In Memoriam

[Grace]

World War I

Last Known WWI Veteran Dies at 110

LONDON February 7, 2012 (AP)

Florence Green, the world's last known veteran of World War I, has died at the age of 110, the care home where she lived said Tuesday.

Briar House Care Home in King's Lynn, England, said Green died Saturday, two weeks before her 111th birthday.

Born Florence Beatrice Patterson in London on Feb. 19, 1901, she joined the Women's Royal Air Force in September 1918 at the age of 17.

She went to work as a waitress in the officers' mess at RAF Marham in eastern England, and was serving there when the war ended in November 1918.

Green remembered her wartime service with affection.

"I met dozens of pilots and would go on dates," she said in an interview in 2008. "I had the opportunity to go up in one of the planes but I was scared of flying. I would work every hour God sent. But I had dozens of friends on the base and we had a great deal of fun in our spare time. In many ways, I had the time of my life."

She was officially recognized as a veteran when a researcher found her service record in the National Archives.

The RAF marked her 110th birthday in February 2011 with a cake.

Asked what it was like to be 110, Green said "It's not much different to being 109."

The war's last known combatant, Royal Navy veteran Claude Choules, died in Australia in May.

After his death, Green became the war's last known surviving service member from the war, according to the Order of the First World War, a U.S.-based group that tracks veterans.

[Grace]

7 February 2012

US Army Sergeant 1st Class Billy A. Sutton, died from a medical condition unrelated to combat in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan on 7th February 2012.

42-year-old Sgt Sutton, from Tupelo, Mississippi, served with the 223rd Engineer Battalion, 168th Engineer Brigade, Mississippi National Guard, based at West Point, Mississippi.

He enlisted in September 2001 and was married. He leaves his wife and stepson.

[mon]

No words can express the gratitude and debt we owe to the brave and fallen men and women

[Grace]

11 February 2012

24-year-old US Army Private 1st Class Cesar Cortez, from Oceanside, California, died on 11th February 2012 in Bahrain.

Pfc. Cortez, who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom from a base in Bahrain, served with the 5th Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 32nd Army Air and Missile Defense Command, based at Fort Bliss, Texas.

[Grace]

10 February 2012

US Marine Lance Corporal Osbrany Montes De Oca, from North Arlington, New Jersey, was killed in action on 10th February 2012 during an ambush by enemy forces in Helmand province.

20-year-old L-Cpl. Montes De Oca served with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

According to a report in the NY Daily News, L-Cpl. Montes De Oca was killed at the beginning of his patrol. "He was walking out of the base and he was immediately shot," his girlfriend Maria Samaniego said.

[Grace]

14 February 2012

A Navy hospital corpsman deployed with a Camp Pendleton Marine unit in Djibouti died in training, the Pentagon announced.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Kyler L. Estrada, 21, of Maricopa, Ariz., was killed Tuesday serving with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He died from a gunshot wound during a training exercise, according to the Naval Safety Center.

The Marine unit stopped in Africa during a sea tour, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and the war in Afghanistan.

Estrada described his job as "fix broken Marines," according to his Facebook page.

He is survived by his wife, Alyssa. "My best friend and my soul mate died," she wrote on her page.

"Kyler Estrada is now and always will be the one love of my life. Thank you baby for giving me enough happiness in one year to last me the rest of forever. I will never forget you my love."

Thanking family and friends for the outpouring of condolences, she said: "Kyler was so blessed to have so many people who cared about him, and always will."

[Grace]

England

British Senior Aircraftman Ryan Tomlin, of 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment was killed in action on 13th February 2012 during a patrol in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand Province. SAC Tomlin was fatally shot when insurgents attacked his unit.

21-year-old SAC Tomlin joined the Royal Air Force in October 2008, completing his Trainee Gunners Course in April 2009 before moving on to the Phase One Field Gunners Course. He was selected to join 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, based at Royal Air Force Honington, in June 2009.

He served in Afghanistan in 2010 as a specialist driver on a rifle flight (the RAF Regiment equivalent of a platoon), defending Kandahar Air Base. He deployed on his second tour in Afghanistan in October 2011 with No. 3 RAF Force Protection Wing at Camp Bastion.

Flight Lieutenant David Martin, Deputy Squadron Commander, 2 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment, No. 3 RAF Force Protection Wing, said: "Professional, experienced and extremely popular, Senior Aircraftman Tomlin was one of the best gunners in 2 Squadron. He excelled at everything he did and he epitomised the Royal Air Force Regiment spirit in every way. He was hugely respected by his peers and he frequently mentored the younger members of the Squadron. Joining the Squadron in 2009, Senior Aircraftman Tomlin soon proved to be an exceptional marksman, displaying an excellent flair for fieldcraft."

He leaves behind his mother and father, Diane and Kevin, and a sister, Michelle.