In Memoriam

**Grace** · 11-05-2011, 03:55 PM

England

British Army Private Matthew Haseldin from 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment (2 MERCIAN) was killed in action in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand province 3rd November 2011. His patrol was attacked by enemy forces and Pvt. Haseldin was hit by small arms fire.

21-year-old Pvt. Haseldin, from Yorkshire, had only been in the Army since February this year and completed his training in August. He deployed to Afghanistan in September.

Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Martyn Chatterley, Regimental Sergeant Major, 2 MERCIAN and Coalition Force Burma, said: "Private Matthew Haseldin was only 21 years old, still young, enthusiastic and eager to further his career. He was proud and enthusiastic with his fellow soldiers and his mates. For the short time I knew Matthew he made an instant impression. He will be sorely missed but we should be proud to have known him and to have fought alongside him. My most sincere condolences and thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. He will be sorely missed by all in 2 MERCIAN but never forgotten. Stand FIRM, Strike Hard."

Matthew's parents Alan and Jill said: "Matthew was a loving son and we are very proud of him. He had only been in the Army for a few months. Friends and family will miss him greatly. Rest in Peace."

**Grace** · 11-07-2011, 12:12 AM

Spain

35-year-old Spanish Army Staff Sgt. Joaquin Moya Espejo was killed in action on Sunday 6th November 2011 when insurgents attacked a group of Afghan troops being accompanied by Spanish military advisers near Ludina, Badghis province.

The attack occurred northwest of Ludina, where Afghan troops, Spanish military advisers and a sniper team had taken up position on a hill to protect troops moving through a valley. The soldiers came under small arms fire from a distant position and Staff Sgt. Moya Espejo, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was hit in the chest.

He was airlifted to a military field hospital at Bala Morghab, but he went into cardio-respiratory arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the medical facility.

Staff Sgt. Moya Espejo served with Infantry Regiment Garellano 45 based in the Spanish city of Vitoria.

**Grace** · 11-07-2011, 01:28 PM

Vietnam

Soldiers Missing from Vietnam War Identified

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

Army Capt. Arnold E. Holm Jr. of Waterford, Conn.; Spc. Robin R. Yeakley of South Bend, Ind.; and Pfc. Wayne Bibbs of Chicago, will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the entire crew, on Nov. 9, in Arlington National Cemetery. On June 11, 1972, Holm was the pilot of an OH-6A Cayuse helicopter flying a reconnaissance mission in Thua Thien-Hue Province, South Vietnam. Also on board were his observer, Yeakley, and his door gunner, Bibbs. The aircraft made a second pass over a ridge, where enemy bunkers had been sighted, exploded and crashed, exploding again upon impact. Crews of other U.S. aircraft, involved in the mission, reported receiving enemy ground fire as they overflew the crash site looking for survivors.

Between 1993 and 2008, joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) teams, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), interviewed witnesses, investigated, surveyed and excavated possible crash sites several times. They recovered human remains, OH-6A helicopter wreckage and crew-related equipment—including two identification tags bearing Yeakley’s name.

Scientists from the JPAC used forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence to identify the crew.

Today more than 1,600 American remain un-accounted for from the Vietnam War. More than 900 servicemen have been accounted for from that conflict, and returned to their families for burial with military honors since 1973. The U.S. government continues to work closely with the governments of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia to recover all Americans lost in the Vietnam War.

**Grace** · 11-08-2011, 01:58 PM

5 November 2011

25-year-old US Marine Lance Cpl. Nickolas A. Daniels, from Elmwood Park, Illinois, was killed in action on 5th November 2011 while on combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

L-Cpl. Daniels served with the 3rd Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, based at Twentynine Palms, California. His family told local news reporters that he had deployed to Afghanistan less than two months ago.

His sister, Kati, said that L-Cpl Daniels had joined the Marine Corps less than two years ago and was trained in bomb disposal.

"I just didn't believe it because he was only there for a month and a half and he just got an award for digging up a bomb, and then this happened. And I didn't want to believe it when (the Marines) came to our house," she told reporters.

**Grace** · 11-11-2011, 11:09 PM

England

28-year-old British Army Private Matthew Thornton, from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment (4 YORKS), was killed in action on 9th November 2011 while on patrol in Babaji, Lashkar Gah. His unit was ambushed by enemy forces using grenades and small arms fire. During the battle, Pvt Thornton was caught in the blast from a hidden bomb and was killed.

Pvt Thornton was a volunteer with the Territorial Army. He worked in a factory manufacturing door and window frames in Barnsley, Yorkshire. Born in Barnsley, he was educated at Darton High School prior to joining Fontenay Company, East and West Riding Regiment, in October 2004, which subsequently became D Company, 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment in June 2006.

He left the Territorial Army in 2007, but re-enlisted into D Company in September 2009, eager to deploy to Afghanistan when the opportunity arose. He volunteered his services for this deployment.

Lieutenant Colonel Ian Crowley, Commanding Officer, 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment, said: "Private Matthew Thornton displayed that he had the volunteer ethos in spades. He was a fine soldier and an even finer man. 4 YORKS is a family and we have lost one of our own. He was a true Yorkshire Warrior."

Pvt Thornton leaves behind his father Michael, mother Susan, sister Sarah, and his brother Nathan.

**Grace** · 11-11-2011, 11:12 PM

9 November 2011

20-year-old US Army Private 1st Class Cody R. Norris, from Houston, Texas, was killed in action in Kandahar province on 9th November 2011 during a contact with enemy forces who had attacked his unit with small arms fire.

Pfc. Norris was serving with the Fort Riley, Kansas based 2nd Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division.

**Grace** · 11-15-2011, 10:51 PM

11 November 2011

US Army Private 1st Class Theodore B. Rushing was killed in action on 11th November 2011 in Kandahar province when an insurgent bomb detonated beside his patrol unit.

25-year-old Pfc. Rushing, from Longwood, Florida, served with the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division (Light), based at Fort Drum, New York.

Pfc. Rushing joined the army in March this year and deployed to Afghanistan in August. Among his awards and decorations are the Purple Heart, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, and the Army Combat Action Badge, according to Fort Drum officials.

He leaves behind his parents.