In Memoriam

[RICHARD]

http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_1....dailynews.com


The teachers should have the kids read the citation accompanying the Medal of Honor awarded Maxam. See that his actions were verified by his fellow Marines in Company D of the Third Marine Division. Half a dozen of them will be attending the park renaming ceremony.

Summarized, this is what Maxam did. Already wounded by grenade fragments, he ran to an abandoned machine gun and began firing on the advancing enemy.

"Corporal Maxam's position received a direct hit from a rocket propelled grenade, knocking him backwards and inflicting severe wounds to his face and right eye," the citation reads.

Maxam got up and kept firing. He was hit again with small arms fire. He got back up and kept firing.

"He gallantly continued to deliver intense machine gun fire, causing the enemy to retreat to cover. In a desperate attempt to silence his weapon, the North Vietnamese threw hand grenades and rifle fire against him, inflicting two additional wounds.

"Too weak to reload his machine gun, Corporal Maxam fell to a prone position and continued to deliver effective fire with his rifle.

"After one and a half hours, during which he was hit repeatedly, he succumbed to his wounds, having successfully defended nearly one half of the perimeter single-handedly."

That is how you win the Medal of Honor.

[Grace]

9 April 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two airmen who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died April 9 near Kandahar, Afghanistan, in a crash of a CV-22 Osprey. They were assigned to the 8th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
Killed were:

Maj. Randell D. Voas, 43, of Lakeville, Minn.

Senior Master Sgt. James B. Lackey, 45, of Green Clove Springs, Fla.

[Grace]

7 April 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died April 7 in Mosul, Iraq, when enemy forces attacked their vehicle with an improvised explosive device. The Soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, Fort Stewart, Ga..

Killed were:

1st Lt. Robert W. Collins, 24, of Tyrone, Ga., and

Pfc. William A. Blount, 21, of Petal, Miss.

[Grace]

8 April 2010

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

Sgt. Roberto E. Diaz Borio, 47, of San Juan, Puerto Rico, died April 8 in Mombassa, Kenya. The circumstances of his death are under investigation. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 65th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Maneuver Enhancement Brigade, Cayay, Puerto Rico.

[Grace]

Germany

Cpl. Martin Augustyniak, 28, Bielefeld, Germany

Master Sgt. Nils Bruns, 35, Oldendorf, Germany

Cpl. Robert Hartert, 25, Freital, Germany

All from 3. Kompanie, Fallschirmjägerbataillon 373 (3rd Company, 373rd Parachute Battalion)

German soldiers killed in a firefight after insurgents attacked a patrol southwest of Kunduz, Afghanistan, on April 2, 2010

[Grace]

One Canadian soldier was killed by an improvised explosive device that detonated during a dismounted security patrol in Dand district at approximately 7:30 a.m. Kandahar time on 11 April 2010. The incident occurred in the vicinity of Belanday, Dand district, approximately eight-kilometres southwest of Kandahar City.

Killed in action was Private Tyler William Todd, 26, Kitchener, Ontario, from the 1st Battalion Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based in Edmonton, Alberta. He was serving as a member with Task Force 3-09 Battle Group.

[Grace]

9 April 2010

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

Sgt. Sean M. Durkin, 24, of Aurora, Colo. died April 9 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device near Forward Operating Base Wilson, Afghanistan, on March 27. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, Fort Carson, Colo.