In Memoriam

[Grace]

12 November 2011

21-year-old US Army Specialist Calvin Evangelista Pereda, originally from Guam, was killed in action in Kandahar province on 12th November 2011 when an insurgent bomb exploded whilst his unit was conducting a foot patrol.

Spc. Pereda served with the 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, based at Fort Wainwright, Alaska. He joined the Army in March 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan earlier this year.

His mother, Rosario Evangelista Pereda, moved to the Fayetteville area from Guam in 2000 with her sons. She was a single mother and wanted to start a better life for her boys, his cousin, Emerald Evangelista Salas said in a statement to press.

[Grace]

14 November 2011

Serbian Legionnaire 1st Class Goran Franjkovic, age 25, was killed in action on 14th November 2011 during combat operations near Tagab, Afghanistan. He was serving with the 2nd Foreign Regiment of Engineers (2e REG), French Foreign Legion.

His unit was involved in checking and clearing land mines and homemade bombs on a road. During the operation, they were attacked by enemy forces and Legionnaire Franjkovic was fatally wounded.

Legionnaire Franjkovic, originally from Serbia, was a combat engineer and bomb-disposal technician in the regiment. He joined the French Foreign Legion in March 2010 and deployed to Afghanistan in September this year. It was his first overseas combat deployment.

[Grace]

14 November 2011

A Fort Bragg-based soldier has been killed in Iraq, the Department of Defense announced Wednesday night.

Spc. David E. Hickman, 23, of Greensboro, was killed by a roadside bomb on Monday in Baghdad, the Pentagon said.

He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg.

Veronica Hickman, Spc. Hickman's mother, told the News & Record of Greensboro that her son was a good student and star athlete at Northeast Guilford High School in Greensboro, where he played football and ran track. He also did Taekwondo and rock climbing, Veronica Hickman said.

"David was always an adventurous person," she told the News & Record. "He was never afraid to try things. He always tried dangerous things. It would make me so mad."

Hickman enlisted in the Army in 2009, going to basic training around Thanksgiving of that year, Veronica Hickman told the newspaper. He deployed to Iraq around Memorial Day this year.

David Eugene Hickman, Spc. Hickman's father, told the newspaper that he tried to persuade his son to be in the Air Force, like him, in air traffic control.

"But he wanted to do the crazy stuff," the elder Hickman said. "He wanted to be in the air, shooting and stuff."

On Friday - Veterans Day - Veronica Hickman told her son and other veterans that she was proud of their service.

"I was telling him, 'Good job,' " she told the News & Record.

[Grace]

11 November 2011

US Army Specialist James Edward "Jimmy" Hall Jr died in his sleep in Miamisburg, Ohio on 11th November 2011. He had been severely injured by a bomb blast in Afghanistan in May 2011 and was evacuated to the USA to recover.

27-year-old Spc. Hall had suffered facial burns, chest injuries and a traumatic brain injury and was evacuated first to Germany and then to the US. Four days before he was injured, his wife Laura gave birth to the couple's son, Aiden James Hall.

He joined the Army about five years ago and served in Iraq for a year.

[Grace]

England

British Army Lance Corporal Peter Eustace from 2nd Battalion The Rifles (2 RIFLES) was killed in action in Helmand province 16th November 2011 when an insurgent bomb detonated while he was on patrol.

L-Cpl. Eustace joined the Army in 2004. He flourished on operations and showed the dependability, courage and quickness of mind for which he became known. His rich qualities made him a natural choice to undertake a Junior Non Commissioned Officer (JNCO) selection cadre, which he passed with ease in March 2009.

He deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011 and had previously served in Iraq.

Lieutenant Colonel Bill Wright MBE, Commanding Officer 2 RIFLES, paid tribute to L-Cpl. Eustace: "After two very demanding operational tours, the first fighting on the streets of Basra on Operation TELIC 9 and the latter showing nerves of steel and huge courage in the IED laden alleyways around FOB Wishtan on Operation HERRICK 10, he had nothing left to prove as a warrior. He was one of those men you can completely rely on when things get tough."

[Grace]

16 November 2011

US Army Specialist James Burnett Jr., age 21, was killed in action on 16th November 2011 in Kandahar when an insurgent bomb blast hit the patrol vehicle he was in.

Spc. Burnett, from Missouri, had joined the army at the age of 17 and was serving with an Alaska-based Infantry regiment. He deployed to Afghanistan in April 2011.

He had returned to the US in July for two weeks leave and became engaged to his girlfriend. On his return to Afghanistan he had spoken with his father and step-mother a few weeks ago and had told them: "I'm in a bad place. Pray for me."

Spc. Burnett leaves behind his father and stepmother, James and Cheri Burnett, his mother and stepfather, John and Rebecca Rogers, his grandparents, Neil and Sally Rogers, fiancee Amy Keeler and eight siblings.

[Grace]

16 November 2011

US Army Pfc. Matthew C. Colin, from Navarre, Florida was one of two soldiers killed in action on 16th November 2011 when an insurgent bomb detonated beside their patrol vehicle. The incident occurred in Kandahar province.

22-year-old Pfc. Colin served with the Alaska-based 1st Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team. The 2007 graduate of Navarre High School joined the Army in February 2010. This was his first deployment.

He leaves his father Ken, mother Kathy and his older brother, Michael.