In Memoriam

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# 25 & 26

6 August 2011

US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara, from South Sioux City, Nebraska, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 26-year-old Master-at-Arms was the lead dog-handler serving with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit. His dog, Bart, died with him in the crash.

Petty Officer Douangdara's parents fled Lao and later emigrated to the United States. He enlisted in the Navy in February 2003. Upon completion of his initial training, he served in Sicily. He joined his SEAL team in January 2008.

His awards include the Bronze Star with “V” device, Joint Service Commendation Medal with “V” Device, Army Commendation Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (3), Rifle Marksmanship Medal, and the Pistol Marksmanship Medal.

Bart was a US Navy Special Warfare Operations dog, belonging to the East-coast Navy SEAL team. He was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

Bart died alongside his handler, US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class John Douangdara.

Bart has his own Facebook Memorial page.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

John Douangdara told his family very little about his duties in the military. They didn't even know he took part in operations with the Navy SEALs.

But his mother, Sengchanh Douangdara, said it was clear the 26-year-old master at arms petty officer 1st class from South Sioux City, Neb., was committed to the military and proud to serve the country that adopted his Laotian family decades ago. Douangdara was Naval Special Warfare personnel, who support the SEALs.

"I know that he loved his job. It was a job he chose," she told the Sioux City Journal.

She recalled her son as "the middle child, very quiet."

Douangdara's parents fled communist forces in their native Laos in 1979, then immigrated to the United States after the birth of their first child. John was born four years later, the third of five children his parents would raise in South Sioux City, a Missouri River town along the border with Iowa.

The oldest child, Chan Follen, said her family's sadness is tempered by pride in Douangdara's service to the U.S.

"We are proud Johnny fought for the country that embraced our family and gave us the opportunity to reach for the American dream," Follen said.

[Grace]

#27

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer John W. Faas, from Minneapolis, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 31-year-old Special Warfare Operator served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

Top of his class. Quarterback. Team captain.

John Faas' football coach had encouraged the natural-born leader to consider applying to a service academy to become a military officer, but Faas had decided in middle school that he wanted to become a Navy SEAL.

The 31-year-old from Minneapolis never wavered about his goal, joining the elite fighting force and becoming a chief petty officer.

"This is where John felt he was called," said Ron Monson, the football coach at Minnehaha Academy, a private Christian school in Minneapolis where Faas graduated as the 1998 class valedictorian.

The coach said Faas never showed bravado and didn't fit the Hollywood stereotype of a SEAL. Instead, the son of Gretchen and Robert Faas of Minneapolis, was the guy who always stood up for his fellow students.

"John was a man of unquestionable integrity and courage, as were those he served with," his family said in a statement. "He became a SEAL to serve his country and to make the world a better place for those less fortunate."

[Grace]

#28

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Matthew D. Mason, from Kansas City, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 37-year-old Special Warfare Operator served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

A severe arm injury during fighting in Fallujah in 2004 didn't keep Matthew Mason off the Iraq War battlefield. Nor did it dull the competitive fire of the avid runner and former high school athlete from outside Kansas City.

Within five months of losing part of his left arm, absorbing shrapnel and suffering a collapsed lung, Mason competed in a triathlon. He soon returned to his SEAL unit.

"He could have gotten out of combat," said family friend Elizabeth Frogge. "He just insisted on going back."

Mason, the father of two toddler sons, grew up in Holt, Mo., and played football and baseball at Kearney High School. He graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998. His wife, who is expecting their third child — another boy — also attended Northwest Missouri.

Mason returned to Missouri in May to compete in a Kansas City triathlon, and took his family to Walt Disney World for the first time this summer, Frogge said.

"He loved doing what he did," she said. "He was the type of guy who thought he was invincible."

[Grace]

#29

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Heath M. Robinson, from Detroit, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 34-year-old Special Warfare Operator served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

Before he even graduated from Michigan's Petoskey High about 225 miles northwest of Detroit, Heath M. Robinson was the type of guy people could picture becoming a Navy SEAL.

"He was hardworking, dedicated and loyal," athletic director Gary Hice told the Detroit Free Press. "And those are all attributes for a Navy SEAL. He was a nice young man."

Robinson joined the military after high school, according to the Petoskey News-Review, and his service record shows he served in six Special Warfare Units from 2000 to 2011.

Robinson's father declined to comment about his son's death when reached by The Associated Press.

Petoskey Principal Jim Kanine said Robinson and his family would be remembered in prayers.

"We understand that's the ultimate sacrifice a human being can make," Kanine said.

[Grace]

#30

6 August 2011

US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jon T. Tumilson, from Rockford, Iowa, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 35-year-old Special Warfare Operator served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

From the Daily Sentinel, Colorado -

Jon Tumilson got an early start on his preparation to join the SEALS. He had been a wrestler in high school and competed in marathons and triathlons.

Neighbors remembered the Rockford, Iowa, man as a warrior committed to the SEALs, no matter the pain he endured in training or the risks he ran on each mission.

"When he did something, he put his all into it," Jan Stowe, a neighbor of the Tumilsons for more than 30 years, told the Des Moines Register.

Tumilson, who was 35 when he died, "was going to be a Navy SEAL since I can't remember when," Stowe said. "He's like a hero to everyone here."

Another neighbor, Mark Biggs, said people were shocked by his death.

"You just never thought it would happen to Jon," Biggs told the Mason City Globe Gazette. "He's done so many dangerous things."

Friend Justin Schriever remembered Tumilson as "a die-hard at everything. He'd always go the extra mile on everything. He wouldn't let anything stop him from accomplishing something."

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#31

6 August 2011

US Navy Chief Petty Officer Nicholas H. Null, from West Virginia, was killed in action on 6th August 2011 when the helicopter he was in was shot down by enemy forces in Wardak province, Afghanistan.

The 30-year-old Bomb-disposal technician served with an East-coast based Navy SEAL unit.

Article with more info.

[Grace]

France

French Army Master Corporal Facrou Husseini Ali, of the 19th Engineer Regiment (19th RG) was killed in action when a roadside bomb exploded against his patrol vehicle near Tagab on 11th August 2011.

The 32-year-old combat engineer deployed to Afghanistan in June 2011. He was the father of two children aged 1 and 7 years.

With over 10 years of service, Master Corporal Husseini Ali served successively with the 19th RG in Guyana (2002), Côte d'Ivoire (2004 and 2010), Kosovo (2006 and 2008) and Polynesia (2007).

He had been decorated several times with medals and awards during his career.