In Memoriam

[Grace]

From the NY Times - The bedrooms left behind

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16 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Staff Sgt. Richard J. Jordan, 29, of Tyler, Texas, died March 16 in Mosul, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

[Grace]

16 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Gunnery Sgt. Robert L. Gilbert II, 28, of Richfield, Ohio, died March 16 of wounds sustained March 8 while supporting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

[Grace]

Great Britain

Lance Cpl. Scott Hardy, 26, Chelmsford, England

Pvt. James Grigg, 20, Hartismere, Suffolk, England

Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment

Two British soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded during an operation 12.4 miles (20 km) north of Musa Qalah in Helmand province, Afghanistan, on March 16, 2010

[Grace]

Great Britain

Capt. Martin Driver, 31, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England

Company A, 1st Battalion, The Royal Anglian Regiment

Died on March 15, 2010, at Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham, England, of wounds sustained when a roadside bomb detonated during a patrol in the Musa Qala district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, on February 21, 2010

[Grace]

19 March - 7th Anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

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16 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Joel D. Clarkson, 23, of Fairbanks, Alaska, died March 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained March 13 during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

[Grace]

18 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Chief Petty Officer Adam Brown, 36, of Hot Springs, Ark., died March 18 in Afghanistan. He was assigned to an East Coast-based SEAL Team.

[Grace]

18 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. Robert M. Rieckhoff, 26, of Kenosha, Wis., died March 18 in Baghdad, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with rocket-propelled grenade fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.

[Grace]

20 March 2010

The Canadian Army regrets to announce the death of Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick at the University of Alberta Hospital Saturday as a result of wounds he sustained in Afghanistan on March 6.

Cpl. Fitzpatrick, of Prince George, B.C., was a 21-year-old Infantryman and a member of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, based at CFB Edmonton.

This was Cpl. Fitzpatrick’s first operational tour. He joined the Canadian Forces in 2006 and had been serving in Afghanistan with the Operational Mentor Liaison Team since last October.

Cpl. Fitzpatrick was critically wounded by an improvised explosive device during a joint Canadian/Afghan dismounted patrol 25 km West of Kandahar City in Zharey district on March 6. He was treated at the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit at Kandahar Airfield and was then moved to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Cpl. Fitzpatrick was evacuated from LRMC to the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton on Friday.

Cpl. Darren James Fitzpatrick passed away late Saturday afternoon surrounded by his family.

[Daisy and Delilah]

From the NY Times - The bedrooms left behind

I'm in tears after looking at these pictures. I can't believe how many quilts there are on the beds. Almost all of them has a hand made quilt. It tells me how much those young people were loved and missed and always will be. A quilter made the quilt personally for them.

How painful it must have been to keep those rooms like they were and allow photographers in the home to take pictures. Perhaps it helped the families to pay tribute to their fallen loved ones.

Thanks, Gretchen. It's so touching that someone thought of preserving the very rooms that were part of their lives for years.

[cassiesmom]

19 February 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Joshua H. Birchfield, 24, of Westville, Ind., died Feb. 19 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.

This is so sad. He was killed by a U.S. security force whose members were apparently stoned out on opium at the time.
http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=362567

[Grace]

Elyse, that just makes me sick.

[Grace]

22 March 2010

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Lance Cpl. Justin J. Wilson, 24, of Palm City, Fla., died March 22 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 10th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

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Great Britain

It is with regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Serjeant Steven Campbell, from 3rd Battalion The Rifles, was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 22 March 2010.

Serjeant Campbell, aged 30, was killed when an improvised explosive device detonated while he was patrolling with his Platoon around 3km south of Sangin district centre.