In Memoriam

[Grace]

4 October 2010


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

Sgt. Karl A. Campbell, 34, of Chiefland, Fla., died Oct. 4 in Babur, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

4 October 2010


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

Pfc. Ryane G. Clark, 22, of New London, Minn., died Oct. 4 in Shekhabad, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 27th Combat Engineer Battalion (Airborne), 20th Combat Engineer Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

6 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Scott A. Lynch, 22, of Greenwood Lake, N.Y., died Oct. 6 while conducting 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]

6 October 2010



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

Cpl. Stephen C. Sockalosky, 21, of Cordele, Ga., died Oct. 6 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]

8 October 2010


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

Hospital Corpsman Edwin Gonzalez, 22, of North Miami Beach, Fla., died Oct. 8 from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Forces, Atlantic, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sergeant Peter Anthony Rayner of 2nd Battalion, The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, 'Lions of England', Theatre Reserve Battalion, was killed in Afghanistan on Friday 8 October 2010.


Sergeant Rayner was killed in action when he was struck by an Improvised Explosive Device whilst leading his men on patrol in the Nahr-e-Saraj District of Helmand Province.


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

[Grace]

Romania


Sgt. Maj. Marius Florin Sfecheş

From: Romania
Age: 25
Unit: Batalionul 812 Infanterie (812th Infantry Battalion)
Died: October 1, 2010


Pvt. Cristian-Petru Filip

From: Romania
Age: 26
Unit: Batalionul 812 Infanterie (812th Infantry Battalion)
Died: October 1, 2010

Two Romanian soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Nepal


Rifleman Suraj Gurung

From: Gorkha, Nepal
Age: 22
Unit: Company C, 1st Battalion, The Royal Gurkha Rifles
Died: October 2, 2010

Killed when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive device during a follow-up foot patrol after an attack on a patrol base in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Georgia

30 September 2010


Four Georgian soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Cpl. Giorgi Kolkhitashvili
Col. Ramaz Gogiashvili
Sgt. Davit Tsetskhladze
Cpl. Nugzar Kalandadze

[Grace]

8 October 2010



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

Lance Cpl. John T. Sparks, 23, of Chicago, Ill., died Oct. 8 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

11 October 2010


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

Sgt. Frank R. Zaehringer III, 23, of Reno, Nev., died Oct. 11 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

10 October 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 10 of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Dave J. Weigle, 29, of Philadelphia, Pa. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.; and

Spc. David A. Hess, 25, of Ruskin, Fla. He was assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

12 October 2010



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

Spc. Matthew C. Powell, 20, of Slidell, La., died Oct. 12 at Kandahar Airfield, of wounds suffered at Ghunday Ghar, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked his military vehicle using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

13 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Raymon L. A. Johnson, 22, of Midland, Ga., died Oct. 13 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]

World War II



Missing WWII Airman 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 returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Arthur F. Parkhurst, of Evansville, Ind., will be buried on Oct. 16 in Dayton, Ohio. On March 12, 1945, Parkhurst and five other crew members aboard a C-47A Skytrain departed Tanauan Airfield on Leyte, Philippines, on a resupply mission to guerilla troops. Once cleared for takeoff there was no further communication between the aircrew and airfield operators. When the aircraft failed to return, a thorough search of an area ten miles on either side of the intended route was initiated. No evidence of the aircraft was found and the six men were presumed killed in action, their remains determined non-recoverable.

In 1989, a Philippine national police officer contacted U.S. officials regarding a possible World War II-era aircraft crash near Leyte. Human remains, aircraft parts and artifacts -- including an identification tag belonging to Parkhurst -- were turned over to the local police, then to U.S. officials.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Parkhurst’s brother and sister -- in the identification of his remains.

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

[Grace]

13 October 2010


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

The following Marines died Oct. 13 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Cpl. Justin J. Cain, 22, of Manitowoc, Wis.

Lance Cpl. Phillip D. Vinnedge, 19, of Saint Charles, Mo.

Lance Cpl. Joseph E. Rodewald, 21, of Albany, Ore.

Pfc. Victor A. Dew, 20, of Granite Bay, Calif.

All four Marines were assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

13 October 2010


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

Pfc. Jordan M. Byrd, 19, of Grantsville, Utah, died Oct. 13 in Yahya Kheyl, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

14 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Irvin M. Ceniceros, 21, of Clarksville, Ark., died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

14 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Alec E. Catherwood, 19, of Byron, Ill., died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

14 October 2010


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

Sgt. Eric C. Newman, 30, of Waynesboro, Miss., died Oct. 14 in Akatzai Kalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

14 October 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations between Moqur and Darreh-Ye-Bum, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. Carlos A. Benitez, 24, of Carrollton, Texas.

Spc. Rafael Martinez Jr., 36, of Spring Valley, Calif.

Pfc. Tramaine J. Billingsley, 20, of Portsmouth, Va.

They were assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

[Grace]

14 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Joseph C. Lopez, 26, of Rosamond, Calif., died Oct. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

15 October 2010



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

Lance Cpl. James D. Boelk, 24, of Oceanside, Calif., died Oct. 15 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

I have a bunch of updates to do - of US troops. Having a problem with the foreign troops, though. CNN had this great site, listing all troops killed in action, and that's where I got the other countries. but they have not updated it in 12 days. I sent them an email - no response.

There is another place where I can find out, but it's more complicated. So bear with me.

[Grace]

16 October 2010


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

Pfc. Dylan T. Reid, 24, of Springfield, Mo., died Oct. 16 in Amarah, Iraq in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.

[Grace]

16 October 2010


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

Sgt. Ian M. Tawney, 25, of Dallas, Ore., died Oct. 16 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

17 October 2010


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

Cpl. Jorge Villarreal Jr., 22, of San Antonio, Texas, died Oct. 17 while conducting 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]

Vietnam




Missing Vietnam War Soldiers Identified

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

Army Staff Sgt. Robert S. Griffith, of Hapeville, Ga., will be buried on Oct. 23 in Fairburn, Ga. The group remains of the other two soldiers which could not be individually identified -- Army Staff Sgt. Melvin C. Dye, of Carleton, Mich., and Sgt. 1st Class Douglas J. Glover, of Cortland, N.Y., will be buried at a later date. The men were aboard a UH-1H Iroquois helicopter on Feb. 19, 1968, when it was shot down by enemy fire in Laos. They were involved in an attempt to extract a long-range reconnaissance patrol in the mountains of Attapu Province. Three other American service members survived the crash and were rescued, but three Vietnamese Montagnards did not survive.

Several hours after the crash, a team was dispatched to survey the location and reported seeing remains of at least five people. Enemy activity prevented remains recovery at that time. The following month a second team was sent to the crash site but found no remains.

In 1995, a joint U.S.-Lao People’s Democratic Republic team traveled to the recorded grid coordinates for the crash site but found no evidence of a helicopter crash. The team then surveyed a second location in the area where they found helicopter wreckage and human remains. In 2006, a follow-on team was not able to resurvey the same site due to severe overgrowth and time constraints. Another team excavated the location in late 2007 recovering human remains, wreckage and military-related equipment.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental x-rays in the identification of Griffith’s remains.

Since late 1973, the remains of 938 Americans killed in the Vietnam War have been accounted for and returned to their families with 1,708 service members still missing.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Acting Corporal David Barnsdale from 33 Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) was killed in Afghanistan yesterday, Tuesday 19 October 2010.


Ministry of Defence statement (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/ActingCorporalDavidBarnsdaleKilledInAfghanistan.ht m)

[Grace]

Italy
9 October 2010



Ville, Sebastian, Caporal Maggiore, 27
Pedone, Marco, Caporal Maggiore, 23
Manca, Gianmarco, 1° Caporal Maggiore, 32
Vannozzi, Francesco, 26

7° reggimento alpini

IED attack

[Grace]

Sweden
16 October 2010


The body of Kenneth Wallin, the 22-year-old Swedish soldier killed in Afghanistan on Saturday, returned home to Sweden on Tuesday evening.

Article from a Swedish paper (http://www.thelocal.se/29710/20101020/)

[Grace]

Poland

14 October 2010


Szada-Borzyszkowski, Adam, 28, from Pomorskie, Trzebiatkowa.

Died in a mortar attack, in Ghazni.

[Grace]

France

15 October 2010


Miloche, Thibault, 39, du 126e Régiment d’Infanterie de Brive, French Army.

Killed by rocket fire in Kabul.

[Grace]

19 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Francisco R. Jackson, 24, of Elizabeth, N.J., died Oct. 19 while conducting 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]

19 October 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Joshua J. Cullins, 28, of Simi Valley, Calif., died Oct. 19 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

World War II



Soldier 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 will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Staff Sgt. John R. Simonetti, 26, of Jackson Heights, N.Y., will be buried on Oct. 25 in Arlington National Cemetery. Following the Normandy invasion, allied troops began the deadly task of engaging regrouped German forces in the pastures, hedgerows and villages of France. On June 16, 1944, Simonetti was among the advancing infantrymen of the 9th Infantry Regiment of the 2nd Infantry Division. The soldiers were met with heavy automatic weapons and mortar fire and were forced to stop and take cover before they reached the French town of St. Germain-d’Elle. During the battle, the Americans sustained heavy losses, including Simonetti. Two members of his unit later gave conflicting information on the location and disposition of his remains. In the first account, the witness stated his body could not be recovered due to enemy activity, and the second said his body was evacuated to the battalion aid station. Two post-war investigations failed to recover his remains and he was declared non-recoverable by a military review board in 1950.

In May 2009, a French construction crew uncovered human remains and military equipment—including Simonetti’s identifications tags—when excavating a site in St. Germain-d’Elle. French police turned over the remains and artifacts to U.S. officials for analysis.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental comparisons in the identification of his remains.

At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 74,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

20 October 2010



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

Spc. Gerald R. Jenkins, 19, of Circleville, Ohio, died Oct. 20 in Maquan, Zhari district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troop Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

21 October 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Kenneth K. McAninch, 28, of Logansport, Ind., died Oct. 21 at Yahya Khel district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

From the NY Times -


October 22, 2010
The Way We Treat Our Troops
By BOB HERBERT

You can only hope that the very preliminary peace efforts in Afghanistan bear fruit before long. But for evidence that the United States is letting its claim to greatness, and even common decency, slip through its fingers, all you need to do is look at the way we treat our own troops.

The idea that the United States is at war and hardly any of its citizens are paying attention to the terrible burden being shouldered by its men and women in uniform is beyond appalling.

We can get fired up about Lady Gaga and the Tea Party crackpots. We’re into fantasy football, the baseball playoffs and our obsessively narcissistic tweets. But American soldiers fighting and dying in a foreign land? That is such a yawn.

I would bring back the draft in a heartbeat. Then you wouldn’t have these wars that last a lifetime. And you wouldn’t get mind-bending tragedies like the death of Sgt. First Class Lance Vogeler, a 29-year-old who was killed a few weeks ago while serving in the Army in his 12th combat tour. That’s right, his 12th — four in Iraq and eight in Afghanistan.

Twelve tours may be unusual, but multiple tours — three, four, five — are absolutely normal. We don’t have enough volunteers to fight these endless wars. Americans are big on bumper stickers, and they like to go to sports events and demonstrate their patriotism by chanting, “U-S-A! U-S-A!” But actually putting on a uniform and going into harm’s way? No thanks.

Sergeant Vogeler was married and the father of two children, and his wife was expecting their third.

It’s a quaint notion, but true: with wars come responsibilities. The meat grinder of war takes its toll in so many ways, and we should be paying close attention to all aspects of it. Instead, we send our service members off to war, and once they’re gone, it’s out of sight, out of mind.

If we were interested, we might notice that record numbers of soldiers are killing themselves. At least 125 committed suicide through August of this year, an awful pace that if continued would surpass last year’s all-time high of 162.

Stressed-out, depressed and despondent soldiers are seeking help for their mental difficulties at a rate that is overwhelming the capacity of available professionals. And you can bet that there are even higher numbers of troubled service members who are not seeking help.

In the war zones, we medicate the troubled troops and send them right back into action, loading them up with antidepressants, sleeping pills, anti-anxiety drugs and lord knows what other kinds of medication.

One of the things we have long known about warfare is that the trouble follows the troops home. The Times published an article this week by Aaron Glantz, a reporter with The Bay Citizen news organization in San Francisco, that focused on the extraordinary surge of fatalities among Afghanistan and Iraq veterans. These young people died, wrote Mr. Glantz, “not just as a result of suicide, but also of vehicle accidents, motorcycle crashes, drug overdoses or other causes after being discharged from the military.”

An analysis of official death certificates showed that, from 2005 through 2008, more than 1,000 California veterans under the age of 35 had died. That’s three times the number of service members from California who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq during the same period.

Veterans of the two wars were two-and-a-half times as likely to commit suicide as people the same age with no military service. “They were twice as likely,” Mr. Glantz reported, “to die in a vehicle accident, and five-and-a-half times as likely to die in a motorcycle accident.”

