In Memoriam

[Grace]

2011 Foreign Fatalities - Afghanistan

* Australia: 7

* Azerbaijan: 6

* Canada: 3

* Czech: 1

* Denmark: 3

* Fiji: 1

* Finland: 1

* France: 23

* Georgia: 4

* Germany: 7

* Hungary: 2

* Italy: 5

* Jordan: 1

* NATO: 4

* Nepal: 4

* New Zealand: 2

* Norway: 1

* Poland: 7

* Romania: 3

* Spain: 4

* Sweden: 1

* UK: 34

* US: 329

[Grace]

17 September 2011

27-year-old US Army Staff Sergeant Michael W. Hosey, from Birmingham, Alabama, was killed in action on 17th September 2011 during a battle with enemy forces in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan. He died from small arms fire injuries.

Staff Sgt. Hosey served with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group, based at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington.

SSgt. Hosey joined the Army in 2001 as a Communications Intelligence Specialist. He served the 11th Military Intelligence Brigade as an instructor. In 2003, he was assigned to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, where he served as a Communications Intelligence Specialist. In 2005, he was assigned to Fort Lewis, Washington.

He has been posthumously awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal.

[Grace]

17 September 2011

US Army Sergeant Garrick L. Eppinger Jr., died in Parwan province on 17th September 2011. This was his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Sgt. Eppinger, age 25, from Appleton, Wisconsin, served with the 395th Ordnance Company, 687th Combat Sustainment Support Brigade, 646th Regional Support Group, based at Wausau, Wisconsin.

Article from local paper.

[Grace]

18 September 2011

US Army Specialist Chazray C. Clark, was killed in action on 18th September 2011 when an insurgent bomb detonated beside his unit in Kandahar province.

24-year-old Spc. Clark, from Ecorse, Michigan served with 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, based at Fort Riley, Kansas.

Article from local paper.

[Grace]

World War II

Airmen Missing In Action From WWII Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of nine servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors.

Army Air Forces 1st Lt. William J. Sarsfield of Philadelphia; 2nd Lt. Charles E. Trimingham of Salinas, Calif.; Tech. Sgt. Robert L. Christopherson of Blue Earth, Minn.; and Tech. Sgt. Leonard A. Gionet of Shirley, Mass., will be buried as a group in a single casket on Sept. 21 in Arlington National Cemetery, along with remains representing previously identified crew members 2nd Lt. Herman H. Knott, 2nd Lt. Francis G. Peattie, Staff Sgt. Henry Garcia, Staff Sgt. Robert E. Griebel, and Staff Sgt. Pace P. Payne, who were individually buried in 1985. These nine airmen were ordered to carry out a bombing mission over Rabaul, Papau New Guinea (P.N.G.), in their B-17E Flying Fortress nicknamed Naughty but Nice, taking off from an airfield near Dobodura, P.N.G., on June 26, 1943. The aircraft was damaged by anti-aircraft fire and ultimately shot down by Japanese fighter aircraft. A tenth man, the navigator and only survivor of the crash -- 2nd Lt. Jose L. Holguin -- was held as a prisoner of war until his release in September 1945.

In 1949, U.S. military personnel in the area were led by local citizens to a B-17 crash site on New Britain Island. Remains were recovered but couldn’t be identified given the technology of the time. The remains were buried as unknown at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

In 1982 and 1983, Holguin returned to the area and located the crash site. A fragment of the aircraft nose art was recovered and is displayed in the War Museum in Kokopo, P.N.G. In 1985, the remains were exhumed and identified as Knott, Payne, Garcia, Peattie, and Griebel. In 2001, a team from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) excavated the site and found additional human remains and crew-related equipment.

Among forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC used dental comparisons and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of some of the crewmembers’ families -- in the identification of their remains.

At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover and identify approximately 79,000 Americans. Today, more than 73,000 are unaccounted for from the conflict.

[Grace]

Great Britain

British Marine Commando David Fairbrother, of Kilo Company, 42 Commando Royal Marines, was killed in action in Helmand province, Afghanistan on 19th September 2011. The Commando and his unit were ambushed by enemy forces while conducting a joint patrol with the Afghan National Army in Khorgajat, Nahr-e Saraj.

Born in February 1987, Marine Fairbrother joined the Royal Marines in November 2009 and joined 42 Commando in September 2010.

His sharp mind and strong soldiering skills made him a natural choice for training as a member of an All Arms Search Team, seeing him conduct numerous compound clearances at significant risk in order to ensure the safety of his comrades.

Marine Fairbrother was a highly motivated Royal Marine who was excelling in his first appointment and had aspirations to specialise in the Landing Craft branch on his return from operations. His passion for testing himself both physically and mentally was epitomised by his hobbies of Skydiving and Waterpolo. He was a Marine with great potential who will be sorely missed.

Marine Fairbrother leaves his mother Julie, sisters Ruth and Emily and his girlfriend Melissa.

[Grace]

18 September 2011

FORT HOOD, Texas -- Officials have released the name of a soldier who died Sept. 18 in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained in a noncombat related incident.

Staff Sgt. Estevan Altamirano, 30, whose home of record is listed as Edcouch, Texas, entered active-duty service in January 2001 as an armor crewman. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, since April 2008.

Altamirano deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from January 2004 through February 2005, October 2006 through January 2008, January 2009 through December 2009 and May 2011 through September 2011.

Altamirano awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, four Army Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, Valorous Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Award, three Army Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with four campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, three Overseas Service Ribbons and a Combat Action Badge.

Circumstances surrounding this incident is under investigation.

[Miss Z]

Great Britain - David Fairbrother

Grace, I'm so happy that you found David's memorial tribute. He went to my secondary school, and although a few years above myself, I have a few vague memories of him. He was a very keen sportsman, and many staff I am still in contact with recall his enthusiasm and commitment to the school teams.

He was recently repatriated at RAF Brize Norton, and his body was brought for a last visit to the school he played such a key role in.

If anyone would like to read more about him, you can see the website of my old secondary school: http://www.qegs.blackburn.sch.uk/new...em.php?id=1021