In Memoriam

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#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.

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#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.

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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.

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Charles P. Murray, Jr.
Medal of Honor Recipient

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C., August 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Congressional Medal of Honor Society announces that Colonel Charles P. Murray, Jr., Medal of Honor recipient, passed away Friday, August 12, 2011 in Columbia, South Carolina at age 90.

Charles received his Medal of Honor in Salzburg, Austria, presented by Lt. Gen. Geoffrey Keyes, Commanding Gen. U.S. II Corps. on July 5, 1945.

He displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action against the enemy by commanding Company C, 30th Infantry, displaying supreme courage and heroic initiative near Kaysersberg, France, on 16 December 1944, while leading a reinforced platoon into enemy territory, Murray fired from an exposed position, disorganizing the enemy ranks and forcing their withdrawal. He then moved with his patrol to secure possession of a bridge and construction of a roadblock, capturing enemy troops while sustaining injuries.

Charles Murray is survived by his wife Anne and many other family members. Funeral services are pending. There are 84 recipients alive today.

About the Congressional Medal of Honor Society

The Congressional Medal of Honor Society was chartered by Congress in 1958 and consists exclusively of the living recipients of our nation's highest award for bravery in combat, the Medal of Honor. Those who wear this light blue ribbon and Medal around their neck are "recipients" of this prestigious award; they are not "winners." Although it is common to refer to the Medal as the Congressional Medal of Honor, it is simply named the Medal of Honor, although, as stated, the Congress did establish the Society as the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.

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11 August 2011

US Army Specialist Patrick L. Lay II, from Bradenton, Florida, was killed in action on Thursday 11th August 2011 while on combat operations in Afghanistan.

21-year-old Spc. Lay died from injuries he sustained in a bomb blast. He was an infantryman serving with the 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, New York.

His mother, Stefenie Hernandez, told local news: “My son gave his life for his country so we can live free and continue to have what we have,” She went on to say that “He was fun-loving. He liked to joke. He was a very, very sweet child.”

He was engaged to Joann Steiff, also 21. They were planning to marry next year.

Article from local paper