The torment that wars put people through is not something that can be turned on and off like a switch. It’s a potentially deadly burden that demands attention and care. People shouldn’t be exposed to it if there is any possible alternative.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been world-class fiascos. To continue them without taking serious account of the horrors being endured by our troops and their families is just wrong.

The war in Afghanistan, the longest in our history, began on Oct. 7, 2001. It’s now in its 10th year. After all this time and all the blood shed and lives lost, it’s still not clear what we’re doing. Osama bin Laden hasn’t been found. The Afghan Army can’t stand on its own. Our ally in Pakistan can’t be trusted, and our man in Kabul is, at best, flaky. A good and humane society would not keep sending its young people into that caldron.

Shakespeare tells us to “be not afraid of greatness.” At the moment, we are acting like we’re terrified.



Source (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/opinion/23herbert.html)

[Grace]

Denmark



Danish soldier, Mikkel Jørgensen, age 21, was killed on October 23, 2010, in a firefight in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

He was attached to Charlie Company, from the Royal Guard in Hovelte. He had been in Afghanistan since August.

Mikkel Jørgensen was shot as he was on a patrol in the area east of Patrol Base Bridzar. Comrades and sanitation soldiers provided first aid on the spot before he was evacuated by helicopter to the field hospital at Camp Bastion.

He leaves behind his father, mother and younger brother.


http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_7XBPrWpkNa8/TMM3nv8moeI/AAAAAAAAA8s/Ih1BqqXCgPk/s1600/mikkel+jorgensen.jpg

[Grace]

23 October 2010



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

Spc. Ronnie J. Pallares, 19, of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., died Oct. 23 in Andar district, Ghazni, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

24 October 2010


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

Spc. Steven L. Dupont, 20, of Lafayette, La., died Oct. 24 at Rangrizan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

24 October 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Charles M. Sadell, 34, of Columbia, Mo., died Oct. 24 at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered Oct. 5 at Arif Kala, Afghanistan, 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, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

22 October 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Aracely Gonzalez O’Malley, 31, of Brawley, Calif., died Oct. 22 at Homburg, Germany, of injuries sustained in a non combat incident Oct. 12 at Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan. She was assigned to the 307th Integrated Theater Signal Battalion, 516th Signal Brigade, 311th Signal Command, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

24 October 2010


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

Spc. Thomas A. Moffitt, 21, of Wichita, Kan., died Oct. 24 at Sarobi District, Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when his unit was attacked by insurgents with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[lizbud]

Grace, your post # 1038 contained a notice of one Indiana man killed in
Afganistan. I noticed a story about him in the local paper. I was shocked
to earn he had had left behind five children,besides his wife and his parents.:(

I didn't think someone with that many dependants would be allowed
to serve.:confused: Such a great loss for his children. I know during the
Draft, that wouldn't be allowed, would it?


http://www.indystar.com/article/20101024/LOCAL/10240421/Slain-soldier-leaves-wife-5-kids-parents?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|IndyStar.com

[Grace]

liz - they are so desperate for bodies, they will take anyone who can walk and breathe at the same time. I've heard about brothers serving at the same time - maybe not in the same unit, but in the same country.

You know, the only ones who are disqualified are gay. Hopefully that won't last much longer.

[Grace]

24 October 2010


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

Pfc. David R. Jones Jr., 21, of Saint Johnsville, N.Y., died Oct. 24 at Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

World War II


Airmen Missing in Action from WWII Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two U.S. 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 Air Forces Staff Sgts. Claude A. Ray, 24, Coffeyville, Kan., and Claude G. Tyler, 24, Landover, Md., will both be buried today -- Ray in Fallbrook, Calif., and Tyler in Arlington National Cemetery. These two airmen, along with 10 other crew members, were ordered to carry out a reconnaissance mission in their B-24D Liberator, taking off from an airfield near Port Moresby, New Guinea, on Oct. 27, 1943. Allied plans were being formulated to mount an attack on the Japanese redoubt at Rabaul, New Britain. American strategists considered it critical to take Rabaul in order to support the eventual invasion of the Philippines. The crew’s assigned area of reconnaissance was the nearby shipping lanes in the Bismarck Sea. But during their mission, they were radioed to land at a friendly air strip nearby due to poor weather conditions. The last radio transmission from the crew did not indicate their location, and searchers that day and the following weeks were unable to locate the aircraft in spite of multiple searches over land and sea areas.

Following World War II, the Army Graves Registration Service conducted investigations and searches for 43 missing airmen, including Ray and Tyler, in the area but concluded in June 1949 that they were unrecoverable.

In August 2003 a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) received information on a crash site from a citizen in Papua New Guinea while they were investigating another case. He also turned over an identification card from one of the crew members and reported that there were possible human remains at the site of the crash. Twice in 2004 other JPAC teams attempted to visit the site but were unable to do so due to poor weather and hazardous conditions at the helicopter landing site. Another team was able to successfully excavate the site from January to March 2007 where they found several identification tags from the B-24D crew as well as human remains.

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 relatives of Ray and Tyler -- in the identification of their remains

Of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II, more than 400,000 died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 74,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

26 October 2010



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

Sgt. 1st Class Phillip C. Tanner, 43, of Sheridan, Wyo., died Oct. 26 at Ali Al Salem, Kuwait, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 106th Transportation Battalion, 101st Sustainment Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

27 October 2010


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

Sgt. Michael D. Kirspel Jr., 23, of Hopatcong, N.J., died Oct. 27 near the village of Khwaja Kinti (approximately 25 km south of Ghormach), Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery (Strike), 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

From the NY Times - make sure you view the slide show


Death and Memory (http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/28/death-and-memory/?hp)


I'm curious why none of the candidates are discussing Afghanistan.

[Grace]

27 October 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Terry E. Honeycutt Jr., 19, of Waldorf, Md., died Oct. 27 from wounds received Oct. 21 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]

28 October 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Adam L. Dickmyer, 26, of Winston Salem, N.C., died Oct. 28 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

29 October 2010


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

Spc. Pedro A. Maldonado, 20, of Houston, Texas, died Oct. 29 in Kandalay, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

29 October 2010


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

Spc. Diego A. Solorzanovaldovinos, 24, of Huntington Park, Calif., died Oct. 29 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit on Oct. 27 with small arms fire in the Yahya Khel district in Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 506nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

30 October 2010


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

Spc. Brett W. Land, 24, of Wasco, Calif., died Oct. 30 in the Zhari district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper William Blanchard from 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), serving with the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, was killed in Afghanistan on Saturday 30 October 2010.


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

[Grace]

1 November 2010

From Boston.com

Belmont soldier killed in Afghanistan, DOD reports

By Sarah Thomas, Town Correspondent

The remains of a Belmont soldier who was killed Monday in a bomb attack in Kandahar, Afghanistan were returned to American soil today, according to a release from the Department of Defense.

Spc. Jonathan M. Curtis, 24, of Belmont, was killed when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. Curtis was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, out of Fort Campbell, Ky.

Also killed was Pfc. Andrew N. Meari, 21, of Plainfield, Ill. The remains of both soldiers were flown in to Dover Air Force Base today.

[Grace]

2 November 2010



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

1st Lt. James R. Zimmerman, 25, of Aroostook, Maine, died Nov. 2 while conducting 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]

3 November 2010


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

Sgt. 1st Class Todd M. Harris, 37, of Tucson, Ariz., died Nov. 3 in Badghis province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 87th Infantry Battalion, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

3 November 2010


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

Spc. James C. Young, 25, of Rochester, Ill., died Nov. 3 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion, Darien, Ill.

[Grace]

5 November 2010


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

Spc. Blake D. Whipple, 21, of Williamsville, N.Y., died Nov. 5 in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 7th Engineering Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

5 November 2010


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

Sgt. Michael F. Paranzino, 22, of Middletown, R.I., died Nov. 5 in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

4 November 2010


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

The following Marines died Nov. 4 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan:

Lance Cpl. Brandon W. Pearson, 21, of Arvada, Colo.

Lance Cpl. Matthew J. Broehm, 22, of Flagstaff, Ariz.

Both Marines were assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

This incident is currently under investigation.

[Grace]

6 November 2010


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

Pfc. Shane M. Reifert, 23, of Cottrellville, Mich., died Nov. 6 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

The young man from post #1064 - http://www.projo.com/photos/20101108/ja1108_Paranzino_2_11-08-10_D8KQQ8K.jpg


From the ProJo -


MIDDLETOWN — They were proud to be there in Boston in August 2007, when their son was sworn in as a volunteer in the Army. They were there in Kentucky when he graduated from advanced basic training.

But Saturday night, the family of Sgt. Michael F. Paranzino, a 2006 graduate of Middletown High School, were present for an honor they would have gladly forsaken as his flag-draped coffin was somberly removed from a plane at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

The Department of Defense said Paranzino, just shy of 23, was killed Friday by an improvised explosive device while serving near Kandahar in Afghanistan. The decorated soldier had been a cavalry scout with the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

He had been in Afghanistan since March, after serving a tour in Iraq.

Throughout the day on Sunday, an electronic sign in front of the Middletown Police Department summed it up in flashing lights: “MPD salutes fallen hero Sgt. Michael Paranzino.”

More honors will follow once the Army releases his body and he is brought back to Rhode Island for burial. Those arrangements were still incomplete Sunday.

Paranzino leaves behind a wife, Lindsey, and sons Maxton and Logan, all in Calcium, N.Y., outside Fort Drum, and his parents, Melane and Francis “Butch” Paranzino of Middletown.

Being a soldier was a job Michael did proudly, his sleep-deprived father said Sunday afternoon. He and his wife had just returned from the “dignified transfer” ceremony marking the return of their son late Saturday night at Dover.

Family and friends were beginning to arrive at the home, tucked away at the edge of a farm on Vanicek Avenue. A friend, fresh from church where a Mass of Remembrance was said on Michael’s behalf, brought food. Others lingered sorrowfully in the kitchen. The Paranzino answering machine gave a beep every 10 seconds, signifying messages waiting to be checked.

“He was a very good soldier,” Butch Paranzino said. “Needless to say, we were very proud of him.”

Michael Paranzino graduated from Middletown High School in 2006. He did some wrestling there. He was also a good archer, his mother said.

He didn’t want to go to college right away and explored other options, such as working at a tent company and toiling on fishing boats. Ultimately he decided to volunteer for the military.

“He said, ‘I don’t want to be a nobody and hang around here. I want to make something of my life,’ ” his father recalled.

Butch and Melane stood with him when he took his oath in Boston. “When he completed his advanced basic training, we were there at Fort Knox” in Kentucky, the father said.

“He learned what it was to work hard, respect authority and discipline. As a youngster, he kind of made his own rules,” Butch said. The Army “was very good for him. It was wonderful, except for the danger.”

Butch Paranzino said his son was proud of how far he had come as a soldier.

“He did like it. He was doing what he wanted to do. I don’t think there was any talking him out of it,” he said. “He went from teenager to man,” intent on providing for his family, being a good son and being a good soldier to his country.

“He took pride in the responsibility he had for the other guys. When he made sergeant, I asked how it felt. And he said, ‘Well, can you imagine being in charge of a bunch of crazy teenagers with guns?’ So even at 22, he had that parental attitude.”

Cell-phone and Internet service wasn’t easy to come by in that region of Afghanistan. “I would either get a text message, a phone call or some contact by Facebook every 7 to 10 days,” Melane said.

“As a parent, you live to hear that he said something,” said Butch, especially when “we knew it was a very active area” of Afghanistan.

“Even if he said something to someone else,” she explained, “I knew he logged on and he was okay.”

Melane would send him weekly care packages of clean socks, beef jerky and homemade peanut butter balls.

The couple last saw their son two weeks ago. “He was back here on a mid-tour leave and we had the absolute best time,” Butch Paranzino said, then fighting back tears. “He promised us he’d come home safe.”

Sunday, Melane Paranzino wore a necklace consisting of Michael’s identification, along with dog-tag-size photos of her soldier.

“I wore these during his first tour [in Iraq]. He got an extra dog tag and gave it to me,” she said. As for the pendant with photos on either side, “I had this made because I wanted to be able to see him and keep him close to my heart. And now, I’ll never take them off.”

“I believe he’s a hero,” Butch Paranzino said. “He fought so we can have what we enjoy here. Whatever challenges you have in your life, if you think of him and do the best you can to succeed, you’re honoring his memory.”

[email protected]

[Grace]

5 November 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Jordan B. Emrick, 26, of Hoyleton, Ill., died Nov. 5 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

6 November 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Randy R. Braggs, 21, of Sierra Vista, Ariz., died Nov. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Korea



Soldier Missing from Korean War Identified

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

Army Cpl. Floyd E. Hooper, 27, of Stratton, Colo., will be buried on Nov. 13 in his hometown. In February 1951, his unit, the 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, fought against Chinese Communist forces in support of Operation Thunderbolt, an operation to sweep and clear enemy forces occupying areas south of the Han River. Strong enemy forces supported by artillery fire forced his unit to withdraw to a defensive perimeter where he was captured on Feb. 4, 1951, near Yangp’yong, Korea. After the 1953 armistice, it was learned from surviving POWs that he had been held in a POW camp in Suan County, North Korea, and died of malnutrition and dysentery just a few months later.

Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 servicemen. North Korean documents turned over with one of the boxes indicated the remains were exhumed near Suan County. This location correlates with Hooper’s last known location.

Analysts from DPMO developed case leads with information spanning more than 58 years. Through interviews with surviving POW eyewitnesses, experts validated circumstances surrounding the soldier’s captivity and death, confirming wartime documentation of his loss.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of his brother – in the identification of his remains.

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

[cassiesmom]

2 more from Illinois past few days

From Fox News Chicago - A soldier from Plainfield has died in Afghanistan. The Department of Defense said Private First Class Andrew Meari died when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. A 24-year-old army specialist from Massachussetts also died in the attack.

From the St. Louis news: Springfield, IL (KSDK) -- A 25-year-old soldier from Rochester, Illinois was killed earlier this week while in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, the US Department of Defense said Friday. Spc. James Young died November 3 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan from wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device (IED).

Specialist Young was assigned to the 863rd Engineer Battalion out of Darien, Illinois. His job was to travel ahead of other vehicles and convoys to clear the road of any explosives. Family members said Young went to Afghanistan earlier this year and had been home on leave less than two weeks ago.

Rochester is located about seven miles south-southeast of Springfield, Illinois.



Thank you, Grace for keeping this thread going.

[Grace]

7 November 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Nov. 7 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with small arms fire.

Killed were:

Sgt. Aaron B. Cruttenden, 25, of Mesa, Ariz.

Spc. Dale J. Kridlo, 33, Hughestown, Pa.

They were assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

4 November 2010



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

Sgt. Jason J. McCluskey, 26, of McAlester, Okla., died Nov. 4 at Zarghun Shahr, Mohammad Agha district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 27th Engineer Battalion, 20th Engineer Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Senior Aircraftman Scott 'Scotty' Hughes serving with Number 1 Squadron Royal Air Force Regiment died in Cyprus on Sunday 7 November 2010 following injuries sustained in an accident.


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

[Grace]

8 November 2010



Soldier With Maine Ties Killed In Afghanistan
Spc. Andrew Hutchins Was 20

POSTED: 9:26 am EST November 9, 2010
UPDATED: 5:17 pm EST November 9, 2010

AUGUSTA, Maine -- Another soldier with ties to Maine has been killed in Afghanistan.

Spc. Andrew Hutchins, 20, was killed Monday.

Hutchins was a military policeman serving with the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Ky.

“As Veterans Day approaches, we are painfully reminded that our country remains at war, and that our men and women in uniform are still called to duty for their country,” Gov. John Baldacci said.

Baldacci said he spoke with Hutchins' father, who said his son had been wounded previously, but that he wanted to return to Afghanistan to be with his buddies.

Hutchins’ mother lives in Waltham and his father lives in Leeds. His wife plans to stay in Maine with her mother until Hutchins’ funeral.

Hutchins is the second person this month with Maine ties killed in Afghanistan. Marine First Lt. James R. Zimmerman, 25, died Nov. 2.

source (http://www.wmtw.com/news/25682504/detail.html)

[Grace]

8 November 2010



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

Spc. Anthony Vargas, 27, of Reading, Pa., died Nov. 8 in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

9 November 2010


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

2nd Lt. Robert M. Kelly, 29, of Tallahassee, Fla., died Nov. 9 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Navy Commissions New Guided Missile Destroyer Jason Dunham

The Navy will commission the newest Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, Jason Dunham, during a 10 a.m. EST ceremony Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, at Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The new destroyer honors Cpl. Jason L. Dunham, the first Marine awarded the Medal of Honor for Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. James Amos will deliver the ceremony's principal address. Debra Dunham will serve as sponsor of the ship named for her late son. The ceremony will be highlighted by a time-honored Navy tradition when she gives the first order to “man our ship and bring her to life!”

Dunham was born in Scio, N.Y., Nov. 10, 1981, sharing the same birthday as the U.S. Marine Corps. On April 14, 2004, Dunham’s squad was conducting a reconnaissance mission in Karabilah, Iraq, when his battalion commander’s convoy was ambushed. When Dunham’s squad approached to provide fire support, an Iraqi insurgent leapt out of a vehicle and attacked Dunham. As Dunham wrestled the insurgent to the ground, he noticed that the enemy fighter had a grenade in his hand and immediately alerted his fellow Marines. When the enemy dropped the live grenade, Dunham took off his Kevlar helmet, covered the grenade, and threw himself on top to smother the blast. In an ultimate selfless act of courage, in which he was mortally wounded, he saved the lives of two fellow Marines.

Designated DDG 109, Jason Dunham, the 59th Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, will be able to conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection. Jason Dunham will be capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously and will contain a myriad of offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime warfare in keeping with “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower.”

Cmdr. M. Scott Sciretta, born in South Amboy, N.J., will become the first commanding officer of the ship and will lead the crew of 276 officers and enlisted personnel. The 9,200-ton Jason Dunham was built by Bath Iron Works, a General Dynamics company. The ship is 509 feet in length, has a waterline beam of 59 feet, and a navigational draft of 31 feet. Four gas turbine engines will power the ship to speeds in excess of 30 knots.

The commissioning ceremony will be webcast live at the following location: http://www.navy.mil.

[Grace]

10 November 2010



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

Lance Cpl. James B. Stack, 20, of Arlington Heights, Ill., died Nov. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

9 November 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Dakota R. Huse, 19, of Greenwood, La., died Nov. 9 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]

World War II



Missing WWII Airman 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 returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces Capt. George W. Grismore, 30, of Salt Lake City, will be buried at sea Nov. 17 off the coast of Newport Beach, Calif. A memorial service in Salt Lake City will precede the burial on Nov. 13. On March 12, 1945, Grismore and five crew members aboard a C-47A Skytrain departed Tanauan Airfield on Leyte, Philippines, on a resupply mission to guerilla troops. Once cleared for takeoff, there was no further communication between the aircrew and airfield operators. When the aircraft failed to return, a thorough search of an area ten miles on either side of the intended route was initiated. No evidence of the aircraft was found and the six men were presumed killed in action. Their remains were determined to be non-recoverable in 1949.

In 1989, a Philippine National Police officer contacted U.S. officials regarding a possible World War II-era aircraft crash near Leyte. Human remains, aircraft parts and artifacts were turned over to the local police, then to U.S. officials at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command.

From 1989 to 2009, JPAC sought permission to send teams to the crash site but unrest in the Burauen region precluded on-scene investigations or recovery operations. Meanwhile, JPAC scientists continued the forensic process, analyzing the remains and physical evidence already in hand.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA—which matched that of Grismore’s nephew—in the identification of his remains.

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

[Grace]

12 November 2010


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

Senior Airman Andrew S. Bubacz, 23, of Dalzell, S. C., died Nov. 12 in Nuristan, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 97th Communications Squadron, Altus Air Force Base, Okla.

[Grace]

12 November 2010


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

Cpl. Shawn D. Fannin, 32, of Wheelersburg, Ohio, died Nov. 12 in Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 404th Aviation Support Battalion, 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

10 November 2010


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

Sgt. Edward H. Bolen, 25, of Chittenango, N.Y., died Nov. 10 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire and an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

12 November 2010


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

Spc. Shannon Chihuahua, 25, of Thomasville, Ga., died Nov. 12 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

11 November 2010


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

Spc. David C. Lutes, 28, of Frostburg, Md., died Nov. 11 in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, on Nov. 8. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Northern Ireland



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Ranger Aaron McCormick, of 1st Battalion The Royal Irish Regiment, serving as part of Combined Force Nad 'Ali (South), was killed in Helmand, southern Afghanistan, on Sunday 14 November 2010.


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

[Grace]

Denmark


Pfc. Jørgen Randrup

From: Denmark
Age: 27
Unit: Kompagniet B, I Bataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Company B, 1st Battalion, Royal Life Guards)
Died: November 14, 2010

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a dismounted patrol east of Gereshk in Helmand province, Afghanistan.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.joergen.randrup.dkmod.jpg

[Grace]

13 November 2010


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

They died Nov. 13 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber detonated a vest bomb and struck their unit.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Juan L. Rivadeneira, 27, of Davie, Fla.

Cpl. Jacob R. Carver, 20, of Freeman, Mo.

Spc. Jacob C. Carroll, 20, of Clemmons, N.C.

They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

16 November 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Kevin M. Pape, 30, of Fort Wayne, Ind., died Nov. 16 in Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

[Grace]

16 November 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Javier O. Ortiz Rivera, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., died Nov. 16 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]

14 November 2010


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

They died Nov. 14 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked their unit with small arms fire.

Killed were:

Spc. Shane H. Ahmed, 31, of Chesterfield, Mich.

Spc. Nathan E. Lillard, 26, of Knoxville, Tenn.

Spc. Scott T. Nagorski, 27, of Greenfield, Wis.

Spc. Jesse A. Snow, 25, of Fairborn, Ohio.

Pfc. Christian M. Warriner, 19, of Mills River, N.C.

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

[Grace]

15 November 2010


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

Staff Sgt. David P. Senft, 27, of Grass Valley, Calif., died Nov. 15 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

17 November 2010


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

Pfc. Kyle M. Holder, 18, of Conroe, Texas, died Nov. 17 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment (Reconnaissance and Surveillance), 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

17 November 2010


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

Spc. Justin E. Culbreth, 26, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Nov. 17 at Panjway district, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using 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]

Army Releases October Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of October. Among active-duty soldiers, there were nine potential suicides: two have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation. For September, the Army reported 19 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, six have been confirmed as suicides, and 13 remain under investigation.

During October 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 16 potential suicides. For September, among that same group, there were 10 total suicides. Of those, four were confirmed as suicides and six are pending determination of the manner of death.

“Army efforts continue to focus on individuals who engage in high-risk behavior. Risk within the force cannot be mitigated by suicide prevention programs alone. Army leaders at every level have an enormous influence on helping to eliminate the stigma surrounding seeking behavioral health assistance, reducing high-risk behavior and reducing our unacceptable casualty rates,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Task Force.

“Through the coordinated efforts of leaders, medical professionals, chaplains, families and other members of the Army team, we can provide holistic care for those who seek help, while acting positively to reduce the high-risk population,” Philbrick said.

[Grace]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Guardsman Christopher Davies, from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, serving with Combined Force Nahr-e Saraj (North), was killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday 17 November 2010.


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

[lizbud]

Story of continued support for her son's Platoon.

Staff Sgt. Kenneth McAninch was mentioned in post 1038, page 70.

http://www.theindychannel.com/news/25862816/detail.html

[Grace]

Page 106 - post #1059 - Jonathan Curtis who was killed on November 1st.

There will was a Memorial Service (http://www.boston.com/yourtown/news/belmont/2010/11/army_specialist_jonathan_curti.html?p1=Local_Links ) for him this afternoon. He was a new Dad - and his baby daughter will never remember him.

[Grace]

19 November 2010


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

Sgt. Jason T. Smith, 28, of Colorado Springs, Colo., died Nov. 19 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Branch, Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Marine Corps Bases Japan, Iwakuni, Japan.

[Grace]

19 November 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Loleni W. Gandy, 36, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, died Nov. 19 in Balad, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command, Des Moines, Iowa.

[Grace]

21 November 2010


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

Sgt. David J. Luff Jr., 29, of Hamilton, Ohio, died Nov. 21 in Tikrit, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

20 November 2010


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

Spc. David S. Robinson, 25, of Fort Smith, Ark., died Nov. 20 in Qalat, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered in a non-combat related accident. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

22 November 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Nov. 22 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Sean M. Flannery, 29, of Wyomissing, Pa.; and

Spc. William K. Middleton, 26, of Norfolk, Va.

[lizbud]

I don't know if this is the right place for this article. Grace, if you want
it removed, please let me know. I will delete it, no problem. But, I think it
is a topic that goes hand in hand with the terrible loss of America's finest
hopes for the future.:(

America, permanent war???

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/11/23/war.afghan/index.html?hpt=Sbin

[Grace]

liz - no problem with that article. If I had seen it first, I probably would have posted it here.

Thanks, and let us pray permanent war is not in our future.

[Grace]

From TIME magazine -


On Saturday Nov. 27, the United States and its allies will reach a grim milestone: they will have been in Afghanistan a day longer than the Soviet Union had been when it completed its 1989 withdrawal. What's more, the U.S. announced during last weekend's NATO summit that it intends to spend at least four more years, and possibly longer, in the Hindu Kush. Even then, many Afghans — perhaps even the president installed by the U.S. invasion — appear to doubt that the Americans will succeed where their erstwhile Cold War nemesis failed.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2033043,00.html#ixzz16LbcX6uu

[Bonny]

A U.S. soldier that was interviewed over there said in the short term the war will not seem to gain much but in the long term of things it should? It is a thought to ponder.

