In Memoriam

[Grace]

Country of Georgia

Georgian Army Junior Sergeant Rezo Beridze, age 35, died from wounds sustained when enemy forces attacked his patrol unit in Helmand province. He joined the Georgian Armed Forces in 2002 and had previously deployed to Iraq.

The Georgian Ministry of Defense confirmed his death on Wednesday evening, 31st August 2011. According to a news report in the newspaper Batumelebi, the body of Jr. Sgt. Beridze was repatriated to Georgia on 27th August.

The Georgian Army's 33rd Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade is currently serving in Helmand province, having rotated with the 32nd battalion in Helmand this April.

[Grace]

28 August 2011

US Army Private 1st Class Alberto L. Obod Jr., died in Kandahar province on 28th August 2011 from injuries he suffered in a vehicle rollover incident.

26-year-old Pfc. Obod, from Orlando, Florida, was serving with the 391st Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 16th Sustainment Brigade, based at Bamberg, Germany.

Pfc. Obod became an American citizen in April this year, during a naturalization ceremony at Kandahar Air Field, according to the US embassy in Kabul. He is from South Digos, Philippines, originally.

[Grace]

Vietnam

Air Force Pilot Missing From Vietnam War Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Major Thomas E. Reitmann of Red Wing, Minn., will be buried on Sept. 8 in Arlington National Cemetery. In 1965, Reitmann was assigned to the 334th Tactical Fighter Squadron deployed out of Seymour-Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to Takhli Air Base, Thailand. On Dec 1, 1965, he was flying a strike mission as the number three aircraft in a flight of four F-105D Thunderchiefs as part of Operation Rolling Thunder. His target was a railroad bridge located about 45 nautical miles northeast of Hanoi. As the aircrew approached the target area, they encountered extremely heavy and accurate anti-aircraft artillery (AAA). While attempting to acquire his target and release his ordnance, Reitmann received a direct AAA hit and crashed in Lang Son Province, North Vietnam. Other pilots in the flight observed no parachute, and no signals or emergency beepers were heard. Due to the intense enemy fire in the area a search-and-rescue team was not able to survey the site and a two-day electronic search found no sign of the aircraft or Reitmann.

In 1988, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) repatriated remains to the United States believed to be those of Reitmann. The remains were later identified as those of another American pilot who went missing in the area on the same day as Reitmann.

Between 1991 and 2009, joint U.S.-S.R.V. teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), analyzed numerous leads, interviewed villagers, and attempted to locate the aircraft. Although no evidence of the crash site was found, in 2009 and 2011 a local farmer turned over remains and a metal button he claimed to have found in his corn field.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory also used mitochondrial DNA – which matched that of his brother -- in the identification of Reitmann’s remains.

Article with picture from local paper.

[Grace]

31 August 2011

US Army Specialist Dennis James Jr was killed in action on 31st August 2011 in Wardak province, Afghanistan. The 21-year-old 10th Mountain Division soldier died from injuries he received when an insurgent bomb exploded beside his patrol unit.

Spc. James, from Deltona, Florida served with 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Polk.

His awards include the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and a Combat Action Badge.

[Grace]

Denmark

Danish Army Konstabel Jacob Sten Lund Olsen, age 22, died on 3rd September 2011 from injuries sustained when an insurgent bomb exploded against his unit.

He was part of a foot patrol near Gereshk, Helmand province, and was evacuated to Camp Bastion field hospital. Sadly, he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Konstabel Olsen joined the Danish Army in August 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan in July 2011 with the Hussar Guards Regiment (Gardehusarregimentet).

He is survived by his parents, girlfriend and six siblings.

[Grace]

3 September 2011

US Army Specialist Christopher J. Scott, was killed in action on 3rd September 2011 when his patrol unit came under enemy fire. The incident occurred in Kandahar province.

The 21-year-old Military Policeman, from Tyrone, New York, was serving with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), based at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. This was his first overseas deployment. He deployed two months ago.

[Grace]

31 August 2011

24-year-old US 10th Mountain Division Specialist Kevin R. Shumaker died from rabies on 31st August 2011 whilst being treated for the disease in a US hospital.

Spc. Shumaker joined the Army in February 2009 and served as a cook with the 615th Military Police Company in Afghanistan from May 2010 to May 2011. He returned to Fort Drum, New York, in August this year.

It is thought that Spc. Shumaker contracted the disease overseas but this is currently under investigation. The Army said he did not contract the disease in New York.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the NATO Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and Overseas Service Ribbon, according to the Army.

Spc. Shumaker is survived by his mother and stepfather.

Note: He is included in this thread because of his service in Afghanistan.