In Memoriam

[Grace]

23 June 2010

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

Pfc. Russell E. Madden, 29, of Dayton, Ky., died June 23 at Charkh district, Konar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his vehicle with rocket fire. He was assigned to the 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Conn Barracks, Germany.

[Grace]

Romania

Cpl. Paul Caracudu

From: Romania
Age: 36
Unit: Batalionul 33 Manevru (33rd Maneuver Battalion)
Died: June 23, 2010

One of two Romanian soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee during a combat mission on Highway A1 about 18.6 miles (30 km) outside Qalat in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

Romania

Sgt. Maj. Dan Ciobotaru

From: Romania
Age: 28
Unit: Batalionul 33 Manevru (33rd Maneuver Battalion)
Died: June 23, 2010

One of two Romanian soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee during a combat mission on Highway A1 about 18.6 miles (30 km) outside Qalat in Zabul province, Afghanistan.

[Grace]

7 June 2010

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

1st Sgt. Robert N. Barton, 35, of Roxie, Miss., died June 7 in Konar, Afghanistan, when insurgents attacked his vehicle with an improvised explosive device. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

[Grace]

England

Pvt. Alex Isaac, 20, Wirral, England - Company B, 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment

Lance Cpl. David Ramsden, 26, Leeds England - 1st Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, attached to the 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment

Pvt. Douglas Halliday, 20, Wallasey, Merseyside, England - Company B, 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment

Colour Sgt. Martyn Horton, 34, Runcorn, England - Company B, 1st Battalion, The Mercian Regiment


Four British soldiers killed when their vehicle overturned into the Nahr-e-Bughra Canal while responding to an attack on a police checkpoint near Gereshk in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on June 23, 2010

[Grace]

From the NY Times; the latest column by Bob Herbert.



We’re like a compulsive gambler plunging ever more deeply into debt in order to wager on a rigged game. There is no victory to be had in Afghanistan, only grief. . . . . . . . The difference between this and a nightmare is that when you wake up from a nightmare it’s over. This is all too tragically real.

[Grace]

England

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Bombardier Stephen Raymond Gilbert, 36, from 4th Regiment Royal Artillery, died from wounds sustained in Afghanistan in hospital in Birmingham on Saturday 26 June 2010.

Bombardier Gilbert died as a result of injuries sustained during an explosion in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on the afternoon of Thursday 10 June 2010.