[Grace]

24 November 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Ardenjoseph A. Buenagua, 19, of San Jose, Calif., died Nov. 24 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Canada


Nov 26, 2010
Death of Canadian Forces Member Recognized as Afghanistan Casualty


OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 26, 2010) - Following a review of the Canadian Forces' casualty policy, the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Walt Natynczyk, today announced his decision to add the name of Captain Francis (Frank) Cecil Paul to the official list of Canadian Forces (CF) casualties sustained in support of the mission in Afghanistan. Capt Paul died in Canada last February while on leave from Kandahar.

"Although his death came suddenly while on leave from his deployment in Afghanistan, he was still on duty and considered part of the mission, and therefore his death is no less important than any other CF member who served and died while in Afghanistan," said Gen Natynczyk. "It is important that his name be added to the list of fallen."

Following his death, Capt Paul was awarded the sacrifice medal and his name was added to the seventh book of remembrance. His family was also presented with the Memorial Cross.

Following today's announcement, Capt Paul's photo has been placed on the CF's Fallen Canadians web site and a minute of silence will be observed throughout Department of National Defence and CF facilities in the National Capital Region on Monday, November 29.

Capt Paul died of natural causes in Canada while on leave from deployment on 10 February 2010. He was a member of 28 Field Ambulance in Ottawa. While deployed in operations, he was the adjutant for the health services support unit of Joint Task Force Afghanistan. The number of fallen is now established at 153.

[Grace]

25 November 2010


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

1st Lt. William J. Donnelly IV, 27, of Picayune, Miss., died Nov. 25 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

27 November 2010


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

Pvt. Devon J. Harris, 24, of Mesquite, Tex., died Nov. 27 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 10th Mountain Division, at Ft. Polk, La.

[cassiesmom]

I heard this story on the news this morning. It makes me really mad that the businessman wanted to sell the items instead of returning them to the family.

Businessman to turn over slain Marine's belongings
NORTHWEST INDIANA | 'I want them to go to the right place'

December 1, 2010

BY JON SEIDEL Post-Tribune
A Northwest Indiana businessman said he plans to return the personal items of a fallen soldier to her family.

Hobart resident Mark Perko said he wants to return the items today to the family of the late Marine Sgt. Jeannette Winter -- the first U.S. servicewoman killed in Afghanistan.

"I just want them to go to the right place," Perko said. "I will take a loss on the items."

Perko, who says he has been pressured over the belongings, had planned to cash in on the items. Perko purchased the former property of Winters from a delinquent storage unit at least four years ago. As part of an attempt to resolve the matter, Perko attempted to call her brother Matthew Winters Jr. but he was visiting the woman's grave at Calumet Park Cemetery in Merrillville.

"I don't know what the guy wants," Winters said earlier in the day.

Because of pressure over Perko's original plan to profit off of the soldier's collections, the businessman also had said he didn't feel safe returning to his furniture outlet store in Lake Station after the story broke.

At stake was a collection of Sgt. Winters' former property, including her funeral flag, dog tags, military records and medals, personal photographs and letters from dignitaries. The Winters family said they put it in a storage unit for safekeeping after someone broke into a family home during her funeral in 2002.

But her father became ill years later and missed payments. Its contents were purchased by Perko, who said he makes several purchases from storage units each year.

Sgt. Winters, of Gary, was killed in the war in Afghanistan when a tanker plane hit a mountain in Pakistan in January 2002.

A Chicago radio station even offered on the air on Tuesday to reimburse Perko for the contents of the storage unit if he could say how much he paid. He said it cost between $1,000 and $5,000.

"You can't put me on the spot like this," Perko had said. "I have no idea."

[Grace]

30 November 2010


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

1st. Lt. Scott F. Milley, 23, of Sudbury, Mass., died Nov. 30 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

[Grace]

16 November 2010


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

Lt. Col. Gwendolyn A. Locht, 46, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., was medically evacuated from Kandahar, Afghanistan, on May 22 for treatment of a non-combat related illness. She died Nov. 16 in Houston, Texas. Locht was assigned to the 96th Inpatient Operations Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

I found this link (http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwfdailynews/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=146772978) with more news about her death. She died of Leukemia.

[RICHARD]

Playing on the National Geographic Channel.....

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/restrepo-offers-intimate-portrayal-soliders-afghanistan/story?id=11014790

[Grace]

29 November 2010


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of six soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Nov. 29, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with small arms fire.

Killed were:

Sgt. 1st Class Barry E. Jarvis, 36, of Tell City, Ind.

Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Oakes, 29, of Athens, Ohio.

Spc. Matthew W. Ramsey, 20, of Quartz Hill, Calif.

Pfc. Jacob A. Gassen, 21, of Beaver Dam, Wis.

Pfc. Austin G. Staggs, 19, of Senoia, Ga.

Pvt. Buddy W. McLain, 24, of Mexico, Maine.

They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th 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.

Army Sgt. First Class Wallace L. Slight, 24, of Yates City, Ill., will be buried Dec. 3 in Van Meter, Iowa. On Nov. 1, 1950, Slight was assigned to M Company, 8th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, occupying a defensive position in North Korea, along the Nammyon River, near a bend known as the “Camel’s Head.” Two enemy elements attacked the 1st Cavalry Division’s lines, collapsing their perimeter and forcing a withdrawal. Almost 400 men, including Slight, were reported missing or killed in action following the battle.

In 1953, a U.S. soldier captured during the same battle reported that a fellow prisoner of war had told him Slight had died on the battlefield during the attack.

Between 1991 and 1994, North Korea gave the United States 208 boxes of remains believed to contain the remains of 200-400 U.S. servicemen. North Korean documents turned over with one of the boxes indicated the remains in one of the boxes were exhumed near Unsan County, North Pyongan Province. This location correlates with the location of the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment on Nov. 2, 1950.

Analysts from DPMO and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) developed case leads with information spanning more than 58 years. Through interviews with eyewitnesses, experts evaluated circumstances surrounding the soldier’s captivity and death and researched wartime documentation of his loss.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Slight’s brother and half-brother -- in the identification.

[Grace]

Some information about Scott Milley, #1114 above.


Sudbury mourns soldier (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/02/sudbury_mourns_soldier_killed_in_afghanistan/)

[Grace]

The return of the six - see #1117.

Dover, Delaware (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/02/AR2010120206929.html?hpid=artslot)

[Grace]

1 December 2010



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

Cpl. Chad S. Wade, 22, of Bentonville, Ark., died Dec. 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

2 December 2010


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

Sgt. Matthew T. Abbate, 26, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died Dec. 2 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

2 December 2010


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

SFC James E. Thode, 45, of Kirtland, N.M., died Dec. 2 at Sabari District, Khowst Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1457th Engineer Battalion, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[Grace]

Another article (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/12/05/a_life_lesson_in_duty_love_and_hellish_war/?p1=News_links) about Scott Milley (#1114) - the first Sudbury, Massachusetts soldier to die in combat since Vietnam.

[Grace]

3 December 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott, 20, of Peebles, Ohio, died Dec. 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]

England


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private John Howard, from 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 5 December 2010.


Private Howard was serving with 16 Air Assault Brigade's Reconnaissance Force on a patrol ten kilometres south west of the provincial capital of Helmand province, Laskah Gah, when he was fatally wounded during an action conducted against insurgents operating in that area.


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

[Grace]

5 December 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Jason A. Reeves, 32, of Odessa, Texas, died December 5 at Gardez District, Paktia Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 66th Military Intelligence Brigade, Hohenfels, Germany.

[Grace]

5 December 2010


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

Sgt. Nicholas J. Aleman, 24, of Brooklyn, N.Y., died Dec. 5 while supporting combat operations in Paktia province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the Deployment Processing Command-East, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

6 December 2010


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

Cpl. Derek A. Wyatt, 25, of Akron, Ohio, died Dec. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

6 December 2010


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

Pfc. Colton W. Rusk, 20, of Orange Grove, Texas, died Dec. 6 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

World War I



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

Army Private Henry A. Weikel, 28, of Mt. Carmel, Pa., will be buried on Dec. 9 in Annville, Pa. On Sept. 16, 1918, as part of the 60th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 5th Infantry Division, his unit encountered heavy enemy artillery barrage and machine gun fire near Jaulny, France, in a wooded area known as Bois de Bonvaux. Weikel 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 his remains by U.S. 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]

4 December 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Vincent W. Ashlock, 45, of Seaside, Calif., died Dec. 4 in Khost province, Afghanistan, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 890th Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Lucedale, Miss.

[Grace]

7 December 2010



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

Sgt. Jason D. Peto, 31, of Vancouver, Wash., died Dec. 7 from wounds received Nov. 24 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

New Zealand


Pvt. John Howard

From: Wellington, New Zealand
Age: 23
Unit: Company B, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, attached to Brigade Reconnaissance Force, 16 Air Assault Brigade
Died: December 5, 2010


Howard was killed when he was shot during a patrol six miles (10 km) southwest of Lashkar Gah in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on December 5, 2010. An investigation is being conducted as the British Ministry of Defense said his death may have been the result of friendly fire.

[Grace]

8 December 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Michael E. Geary, 20, of Derry, N.H., died Dec. 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]

8 December 2010



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Dec. 8 in Balkh province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an insurgent attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. James A. Ayube, II, 25, of Salem, Mass.

Spc. Kelly J. Mixon, 23, of Yulee, Fla.

The soldiers were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

8 December 2010


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

Pfc. David D. Finch, 24, of Bath Springs, Tenn., died Dec. 8 in Wasit province, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Hood, Texas.

[Grace]

11 December 2010


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

Spc. Ethan L. Goncalo, 21, of Fall River, Mass., died Dec. 11 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 181st Infantry Regiment, Worcester, Mass.

[Grace]

SIX American troops killed Sunday morning. Names will be posted when they become available.

Article about the attack. (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/world/asia/13afghan.html?_r=1&=)

[Grace]

10 December 2010



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

Staff Sgt. Stacy A. Green, 34, of Alexander City, Ala., died Dec. 10 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

12 December 2010


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

They died Dec. 12 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Cpl. Sean M. Collins, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii.

Cpl. Willie A. McLawhorn Jr., 23, of Conway, N.C.

Spc. Patrick D. Deans, 22 of Orlando, Fla.

Spc. Kenneth E. Necochea Jr., 21, of San Diego, Calif.

Spc. Derek T. Simonetta, 21, of Redwood City, Calif.

Spc. Jorge E. Villacis, 24, of Sunrise, Fla.

They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

14 December 2010


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

Lance Cpl. Jose A. Hernandez, 19, of West Palm Beach, Fla., died Dec. 14 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]

15 December 2010


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

Staff Sgt. Justin E. Schmalstieg, 28, of Pittsburgh, Pa., died Dec. 15 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company, 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

Looking back to post#1138, Ethan Goncalo might have died from a spider bite.

From the ProJo -

Report: Spider bite may have killed Fall River soldier
11:03 AM Thu, Dec 16, 2010

FALL RIVER, Mass. -- A spider bite may have killed Pfc. Ethan Goncalo, whose death from non-combat causes is being investigated by the Army.

The Fall River Herald-News reports that Jay Barresi, the manager of his Goncalo's Legion baseball team, says the military told the Goncalo family on Saturday that their son's death might have been from a spider or scorpion bite.

Maj. Lisa Ahaesy, public affairs officer for the Massachusetts National Guard, told the newspaper that she is unaware that this is being viewed as a possible cause of death. She said the results of the Army's investigation will be released at a later date.

[Grace]

Medal of Honor recipient



Medal of Honor Recipient Melvin E. Biddle Passes Away at 87


Earned Nation's Highest Award for Valor during World War II

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., Dec. 17, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announces that Private First Class Melvin E. Biddle, Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Thursday, December 16, 2010 at his home in Anderson, Indiana at age 87.

Melvin received his Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony from President Truman on October 12, 1945. During the ceremony President Truman whispered to him, "people don't believe me when I tell them I'd rather have one of these than be president."

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy near Soy, Belgium, on 23 and 24 December 1944. Serving as lead scout during an attack to relieve the enemy-encircled town of Hotton, Pfc. Biddle's intrepid courage and superb daring during his 20-hour action enabled his battalion to break the enemy grasp on Hotton with a minimum of casualties.

He was born in Daleville, IN where he attended elementary school and then on to high school in Anderson, IN.

Melvin Biddle is survived by his wife Leona and many other family members. Funeral services are pending. There are 86 recipients alive today.

[Grace]

15 December 2010



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

Spc. Sean R. Cutsforth, 22, of Radford, Va., died Dec. 15 at Ghazni Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

Army Releases November Suicide Data

The Army released suicide data today for the month of November. Among active-duty soldiers, there were 11 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and 11 remain under investigation. For October, the Army reported nine potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, two have been confirmed as suicides, and seven remain under investigation.

