In Memoriam

[Edwina's Secretary]

I heard on the radio - five were killed in one day and October 2009 to date (5 days!) there have been more deaths than the whole month of October 2008.

[Grace]

2 October 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 2 in Murcheh, Afghanistan, from wounds suffered when they were attacked by a suicide bomber. They were assigned to the 422nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Greensboro, N.C.

Killed were:

Capt. Benjamin A. Sklaver, 32, of Medford, Mass.

Pfc. Alan H. Newton Jr., 26, of Asheboro, N.C.

The incident is under investigation.

[Grace]

I heard on the radio - five were killed in one day and October 2009 to date (5 days!) there have been more deaths than the whole month of October 2008.

In the ABC News email I got this morning, they say that at least 17 troops have died so far this month - and this is only the 5th!!

[Grace]

United Kingdom

5 October 2009

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that a soldier from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards has been killed in Afghanistan.


The soldier was killed as a result of an explosion that happened whilst on a foot patrol near to Nad e-Ali district centre in central Helmand province on the morning of 5 October 2009.

Next of kin have been informed and have asked for a period of grace before further details are released.

[Grace]

The names have not yet been posted on the DoD website, so this is from CNN -

(CNN) -- The flag-draped coffins of five U.S. soldiers killed during a weekend onslaught against a U.S. military outpost in Afghanistan arrived Tuesday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, the military said.

The bodies include Sgt. Joshua J. Kirk of South Portland, Maine; Spc. Michael P. Scusa of Villas, New Jersey; Spc. Stephen L. Mace of Lovettsville, Virginia; Spc. Christopher T. Griffin of Kincheloe, Michigan; and Pfc. Kevin C. Thomson of Reno, Nevada, according to the Air Force mortuary affairs office.

Coverage of the troops' return is allowed with the permission of their families under a policy the Obama administration instituted this year.

On Saturday, Taliban militants attacked American and Afghan troops in Nuristan province, opening fire on the outpost from multiple locations with rockets, mortars and heavy-caliber machine guns. At least eight American troops and two members of the Afghan national security forces were killed, the military said.

It was the largest number of Americans killed by hostile action in a single day since July 2008 when nine troops died, according to CNN records.

[Daisy and Delilah]

We seem to be losing more people than ever. Are we actually going to send more troops to Afghanistan? Please let this stop!!

I am beginning to wonder if this is ever going to end, for real. I don't hear any talk that indicates it's in the works. Bless these young people and their families. I can't say that enough.

[Grace]

Update post #228 -

It is with great regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Guardsman Jamie Janes, 20, of the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, in Afghanistan on Monday 5 October 2009.


Guardsman Janes was killed as a result of an explosion that happened whilst on a foot patrol near to Nad e-Ali district centre in central Helmand province. He was mortally wounded by an improvised explosive device, which also wounded three of his colleagues. The explosion was followed up by an insurgent ambush which the patrol then had to fight off before evacuating the wounded soldiers.
Unfortunately Guardsman Janes died en route to hospital.

[Grace]

6 October 2009

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

Maj. Tad T. Hervas, 48, of Coon Rapids, Minn., died Oct. 6 at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 34th Infantry Division, Rosemont, Minn.

The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.