In Memoriam

[Grace]

21 October 2009

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

Spc. Kyle A. Coumas, 22, of Lockeford, Calif., died Oct. 21 in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.

[Grace]

UNITED KINGDOM

22 October 2009

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Corporal James Oakland of the Royal Military Police was killed in Afghanistan yesterday, Thursday 22 October 2009.

Corporal Oakland died after being mortally wounded by an improvised explosive device on a foot patrol in the Gereshk region of Helmand province. He was conducting a route search to clear devices to allow the Battle Group freedom of movement.

[Grace]

Yesterday was another of the horrific days.

From the NY Times -

KABUL, Afghanistan — Fourteen Americans were killed in Afghanistan on Monday in two separate incidents involving helicopters.

Seven soldiers and three civilian employees of the United States embassy — all of them Americans — were killed in a helicopter crash in western Afghanistan, military officials said. And in southern Afghanistan, the midair collision of two coalition helicopters resulted in the deaths of four American soldiers. A spokeswoman said gunfire from insurgents was not to blame for the collision.

The spokeswoman, Capt. Elizabeth Mathias, would not specify an exact location for the deadly crash in the west, although she said the craft was a large Chinook helicopter and the military was “98 percent sure that insurgent activity was not involved.”

The crash reportedly injured 26 people: 14 Afghan Army soldiers, 11 American troops and an American civilian.

[Grace]

23 October 2009

The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died Oct. 23 in Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The soldiers were assigned to the 569th Mobility Augmentation Company, 4th Engineer Battalion, Fort Carson, Colo.

Killed were:

Spc. Eric N. Lembke, 25, of Tampa, Fla.

Pfc. Kimble A. Han, 30, of Lehi, Utah.

[Grace]

One of the 14 - from the Boston Globe -

A Marine helicopter pilot from North Attleborough whose wife is expecting their first son was one of 14 Americans killed in two helicopter crashes in Afghanistan today, in one of the deadliest days for US forces since fighting began there eight years ago.
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The family of Captain Kyle R. VanDeGiesen, 29, said he died in one of the crashes. The family said it did not know what occurred and released a statement saying, “It is with sadness today that we learned that our son, brother and husband, Marine Captain Kyle VanDeGiesen was killed today in the line of duty in Afghanistan.

The statement continued, “He was a 1998 graduate of North Attleborough High School, a 2002 graduate of St. Anselm College, and was currently stationed at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, CA. He fulfilled his lifelong dream of becoming a Marine helicopter pilot, protecting his family and serving his country.”

His wife, Megan, is expecting their first son, and they have a daughter, Avery, who recently celebrated her first birthday. He also leaves his parents, Ruth Ann and Calvin VanDeGiesen, brothers Ryan and Christian, and sister Caitlin.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

The military has released little information about the crashes, expect to say they were not a result of hostile fire.

The deadliest crash occurred in the western part of Afghanistan. A helicopter went down after leaving the scene of a firefight, killing 10 Americans on board – including three Drug Enforcement Administration agents. The agents routinely patrol with US forces in Afghanistan, the world’s larges producer of opium, the key ingredient of heroin and a major source of funding for insurgent groups.

The helicopter was on an operation that targeted insurgents involved in drug trafficking when a firefighter began.

A military spokeswoman did not give a cause of the crash, but said hostile fire was unlikely because the troops were not receiving fire when the helicopter took off. Taliban fighters claimed they had shot down a helicopter in the Badghis province, but it was not clear if they were referring to the same incident, and their claim could not be independently verified.

It was the first time a DEA agent has died since the agency began operations in Afghanistan in 2005.

A second crash occurred when two US Marine helicopters – a UH-1 and an AH-1 Cobra -- collided in flight in the southern province of Helmand, killing four American troops and wounding two more.

Which crash VanDeGiesen was involved in was not known.

The crashes made today the heaviest single-day loss of life since June 28, 2005, when 19 US troops died, including 16 on an MH-47 Chinook helicopter that was shot down by insurgents.

[Grace]

UNITED KINGDOM

25 October 2009

It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of Corporal Thomas 'Tam' Mason from The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS), at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine, Selly Oak Hospital, on Sunday 25 October 2009.

Corporal Mason was injured when an improvised explosive device detonated during an operation in Kandahar province on 15 September 2009. Despite the best efforts of medical staff, both in theatre and back in the UK, over a period of nearly six weeks, he sadly died as a result of his wounds.


Corporal Thomas Mason, known as Tam, was 27. He was born in Bellshill, Glasgow, and brought up in Rosyth, Fife.

[Grace]

26 October 2009

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

The following Marines died Oct. 26 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

Cpl. Gregory M.W. Fleury, 23, of Anchorage, Alaska.

Capt. Eric A. Jones, 29, of Westchester, N.Y.

Capt. David S. Mitchell, 30, of Loveland, Ohio.

Capt. Kyle R. Van De Giesen, 29, of North Attleboro, Mass.



Fleury, Jones and Van De Giesen were assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 169, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.

Mitchell was assigned to Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 367, Marine Aircraft Group 39, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Pendleton, Calif.