During November 2010, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were five potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicides, and all five remain under investigation. For October, among that same group, there were 17 potential suicides. Of those, six were confirmed as suicides and 11 are pending determination of the manner of death.

"The holiday season is a special time of year, as family and friends gather together and experience the activities, excitement and joy these celebrations offer. Members of the Army family should recognize that it's easy to feel overwhelmed, stressed and even anxious. For some, the holidays bring stress, angst and feelings of depression," said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director, Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Task Force.

“Coping with loneliness, deployment or the absence of friends or relatives can be upsetting and especially painful during the holiday season. Leaders and first-line supervisors should be aware of the risk factors and be on the lookout for changes in the behavior of those around them and recognize that those who need care and support are typically the least likely to seek assistance. We must continue to watch out for each other and be aware of the potential risk factors and warning signs. Our battle buddies, families, friends and co-workers need our support and understanding. Don't be afraid to get involved. Use the ACE (Ask-Care-Escort) model to provide assistance. A visit or even a phone call can make an enormous difference," Philbrick said.

[Grace]

17 December 2010


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

Lance. Cpl. Jose L. Maldonado, 21, of Mathis, Texas, died Dec. 17 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

France


Capt. Benoît Dupin

From: France
Age: 34
Unit: 3e Compagnie, 2e Régiment Etranger de Génie, Légion étrangère (3rd Company, 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment, French Foreign Legion)
Died: December 17, 2010

Killed when a detachment of French, U.S., Romanian and Afghan soldiers engaged in a reconnaissance operation at the entrance to Alasay Valley were attacked by insurgents with small-arms fire in Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

16 December 2010



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

Cpl. Sean A. Osterman, 21, of Princeton, Minn., died Dec. 16 from wounds received Dec.14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Canada



CEFCOM NR – 10.020 - December 19, 2010

OTTAWA — One Canadian Forces member was killed yesterday, December 18th, 2010, after an improvised explosive device detonated while on operations in the Panjwa’i district of Kandahar Province, at approximately 12:30 p.m. local time.

Killed in action was Corporal Steve Martin, 24, from 3rd Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, serving with 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group, based at CFB Valcartier, Quebec.

Our thoughts are with the families and friends of our fallen soldier during this difficult time. We will not forget the sacrifice of this soldier as we continue to bring security and hope to the people of Kandahar Province.

Canada in partnership with Afghan National Security Forces, the Afghan authorities and ISAF partners remain committed to providing Afghans the necessary support to build a self-sustained society improving the security situation in order to set confidence-building conditions for reconstruction and development in the region.

Together, in partnership with Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF allies, Joint Task Force Afghanistan continues to maintain the initiative in Panjwa'i and Dand Districts.



Statement by the Minister of National Defence on the death of Corporal Steve Martin

December 19, 2010

OTTAWA - The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of National Defence, issued the following statement today on the death of Corporal Steve Martin in Afghanistan.

“I would like to express my deepest and most sincere condolences to the families and friends of Corporal Steve Martin, who died as the result of an improvised explosive device strike while on patrol in Afghanistan.

The UN-sanctioned, NATO-led mission to Afghanistan remains a challenging one, but the Canadian Forces continues to serve and sacrifice, alongside our international partners, in order to help the Afghan people achieve security and stability following decades of conflict. The Canadian Forces face this difficult task, in an extremely harsh environment, with courage and honour, and serve as a representation of Canadian values to the world.

Corporal Martin was an extraordinary Canadian who will always be remembered for the ultimate sacrifice he paid for this nation.”

[Grace]

France


Petty Officer Jonathan Lefort, who died for France (http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=fr&u=http://www.opex360.com/2010/12/18/second-maitre-jonathan-lefort-mort-pour-la-france/&ei=IcAPTYneFo-Mswbqn6T7DA&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBwQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3DSecond%2Bma%25C3%25AEtre%2BJonathan%2 BLefort,%2Bmort%2Bpour%2Bla%2BFrance%26hl%3Den%26p rmd%3Divnso)

[Grace]

18 December 2010


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

Cpl. Eric M. Torbert Jr., 25, of Lancaster, Pa., died Dec. 18 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

19 December 2010


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

Pfc. Conrado D. Javier Jr., 19, of Marina, Calif., died Dec. 19 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

21 December 2010



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

Lance Cpl. William H. Crouse IV, 22, of Woodruff, S.C., died Dec. 21 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Great Britain


It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal Steven Thomas Dunn from 216 (Parachute) Signal Squadron, attached to 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment Battlegroup, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, 21 December 2010.


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

[Grace]

24 December 2010



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

Lance Cpl. Kenneth A. Corzine, 23, of Bethalto, Ill., died Dec. 24 of wounds received Dec. 5 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[cassiesmom]

Grace, may I hijack this thread for one post?


It is with deep sadness that the Chicago Fire Department lost two of its members on December 22, 2010. FF Edward Stringer and FF/EMT Corey Ankum were killed in the line of duty following a wall collapse at a structural fire.

On Wednesday 12/22 two Chicago firemen were killed when they were trying to put out a fire in a vacant building on the south side of Chicago and the roof fell in. One of them had only been a fireman for a little over a year and was a police officer before that- and the other was a 10+ year fireman. The building had been vacant for almost 5 years and I heard on the news that the fire might have been started by squatters trying to keep warm. It had a bunch of building code violations and I bet the owner winds up in a heap of trouble over this. But it is sad whenever this happens, especially at Christmas time.

http://napervillesun.suntimes.com/news/2984860-417/firefighters-fire-building-chicago-laundry.html

[Grace]

27 December 2010



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

Sgt. Garrett A. Misener, 25, of Cordova, Tenn., died Dec. 27 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]

Great Britain


It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Warrant Officer Class 2 (WO2) Charles Henry Wood from 23 Pioneer Regiment RLC (Royal Logistic Corps), serving with the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device Task Force, was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 28 December 2010.


Ministry of Defence statement (http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/Wo2CharlesHenryWoodKilledInAfghanistan.htm)

[Grace]

28 December 2010



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

Cpl. Tevan L. Nguyen, 21, of Hutto, Texas, died Dec. 28, while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[wombat2u2004]

Long Tan's heroes to finally get their day in court.

http://www.smh.com.au/national/long-tans-unsung-heroes-to-get-day-in-court-20101230-19b77.html

[Grace]

Several Warnings, Then a Soldier’s Lonely Death


January 1, 2011
Several Warnings, Then a Soldier’s Lonely Death
By JAMES RISEN

WASHINGTON — A gentle snow fell on the funeral of Staff Sgt. David Senft at Arlington National Cemetery on Dec. 16, when his bitterly divided California family came together to say goodbye. His 5-year-old son received a flag from a grateful nation.

But that brief moment of peace could not hide the fact that for his family and friends and the soldiers who had served with him in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, too many unanswered questions remained about Sergeant Senft’s lonely death in a parked sport utility vehicle on an American air base in Afghanistan, and about whether the Army could have done more to prevent it.

Officially, the Army says only that Sergeant Senft, 27, a crew chief on a Black Hawk helicopter in the 101st Airborne Division’s aviation brigade, was killed as a result of “injuries sustained in a noncombat related incident” at Kandahar Air Base on Nov. 15. No specific cause of death has been announced. Army officials say three separate inquiries into the death are under way.

But his father, also named David Senft, an electrician from Grass Valley, Calif., who had worked in Afghanistan for a military contractor, is convinced that his son committed suicide, as are many of his friends and family members and the soldiers who served with him.

The evidence appears overwhelming. An investigator for the Army’s Criminal Investigative Division, which has been looking into the death, has told Sergeant Senft’s father by e-mail that his son was found dead with a single bullet hole in his head, a stolen M-4 automatic weapon in his hands and his body slumped over in the S.U.V., which was parked outside the air base’s ammunition supply point. By his side was his cellphone, displaying a text message with no time or date stamp, saying only, “I don’t know what to say, I’m sorry.” (Mr. Senft shared the e-mails from the C.I.D. investigator with The New York Times.)

With Sergeant Senft, the warning signs were blaring.

The Army declared him fit for duty and ordered him to Afghanistan after he had twice attempted suicide at Fort Campbell, Ky., and after he had been sent to a mental institution near the base, the home of the 101st. After his arrival at Kandahar early in 2010 he was so troubled that the Army took away his weapon and forced him into counseling on the air base, according to the e-mails from the Army investigator. But he was assigned a roommate who was fully armed. C.I.D. investigators have identified the M-4 with which Sergeant Senft was killed as belonging to his roommate.

“I question why, if he was suicidal and they had to take away his gun, why was he allowed to stay in Afghanistan?” asked Sergeant Senft’s father. “Why did they allow him to deploy in the first place, and why did they leave him there?”

Defense Department officials have frequently spoken about how suicide prevention has become a top priority, and in interviews, officials noted that the National Institute of Mental Health was now leading a major study of Army suicides.

Ever since the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq began, suicides among American troops have been soaring, as military personnel become mentally exhausted and traumatized from repeated deployments to combat zones. In 2004, the Army reported that 67 soldiers on active duty committed suicide; by 2009 that number had jumped to 162. The Army has reported 144 suicides in 2010 through November, and officials say it is now beginning to see a sharp rise in suicides among nonactive duty National Guard and Reserve personnel who are not currently deployed.

It is unclear how much the Army knew of Sergeant Senft’s deterioration. But Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director of the Army’s health promotion and risk reduction task force, which handles suicide prevention programs, said that a medical determination of cause of death, a law enforcement review of the matter by Army investigators, and an internal review of both Sergeant Senft’s personnel history and the handling of his case by his chain of command were all continuing.

“We are trying to get answers to these questions, answers to many of the same questions that the family is raising,” said Colonel Philbrick, who has personally reviewed Sergeant Senft’s case.

Interviews with friends and family members suggest that for Sergeant Senft, prolonged exposure to two wars may have been too much to bear for a friendly and sweet, but emotionally fragile young man filled with insecurities resulting from a badly splintered family life.

His parents divorced when he was about 3 years old, and the rift between his father and mother never healed. Home life for David and his brother and sister became intertwined with a series of stepparents and divided families around Northern California. David’s younger brother, Andrew, is now in prison in California for armed robbery.

The first signs of trouble for David Senft came when he was 18 or 19 and living with a stepmother who had divorced his father and remarried. He ran away and threatened to kill himself, recalled his stepmother, Tina Norvell. Her husband, Steve Norvell, found him and took him home.

David Senft joined the Army in early 2002, just months after the Sept. 11 attacks.

After basic training, he was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division based at Fort Bragg, N.C., and in 2003 he was sent to Iraq as a member of a helicopter crew.

His experiences during that first combat deployment had a major impact on him, according to close friends. In one episode that he often recounted to both his family and friends, he told of witnessing the crash of an evacuation helicopter filled with medical personnel and wounded soldiers that had been shot down by insurgents. He and his Black Hawk crew were ordered to the crash site, and the gruesome scene haunted him.

“He changed after he went to Iraq the first time,” recalled Ana Ochoa, one of his closest friends.

After returning to Fort Bragg in 2004, David Senft confided in another soldier, Lynette Hager, that he wanted to kill himself.

“I reported it to the chain of command,” recalled Ms. Hager, who has since left the Army. “When you come back from a deployment, they have briefings and make you watch PowerPoints, but if you need help, you have to go get it yourself.”

Ms. Hager and David Senft later began dating, and in 2005 she gave birth to their son, Landon. She said that during a fight over child support payments, he threatened to kill himself rather than make further payments and that because of the suicide threat, the court ordered that he be allowed only supervised visitation rights with their son. “He was a really good guy, fun, nice, and he loved being in the military,” Ms. Hager said. “But he didn’t have the coping skills to get out of his depressive states.”

In 2007, he was deployed again with the 82nd Airborne Division, this time to Afghanistan. After his return, he transferred to the 101st Airborne Division and re-enlisted in the Army.

“I told him not to re-enlist; I told him to get out, his personality was changing. I told him, ‘You are making me uncomfortable,’ ” Ms. Ochoa said. “After each deployment he seemed to get needier, sadder, and he would be talking deeper.”

While at Fort Campbell in 2008, he attempted suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills. The pills only knocked him out for two or three days, and when he awoke in his apartment, he called friends, who urged him to get help. He agreed to be admitted to a mental hospital in Hopkinsville, Ky. He told Ms. Ochoa that he had tried to kill himself twice while at Fort Campbell. “He was depressed,” she said. “He said he had seen a lot of crazy stuff and seen a lot of friends die, and he was unhappy; he had a lot of failed relationships.”

His suicide attempts and hospitalization finally got the attention of the Army, which kept him back from a scheduled deployment to Iraq. Instead, he was given a desk job at Fort Campbell. “I remember he told me he had tried to kill himself and had been taken off the deployment roster for Iraq,” recalled Matt Davis, who served with Sergeant Senft in the 82nd Airborne Division.

