a JPAC team working in Europe.

Historians at DPMO and JPAC continued their research on the burials at the Ardennes Cemetery, and drew a correlation to those unknowns that had been removed from the 1944 battle site. In early 2008, JPAC disinterred these remains and began their forensic review.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons for both men and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of each soldier’s relatives in the identification of their remains.

At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 72,000 remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

5 October 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the death of an airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Senior Airman Daniel J. Johnson, 23, of Schiller Park, Ill., died Oct. 5 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

[Grace]

4 October 2010


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

Pfc. Cody A. Board, 19, of McKinney, Texas, died Oct. 4 at Mirwais, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.