But he could not get out of his unit’s next scheduled deployment, to Afghanistan in early 2010. Colonel Philbrick said that he could not answer why Sergeant Senft was allowed to deploy to Afghanistan after he had been held back from Iraq after his suicide attempt.

He apparently did well for the first few months of the Afghan deployment, because he went home on leave in July and, without telling many friends and relatives, quietly married another soldier he had recently met.

But his mental state seemed to worsen again after his return to Afghanistan, and his commanders took action. He was placed in regular counseling in Kandahar, apparently for the first time in his military career, and met regularly with an Army chaplain on the base. His weapon was taken from him several months before his death, according to the e-mails from the Army investigator.

On the morning of Nov. 15, Sergeant Senft’s roommate woke to find his weapon missing. After Sergeant Senft failed to show up for duty that morning, another member of his unit discovered his body.

Ms. Ochoa said: “As soon as I heard he was dead, I just said to myself, he did it. He did it.”



source (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/world/asia/02suicide.html?_r=1&emc=eta1)

[Grace]

31 December 2010


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

Sgt. Michael J. Beckerman, 25, of Ste. Genevieve, Mo., died Dec. 31 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 2nd Brigade Support Troop Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

1 January 2011


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

Lance Cpl. Maung P. Htaik, 20, of Hagerstown, Md., died Jan. 1 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]

2 January 2011



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

Cpl. Jacob A. Tate, 21, of Columbus, Ohio, died Jan. 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]

Scotland


It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Joseva Saqanagonedau Vatubua of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders 5th Battalion the Royal Regiment of Scotland attached to the 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment was killed in Afghanistan on 1 January 2011.


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

[Grace]

Italy


Cpl. Maj. Matteo Miotto

From: Thiene, Italy
Age: 24
Unit: 7° Reggimento Alpini (7th Alpine Regiment)
Died: December 31, 2010

Shot by a sniper while on duty in a guard tower at an Italian forward operating base in the Gulistan district of Farah province, Afghanistan.

[lizbud]

Several Warnings, Then a Soldier’s Lonely Death




source (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/world/asia/02suicide.html?_r=1&emc=eta1)


So very sad.:( This young man seemed to have a very troubled life
even before entering the military. Why was he allowed to join and even
sign up for another tour? Don't they give mental evals before accepting
enlistments?

[Grace]

2 January 2011


The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation New Dawn. They died Jan. 2 in Taji, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 1013th Engineer (Sapper) Company of the Puerto Rico Army National Guard, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Killed were:

Sgt. Jose M. Cintron Rosado, 38, of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico; and

Spc. Jose A. Delgado Arroyo, 41, of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

[Grace]

5 January 2011


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

Sgt. Eric M. Nettleton, 26, of Wichita, Kan., died Jan. 5, in Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan of wounds suffered in Dehjawz-e Hasanzay when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.

[Grace]

7 January 2011


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

Lance Cpl. Joseph R. Giese, 24, of Winder, Ga., died Jan. 7 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]

5 January 2011


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

They died January 5 of wounds suffered at Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. 1st Class Robert W. Pharris, 48, of Seymour, Mo. He was assigned to the Missouri National Guard Agri-Business Development Team IV, Jefferson City, Mo.

Spc. Christian J. Romig, 24, of Kenner, La. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

7 January 2011


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

They died Jan. 7 of wounds suffered at Logar Province, Afghanistan when insurgents attacked their unit using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

Killed were:

Spc. Ethan C. Hardin, 25, of Fayetteville, Ark., and

Pfc. Ira B. Laningham, IV, 22, of Zapata, Texas.

[Grace]

7 January 2011


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

Pfc. Robert J. Near, 21, of Nampa, Idaho, died Jan. 7 at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.

[Grace]

France


Cpl. Herve Guinaud
From: Poitiers, France
Age: 42
Unit: Régiment d'Infanterie de Chars de Marine (Marine Armored Infantry Regiment)
Died: January 8, 2011

Died when his armored vehicle struck a roadside bomb during an operation in southern Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Vietnam


Airmen Missing From Vietnam War Identified

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

Air Force Col. James E. Dennany, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., and Maj. Robert L. Tucci, 27, of Detroit, will be buried as a group Jan. 14, in the Dallas-Ft. Worth National Cemetery.

On Nov. 12, 1969, Dennany and Tucci were flying the number three aircraft of three F-4Ds escorting an AC-130 gunship on a night strike mission over Laos. After the gunship attacked six trucks and set two of them on fire, the AC-130 crew’s night vision equipment was impacted by the glow from the fires. They requested that Tucci attack the remaining trucks. During the attack, gunship crew members observed anti-aircraft artillery gunfire directed at Tucci’s plane followed by a large explosion. No radio transmissions were heard from the F-4D following the attack and no parachutes were seen in the area. An immediate electronic search revealed nothing and no formal search was initiated due to heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area.

Beginning in the mid-1990s analysts at DPMO and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) developed case leads they collected from wartime reporting and archival research.

In 1994, a joint U.S.-Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team led by JPAC analyzed leads, interviewed villagers, and surveyed five reported crash sites near the record loss location with negative results.

In 1999, during another joint survey, officials in Ban Soppeng, Laos, turned over remains later determined to be human, two .38 caliber pistols and other crew-related equipment that villagers had recovered from a nearby crash site. Between 1999 and 2009, other joint U.S.-L.P.D.R. teams pursued leads, interviewed villagers, and conducted three excavations. They recovered aircraft wreckage, human remains, crew-related equipment and personal effects.

JPAC scientists used forensic tools and circumstantial evidence in the identification of the remains.

With the accounting of these airmen, 1,702 service members still remain missing from the conflict.

[Grace]

Denmark


Pfc. Samuel Enig

From: Denmark
Age: 23
Unit: Charlie-Kompagniet, II Bataljon, Den Kongelige Livgarde (Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Life Guard)
Died: January 9, 2011

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a dismounted patrol west of Patrol Base Line, six miles northeast of Gereshk, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

8 January 2011, Tucson, Arizona


Judge John Roll served our legal system for nearly 40 years. A graduate of this university and its law school, Judge Roll was recommended for the federal bench by John McCain twenty years ago, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and rose to become Arizona’s chief federal judge. His colleagues described him as the hardest-working judge within the Ninth Circuit. He was on his way back from attending Mass, as he did every day, when he decided to stop by and say hi to his Representative. John is survived by his loving wife, Maureen, his three sons, and his five grandchildren.

George and Dorothy Morris – “Dot” to her friends – were high school sweethearts who got married and had two daughters. They did everything together, traveling the open road in their RV, enjoying what their friends called a 50-year honeymoon. Saturday morning, they went by the Safeway to hear what their Congresswoman had to say. When gunfire rang out, George, a former Marine, instinctively tried to shield his wife. Both were shot. Dot passed away.

A New Jersey native, Phyllis Schneck retired to Tucson to beat the snow. But in the summer, she would return East, where her world revolved around her 3 children, 7 grandchildren, and 2 year-old great-granddaughter. A gifted quilter, she’d often work under her favorite tree, or sometimes sew aprons with the logos of the Jets and the Giants to give out at the church where she volunteered. A Republican, Gshe took a liking to Gabby, and wanted to get to know her better.

Dorwin and Mavy Stoddard grew up in Tucson together – about seventy years ago. They moved apart and started their own respective families, but after both were widowed they found their way back here, to, as one of Mavy’s daughters put it, “be boyfriend and girlfriend again.” When they weren’t out on the road in their motor home, you could find them just up the road, helping folks in need at the Mountain Avenue Church of Christ. A retired construction worker, Dorwan spent his spare time fixing up the church along with their dog, Tux. His final act of selflessness was to dive on top of his wife, sacrificing his life for hers.

Everything Gabe Zimmerman did, he did with passion – but his true passion was helping people. As Gabby’s outreach director, he made the cares of thousands of her constituents his own, seeing to it that seniors got the Medicare benefits they had earned, that veterans got the medals and care they deserved, that government was working for ordinary folks. He died doing what he loved – talking with people and seeing how he could help. Gabe is survived by his parents, Ross and Emily, his brother, Ben, and his fiancée, Kelly, who he planned to marry next year.

And then there is nine year-old Christina Taylor Green. Christina was an A-student, a dancer, a gymnast, and a swimmer. She often proclaimed that she wanted to be the first woman to play in the major leagues, and as the only girl on her Little League team, no one put it past her. She showed an appreciation for life uncommon for a girl her age, and would remind her mother, “We are so blessed. We have the best life.” And she’d pay those blessings back by participating in a charity that helped children who were less fortunate.

[Grace]

12 January 2011


The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 12, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device.

Killed were:

Sgt. Omar Aceves, 30, of El Paso, Texas.

Spc. Jarrid L. King, 20, of Erie, Pa.

Pfc. Benjamin G. Moore, 23, of Robbinsville, N.J.

They were assigned to the 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

12 January 2011


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

Sgt. Zainah C. Creamer, 28, of Texarkana, Texas, died Jan. 12, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked her unit with an improvised explosive device. She was assigned to the 212th Military Police Detachment, Headquaters Battalion, Fort Belvoir, Va.

[Grace]

12 January 2011


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

Maj. Evan J. Mooldyk, 47, of Ranch Murieto, Calif., died Jan. 12 in Khowst province, Afghanistan, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 19th Sustainment Command, 377th Theater Sustainment Command, Belle Chasse, La.

[Grace]

12 January 2011


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

Pfc. Zachary S. Salmon, 21, of Harrison, Ohio, died Jan. 12 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

15 January 2011



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

Spc. Jose A. Torre, Jr., 21, of Garden Grove, Calif., died Jan.15 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with a rocket-propelled grenade. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Advise and Assist Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

[Grace]

15 January 2011



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

They died Jan. 15 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an Iraqi soldier from the unit with which they were training shot them with small arms fire. They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

Killed were:

Sgt. Michael P. Bartley, 23, of Barnhill, Ill.

Spc. Martin J. Lamar, 43, of Sacramento, Calif.

[Grace]

17 January 2011



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

Cpl. Joseph C. Whitehead, 22, of Axis, Ala., died Jan. 17 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

17 Jamuary 2011


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

Maj. Michael S. Evarts, 41, of Concord, Ohio, died Jan. 17, in Tikrit, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 256th Combat Support Hospital, Twinsburg, Ohio.

[Grace]

Army Releases December and 2010 Suicide Data

The Army released today suicide data for the month of December and for 2010. During December, among active-duty soldiers, there were 12 potential suicides: one has been confirmed as suicide, and 11 remain under investigation. To compare and update, in November, the Army reported 11 potential suicides among active-duty soldiers. Since the release of that report, one has been confirmed as a suicide, and 10 remain under investigation. For 2010, there were 156 potential active-duty suicides of which 125 have been confirmed as suicides, and 31 remain under investigation.

During December, among reserve component soldiers who were not on active duty, there were 16 potential suicides: none have been confirmed as suicide, and 16 remain under investigation. To compare and update, in November among that same group, there were eight total suicides. Of those, two were confirmed as suicides and six are pending determination of the manner of death. For 2010, there were 145 potential not on active duty suicides of which 106 have been confirmed as suicide, and 39 remain under investigation.

“Our research and analysis of the suicide cases of this past year continue to reinforce that there are no universal solutions to address the complexities of personal, social and behavioral health issues that lead to suicide within the Army,” said Col. Chris Philbrick, deputy director, Army Health Promotion, Risk Reduction Task Force.

“Regrettably, the numbers of suicides in the Army family did not diminish in 2010, but, we are committed to educating and informing our soldiers and their families to better understand the increasing rate of suicides in the force and reduce the number of soldiers, civilians and family members we lose to suicide. Our unit leaders, first-line supervisors and close friends must continue to be vigilant to the warning signs of risky behavior, and to look for ways and opportunities to reach out to those who need help,” Philbrick said.

Soldiers and families in need of crisis assistance can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Trained consultants are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and can be contacted at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or by visiting their website at http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

The Army's comprehensive list of Suicide Prevention Program information is located at http://www.preventsuicide.army.mil.

Army leaders can access current health promotion guidance in newly revised Army Regulation 600-63 (Health Promotion) at: http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/r600_63.pdf and Army Pamphlet 600-24 (Health Promotion, Risk Reduction and Suicide Prevention) at http://www.army.mil/usapa/epubs/pdf/p600_24.pdf.

Suicide prevention training resources for Army families can be accessed at http://www.armyg1.army.mil/hr/suicide/training_sub.asp?sub_cat=20 (requires Army Knowledge Online access to download materials).

Information about Military OneSource is located at http://www.militaryonesource.com or at the toll-free number 1-800-342-9647 for those residing in the continental United States. Overseas personnel should refer to the Military OneSource website for dialing instructions for their specific location.

Information about the Army’s Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program is located at http://www.army.mil/csf.

The Defense Center for Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury outreach center can be contacted at 1-866-966-1020, and via electronic mail at http://www.dcoe.health.mil.

The website for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is at http://www.afsp.org, and the Suicide Prevention Resource Council site is found at http://www.sprc.org/index.asp.

The website for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors is at http://www.TAPS.org, and they can be reached at 1-800-959-TAPS (8277).

[Grace]

Italy



Cpl. Maj. Luca Sanna

From: Oristano, Italy
Age: 32
Unit: 8° Reggimento Alpini (8th Alpine Regiment)
Died: January 18, 2011

Fatal incident occurred in Bala Morghab, Afghanistan
Sanna was one of two Italian soldiers who were cleaning their weapons at an ISAF combat outpost near Bala Morghab in Badghis province, Afghanistan, on January 18, 2011, when an Afghan Army soldier asked to use their equipment to clean his weapon. The two soldiers noticed the Afghan soldier's weapon was loaded and asked him to unload it. The Afghan soldier then shot the two soldiers and fled the combat outpost. Sanna was killed while the other Italian soldier was wounded.

[Grace]

19 January 2011



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

Spc. Joshua T. Lancaster, 22, of Millbrook, Ala., died Jan. 19, in Kandahar, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked the Kandahar airfield with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 184th Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

20 January 2011



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

Sgt. Jason G. Amores, 29, of Lehigh Acres, Fla., died Jan. 20 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

[Grace]

19 January 2011



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

Petty Officer Dominique Cruz, 26, of Panama City, Fla., was found during search and rescue operations Jan. 19 in the Gulf of Oman after being reported missing Jan. 18. Cruz was assigned as an Operations Specialist to the USS Halsey homeported in San Diego, Calif. Halsey is currently deployed to the Fifth Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations.

[Grace]

Barney F. Hajiro (September 16, 1916 – January 21, 2011) was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barney_F._Hajiro

Video from NBC Nightly News (http://myprops.org/channelcontent/Video-Barney-F.-Hajiro-Medal-of-Honor-recipient-dies/)

[Grace]

Korea



Airman Missing in Action from Korean War is Identified

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

Air Force 1st Lt. Robert F. Dees, 23, of Moultrie, Ga., will be buried Jan. 22 at the Longstreet Historical Cemetery in Ozark, Ala. On Oct. 9, 1952, he was flying an F-84 Thunderjet, attacking several targets in North Korea. After he and three aircraft from the 430th Fighter-Bomber Squadron completed their attack on their primary target, they began their bombing run against enemy boxcars on the railroad near Sinyang. Other members of his flight reported seeing an explosion near the target they were attacking. They believed it to be the crash of Dees’ aircraft and could not raise any radio contact with him. Airborne searches over the battlefield failed to locate him or his aircraft.

Following the armistice in 1953, the North Koreans repatriated 4,219 remains of U.S. and allied soldiers during Operation Glory. In November 1954, they turned over remains which they reported were recovered from Sinyang. Accompanying the remains were portions of a pilot’s flight suit and a pneumatic life preserver. But after two attempts, the Army’s mortuary at Kokura, Japan, was unable to identify the remains. They were buried in 1956 as “unknown” at the Punch Bowl Cemetery in Hawaii.

Beginning in the late 1990s, analysts from DPMO and the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) undertook a concentrated review of Korean War air losses, as well as a review of the Kokura mortuary files. They made a tentative association to Dees, based on U.S. wartime records as well as the information provided by the North Koreans. These remains were disinterred from the Punch Bowl Cemetery in June 2010.

Dees’ remains were identified by making extensive dental comparisons with his medical records.

[Grace]

20 January 2011


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

Pfc. Amy R. Sinkler, 23, of Chadbourn, N.C., died Jan. 20 in Baghlan province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked her unit with a rocket propelled grenade. She was assigned to the 17th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 3rd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Pfc. Sinkler was the gunner in the turret of her Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected vehicle. They were in a convoy en route to Forward Operating Base Killaghey in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Poland


Pvt. Marcin Pastusiak

From: Poland
Age: 26
Unit: Oddziale Specjalnym Zandarmerii Wojskowej (Militay Police Special Branch)
Died: January 22, 2011

Killed along with a civilian medic, Marcin Knap, when a roadside bomb detonated during a patrol southeast of Ghazni in Ghazni province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

England



It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Martin Simon George Bell from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday 25 January 2011.


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

[Grace]

25 January 2011



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

Tech. Sgt. Leslie D. Williams, 36, of Juneau, Alaska, died Jan. 25 due to a non-combat related incident at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 4th Maintenance Group, Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C.

[Grace]

28 January 2011



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

Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Venetz Jr., 30, of Prince William, Va., died Jan. 28 in Parwan province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

Poland


Marcin Knap

From: Lublin, Poland
Age: 34
Unit: Wojewodzkiej Pogotowia Ratunkowego (Provincial Emergency Service)
Died: January 22, 2011

Knap, a medic attached to the Polish Army, was killed along with a Polish soldier when a roadside bomb detonated during a patrol southeast of Ghazni in Ghazni province, Afghanistan

[Grace]

29 January 2011



The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Jan. 29 in Helmand province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device. They were assigned to the 264th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 82nd Sustainment Brigade, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Killed were:

Spc. Joshua R. Campbell, 22, of Bennett, Colo.; and

Spc. Shawn A. Muhr, 26, of Coon Rapids, Iowa.

[Grace]

31 January 2011


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

Spc. Omar Soltero, 28, of San Antonio, Texas, died Jan. 31 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

[Grace]

1 February 2011


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

Spec. Ryan A. Gartner, 23, of Dumont, N.J., died Feb. 1 in Bagram, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained in a non-combat incident. He was assigned to the 201st Military Intelligence Battalion, Ft. Sam Houston, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas.

[Grace]

Australia


Cpl. Richard Atkinson

From: Hobart, Australia
Age: 22
Unit: 1st Combat Engineer Regiment
Died: February 1, 2011

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated during a joint Australian-Afghan patrol in the Tangi Valley of the Deh Rawod district of Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.richard.atkinson.ausdod.jpg

[Grace]

Northern Ireland


Ranger David Dalzell

From: Bangor, County Down
Age: 20
Unit: Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Irish Regiment
Died: February 4, 2011

Died as a result of an operational accident while working in Check Point Ranger near the village of Saidabad in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.david.dalzell.ukmod.jpg

[Grace]

England


Warrant Officer Class 2 Colin Beckett

From: Peterborough, England
Age: 36
Unit: Company sergeant major, Company C, 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment
Died: February 5, 2011

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated as he was moving into position to cover his fellow patrol members near Shaheed, a village on the Nahr-e Bughra canal in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.colin.beckett.ukmod.jpg

[Grace]

5 February 2011


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

Cpl. Lucas T. Pyeatt, 24, of West Chester, Ohio, died Feb. 5 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Radio Battalion, II Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

http://media.hamptonroads.com/cache/files/images/599221.jpg

[Grace]

7 February 2011


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

Lance Cpl. Aaron M. Swanson, 21, of Jamestown, N.Y., died Feb. 7 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 25th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, Buffalo, N.Y.

http://media2.wivb.com//photo/2011/02/08/swanson3_20110208140332_320_240.JPG

[phesina]

Thank you for keeping this memorial thread going, Gretchen, and for including their photographs now too. God bless you and them.

I check it every day. How much longer, how many more?

[Grace]

7 February 2011


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

Sgt. Patrick R. Carroll, 25, of Norwalk, Ohio, died Feb. 7 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when insurgents attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 319th Military Intelligence Battalion, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, XVIII Airborne Corps, Fort Bragg, N.C.


http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/news_briefs/2011/02/09/9085917/Patrick_Ryan_Carroll-123x165.jpg

[Grace]

World War II


Airmen Missing in Action From WWII Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of 11 U.S. 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 Air Forces Technical Sgt. Charles A. Bode, 23, Baltimore, will be buried on Feb. 11 in Arlington National Cemetery. On Nov. 20, 1943, Bode, along with 10 other B-24D Liberator crew members, took off from Jackson Airfield, Port Moresby, New Guinea, on an overwater mission near the northern coast of the country. During the mission, the only radio transmission from the crew indicated they were 20 miles northwest of Port Moresby, but they did not return to Jackson Airfield. Subsequent searches failed to uncover any evidence of either the crew or the aircraft.

Following the war, the Army Graves Registration Service conducted investigations and searches for 43 missing airmen including Bode and the other 10 airmen, but concluded in June 1949 that all were unrecoverable.

In 1984, the government of Papua New Guinea notified U.S. officials of a World War II crash site in a ravine in Morobe Province. A U.S. search and recovery team investigated the crash site in late 1984 and located B-24 aircraft wreckage. They also recovered human remains but were unable to complete the mission due to time constraints and the threat of landslides. From that time until 2004, multiple teams from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) attempted to access and excavate the location but the threat of landslides made recovery too dangerous to continue. During a site visit in 2004, local villagers turned over human remains they had previously removed from the area.

In addition to Bode’s individual burial, the crew -

1st Lt. Richard T. Heuss, 23, Berkley, Mich.;
2nd Lt. Robert A. Miller, 22, Memphis, Tenn.;
2nd Lt. Edward R. French, 23, Erie, Pa.;
2nd Lt. Robert R. Streckenbach, Jr., 21, Green Bay, Wis.;
Tech. Sgt. Lucian I. Oliver, Jr., 23 Memphis, Tenn.;
Staff Sgt. Ivan O. Kirkpatrick, 36, Whittier, Calif
Staff Sgt. William K. Musgrave, 24, Hutsonville, Ill.;
Staff Sgt. James T. Moran, 21, Sloatsburg, N.Y.;
Staff Sgt. James B. Moore, 21, Woburn, Mass.;
and Staff Sgt. Roy Surabian, 24, Medford, Mass.,

will be buried as a group on March 24 at Arlington National Cemetery.

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 Bode’s remains.

At the end of World War II, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 74,000 are unaccounted-for from the conflict.

[Grace]

8 February 2011



HARROD, Ohio — A 32-year-old Ohio soldier who family members say enlisted only last year has been killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.

The military said in a statement Thursday that Army Spc. Nathan B. Carse died Tuesday of wounds from the improvised explosive device in Afghanistan's Kandahar province.

Carse was from Harrod in northwest Ohio. His sister, Kristin Purdy, tells The Lima News her brother earned a master's degree in engineering and was working in that field in Louisiana last year when he told the family he wanted to take his life in a "different route." Carse's father had served in the military, as a Green Beret.

The Pentagon says Carse was assigned to the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 176th Engineer Brigade, out of White Sands Missile Range, N.M.

___

Information from: The Lima News, http://www.limanews.com


http://media2.newsnet5.com//photo/2011/02/10/nathan-carse_20110210122539_320_240.JPG

[Grace]

England


It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Lewis Hendry, from 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, and Private Conrad Lewis, from 4th Battalion The Parachute Regiment, were killed in Afghanistan on Wednesday 9 February 2011.


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

[Grace]

Finland


1st Lt. Jukka Tapio Kansonen

From: Kotka, Finland
Age: 36
Unit: Kotkan Rannikkopataljoona (Kotka Coastal Command Battalion)
Died: February 15, 2011

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his armored vehicle while his unit was traveling to firearms training nine miles (14.5 kilometers) southeast of Aybak in Samangan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

New Zealand



A soldier from New Zealand was killed in a road crash while on patrol in Afghanistan, Defence Force officials said Wednesday.

He is the second trooper to die while on assignment with the country's forces there.

Private Kirifi Mila was killed and three others were injured when their Humvee ran off the road and rolled down a steep, 100-foot (30 metre) cliff while on patrol in the northeastern Bamiyan province.

Mila was standing in the vehicle's turret when the accident occurred, joint forces commander Peter Stockwell said.

The Ferosok area where the crash happened was "very dangerous," he said, and the Defence Force was "100 per cent confident" it was not caused by an insurgent attack.

Prime Minister John Key expressed his condolences to the Mila family.

"To have one of our own die in a road crash is heartbreaking news," he said.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed her country's condolences when she addressed the New Zealand Parliament on Wednesday morning — the first foreign leader accorded the privilege.

Last August, Lt. Tim O'Donnell, 28, became New Zealand's first combat death since the country sent troops to Afghanistan in 2003. O'Donnell was killed in an insurgent ambush while on patrol in Bamiyan province.

In addition to O'Donnell and Mila, four soldiers from New Zealand have died in Afghanistan while serving in other countries' forces.

http://images.tvnz.co.nz/tvnz_images/news2011/afghanistan/Kirifi_Mila_2.jpg

[Grace]

One child a day . . . . .


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8326044/One-child-a-day-killed-in-Afghan-war.html

[Grace]

England


It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lance Corporal Kyle Cleet Marshall, from 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 14 February 2011.


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

[Grace]

England


It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the deaths of Private Robert Wood and Private Dean Hutchinson, both of the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), who were killed in a fire at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, on Monday 14 February 2011.


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

[Grace]

15 February 2011


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

Spc. Lashawn D. Evans, 24, of Columbia, S.C., died Feb. 15 in Baghdad province, Iraq, in a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 1st Attack Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division,Fort Riley, Kan.

[Grace]

17 February 2011


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

Airman 1st Class Corey C. Owens, 26, of San Antonio, Texas, died Feb. 17 due to a non-combat related incident at Al Asad Air Base, Iraq. He was assigned to the 47th Security Forces Squadron, Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas.

[Grace]

17 February 2011


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

Spc. Jonathan A. Pilgeram, 22, of Great Falls, Mont., died Feb. 17 in Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.





http://cmsimg.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Avis=G1&Dato=20110218&Kategori=NEWS01&Lopenr=110218015&Ref=AR&MaxW=180&Border=0

[Grace]

17 February 2011


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

Airman 1st Class Christoffer P. Johnson, 20, of Clarksville, Tenn., died Feb. 17 due to a non-combat related incident in Southwest Asia. He was assigned to the 423rd Security Forces Squadron, Royal Air Force Alconbury, England.

[Daisy and Delilah]

Thank you for keeping this memorial thread going, Gretchen, and for including their photographs now too. God bless you and them.

I check it every day. How much longer, how many more?

Isn't it the truth?? Yes, thank you, Gretchen. I'm just paralyzed to know that this is still happening. :(

[Grace]

17 February 2011


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

Staff Sgt. Bradley C. Hart, 25, of Perrysburg, Ohio died February 17 at Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, Africa, of injuries sustained in a non combat incident. He was assigned to the U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Fort Bragg, N.C.

[Grace]

Thank you for keeping this memorial thread going, Gretchen, and for including their photographs now too. God bless you and them.

I check it every day. How much longer, how many more?


Isn't it the truth?? Yes, thank you, Gretchen. I'm just paralyzed to know that this is still happening. :(

Perhaps this article (http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49838.html) might answer your questions - or raise more?

From Politico -


Spouses of service members are badly stressed from years of long deployments — so stressed that some have taken their own lives. Children who’ve had a parent away at war for almost their entire conscious lives are leaving home to go off to college. And the troops themselves continue to struggle with substance abuse, post-traumatic stress, and devastating physical and mental wounds.

Some of Washington’s top national security leaders are worried that Americans don’t know — or worse, don’t care.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0211/49838.html#ixzz1EYI4mccK

[Grace]

France


Pfc. Clément Chamarier

From: France
Age: 19
Unit: 3e Compagnie, 7e Bataillon de Chasseurs Alpins (3rd Company, 7th Mountain Infantry Battalion)
Died: February 19, 2011

Killed when his armored vehicle was struck by anti-tank fire during an attack on his unit near the village of Landakhel in Kapisa province, Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.clement.chamarier.frarmy.jpg

[Grace]

Australia


Sapper Jamie Larcombe

From: Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Age: 21
Unit: 1st Combat Engineer Regiment
Died: February 19, 2011

Killed when his unit attacked by insurgents while on patrol in the Mirabad Valley region of Uruzgan province, Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.jamie.larcombe.ausmod.jpg

[Grace]

19 February 2011


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

Lance Cpl. Andrew P. Carpenter, 27, of Columbia, Tenn., died Feb. 19 of wounds received Feb. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

21 February 2011


From the Pittsburgh-Post-Gazette -


Aliquippa native dies in Afghanistan
Wednesday, February 23, 2011

By Moriah Balingit, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A decorated soldier from Aliquippa has died in Afghanistan, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Tuesday.

Sgt. Robert C. Sisson Jr., 29, died Monday in a "non-combat related incident" in the Kandahar district of Afghanistan, a news release said. The Army released no further details about his death and Fort Carson spokeswoman Lori Waters said his death is "under investigation."

Sgt. Sisson joined the Army in September 2004 and was deployed to Iraq in March 2008 for a full year. He had been in Afghanistan since July 15.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based in Fort Carson, Colo.

Sgt. Sisson received a dozen awards during his service, including two Army Commendation Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, a National Defense Service Medal and an Iraq Campaign Medal with a Campaign Star.



http://news.google.com/news/tbn/GcoA-23ELDkJ

[Grace]

20 February 2011



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

1st Lt. Daren M. Hidalgo, 24, of Waukesha, Wis., died Feb. 20 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, Vilseck, Germany.


http://o3.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/d83cb112464e21e284cda87db2609504

[Grace]

22 February 2011


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

Cpl. Johnathan W. Taylor, 23, of Homosassa, Fla., died Feb. 22 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Country of Georgia


Cpl. Giorgi Avaliani

From: Kutaisi, Georgia
Age:
Unit: 32nd Battalion, III Infantry Brigade
Died: February 22, 2011

A Georgian soldier was killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday, said the defence ministry in the ex-Soviet republic which has become a significant contributor to NATO-led efforts to combat the Taliban.

The soldier was killed in the troubled Helmand region when a mine exploded, also injuring two other Georgian troops, a ministry statement said.

Corporal Giorgi Avaliani was the sixth Georgian to be killed while serving in Afghanistan, the ministry said.

[Grace]

Germany


Sgt. 1st Class Georg Missulia

From: Langdorf, Germany
Age: 30
Unit: 4. Kompanie, Panzergrenadierbatallion 112, 12 Panzerbrigade, 10. Panzerdivision (4th Company, 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Brigade, 10th Armored Division)
Died: February 18, 2011

One of three German soldiers killed when a gunman opened fire on them while they were performing maintenance on a vehicle at an observation post in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.georg.missulia.gi.jpg





Spc. Georg Kurat

From: Munich, Germany
Age: 22
Unit: 4. Kompanie, Panzergrenadierbatallion 112, 12 Panzerbrigade, 10. Panzerdivision (4th Company, 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Brigade, 10th Armored Division)
Died: February 18, 2011

One of three German soldiers killed when a gunman opened fire on them while they were performing maintenance on a vehicle at an observation post in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.



Pfc. Konstantin Alexander Menz

From: Adelzhausen, Germany
Age: 21
Unit: 4. Kompanie, Panzergrenadierbatallion 112, 12 Panzerbrigade, 10. Panzerdivision (4th Company, 112th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 12th Armored Brigade, 10th Armored Division)
Died: February 18, 2011

One of three German soldiers killed when a gunman opened fire on them while they were performing maintenance on a vehicle at an observation post in Baghlan province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Micronesia


Staff Sgt. Jerome Firtamag

From: Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia
Age: 29
Unit: 96th Combat Support Battalion, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Divisionz
Died: February 24, 2011

Firtamag was medically evacuated from Kandahar, Afghanistan, to the United States for treatment of a non-combat related illness on December 1, 2010. He died on February 24, 2011, in Pembroke, Kentucky.

[Grace]

Speaking at the United States Military Academy at West Point today, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said this -


“Any future defense secretary who advises the president to send a big American land army into Asia, or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as Gen. [Douglas] MacArthur so delicately put it,”

Too bad Mr. Gates was not President Bush's first choice for SecDef.

[RICHARD]

Phred was at the RB waiting......................

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_17481893?nclick_check=1

[Bibette & Lulu]

[QUOTE=RICHARD;2337691]Phred was at the RB waiting......................

Amen, Richard. Thank you for remembering and posting this.

Nancy (Phred's sister)

[Grace]

Glen Allen, 61, Los Angeles fire fighter.

http://media.trb.com/media/photo/2011-02/59500234.jpg

[Grace]

World War I



WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Frank Buckles, believed to be the last surviving U.S. veteran of World War One, has died at age 110, according to media reports Monday.

The Washington Post, quoting his daughter, said Buckles died Sunday at his farm in West Virginia.

Buckles, who celebrated his 110th birthday on February 1, lied about his age to join the army at age 16. The Missouri native was among nearly 5 million Americans who served in World War One in 1917 and 1918.

"I knew there'd be only one (survivor) someday. I didn't think it would be me," he was quoted as saying in recent years.

Buckles drove an ambulance during the war. In 1941, while working as a civilian in Manila, he was captured by the invading Japanese and held prisoner for 38 months during World War Two.

The Post said that with Buckles' death, only a 109-year-old Australian man and a 110-year-old British woman were believed to survive from the estimated 65 million people who served in the 1914-1918 war.

[Grace]

27 February 2011


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

Cpl. Andrew C. Wilfahrt, 31, of Rosemount, Minn., died Feb. 27, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 8th Military Police Brigade, 8th Theater Sustainment Command, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.

[Grace]

27 February 2011


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

Spc. Brian Tabada, 21, of Las Vegas, Nev., died Feb. 27, in Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire and a rocket propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/topics.brian.tabada.101st.jpg

[Grace]

27 February 2011


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

Sgt. Kristopher J. Gould, 25, of Saginaw, Mich., died Feb. 27, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.

http://www.connectmidmichigan.com/uploadedImages/weyi/News/Stories/gould.jpg?w=204&h=153&aspect=nostretch

This was his second tour in Afghanistan; he had also been to Iraq once.

[Grace]

28 February 2011


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

Pfc. David R. Fahey Jr., 23, of Norwalk, Conn., died Feb. 28, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 504th Military Police Battalion, 42nd Military Police Brigade, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.


http://www.ctpost.com/mediaManager/?controllerName=image&action=get&id=600702&width=628&height=471

[Grace]

Italy



Capt. Massimo Ranzani

From: Ferrara, Italy
Age: 36
Unit: 5° Reggimento Alpini, Brigata Alpina Julia (5th Alpine Regiment, Julia Alpine Brigade)
Died: February 28, 2011

Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Lynx armored vehicle returning from a patrol 15.5 miles (25 kilometers) north of Shindand in Herat province, Afghanistan.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.massimo.ranzani.itarmy.jpg

[lizbud]

On National Geopraphic Channel this evening. A chilling account of war.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/restrepo-afghan-outpost-4808

[Grace]

28 February 2011



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

Spc. Rudolph R. Hizon 22, of Los Angeles, Calif., died Feb. 28, in Logar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.

http://media.syracuse.com/news/photo/9344812-small.jpg

[Grace]

28 February 2011


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

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Chauncy R. Mays, 25, of Cookville, Texas.

Spc. Christopher G. Stark, 22, of Monett, Mo.

They were assigned to the 63rd Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion, 20th Support Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

Chanucy Mays - http://kltv.images.worldnow.com/images/14172342_BG3.jpg

[Grace]

France



Sgt. Maj. Bruno Fauquembergue

From: Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, France
Age: 42
Unit: Commandement Des Forces Terrestres (Land Forces Command)
Died: February 24, 2011

Died of natural causes in Kabul, Afghanistan.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.bruno.fauquembergue.frmod.jpg

[Grace]

2 March 2011

From NBC News in Virginia -


An airman from Greene County was one of the two U.S. military men who were killed Wednesday at an airport in Germany.

Through a family friend we have confirmed that U.S. airmen Zachary Cuddeback was killed yesterday in Frankfurt Germany.

Cuddeback, a 2008 graduate of William Monroe High School, was one of two killed in what's being called an act of terrorism. A gunman opened fire on a bus carrying U.S. service members outside the Frankfurt airport.

A family friend says Cuddeback's parents are working with the military right now and are coping as best as can be. The family has issued the following statement:

Airman First Class and Hockey Player Extraordinaire Zachary Ryan Cuddeback's life was ended abruptly on March 2, 2011 while serving his nation in the Republic of Germany. Zac was an Army brat that called many places his home, but had a special place in his heart for St. Louis, Missouri. In 2008, Zachary graduated high school from William Monroe High School in Stanardsville, Virginia. After a year at Old Dominion University, where Zac played on the ODU Monarch's Ice Hockey Team, he joined the U.S. Air Force in 2009. Zac was a regular at the Charlottesville Ice Park. His love of the Air Force, Cars, and Hockey were paramount in his life. Zac always had a smile on his face for everyone, but had no closer friend than his brother Tim. Zac will be remembered by his family and friends as an automobile enthusiast and for his love of the game of hockey. His mother, De Loyet, father, Bob Cuddeback, and brother and best friend, Tim Cuddeback, will miss him sorely.

At this point U.S. and Germany authorities are still trying to determine the motive for the shooting.


http://wvir.images.worldnow.com/images/14180464_BG1.jpg

[Grace]

Scotland



Lance Cpl. Liam Richard Tasker and Theo


From: Kirkcaldy, Fife
Age: 26
Unit: 104 Military Working Dog Squadron, 1st Military Working Dog Regiment, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, attached to 1st Battalion, Irish Guards
Died: March 1, 2011


Tasker, an arms and explosives search dog handler, was killed when his patrol was engaged by small-arms fire in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 1, 2011. Tasker's dog, Theo (shown in the photo), returned to Camp Bastion but suffered a seizure and died.


http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/war.casualties/afghanistan/tzcas.liam.tasker.ukmod.jpg


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