IN MEMORIAM.......These BRAVE Men and Women died.......FOR US

[Silky]

Sergeant First Class John Marshall, 50, Hinesville, Ga.

John Marshall was a career soldier with 30 years in the Army, serving in Korea, Germany and the Gulf War.

Marshall was killed Tuesday, April 8, when an enemy rocket-propelled grenade hit him during an ambush in Baghdad, Iraq.

At the time of his death , he was the oldest American military casualty of the Iraq conflict. He was married to Denise Marshall and the father of six children, ages 9 to 17.

Marshall led a platoon of 40 soldiers assigned to the 3 rd Battalion, 15 th Infantry Regiment, 3 rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga.

Marshall was the fourth of nine children, the son of Odessa and Joseph Marshall, and was raised in south-central Los Angeles.

"It’s sad," Odessa Marshall told The Associated Press from her Sacramento, Calif., home. "I was expecting to go before my kids. I didn’t want to be here to see my kids go."

Odessa Marshall last saw her son in October before he headed to Kuwait. The family never doubted he would come home or his dedication to the Army, she said.

"We couldn’t get upset because if we did, it would be going against what he really wanted," she said.

His sister, Denise Marshall-Mills, 45, said he was a military man to the core.

"His life was the military, and he made the ultimate sacrifice," she said.

 

[Silky]

Corporal John Rivero, 23, Gainesville, Fla.

4-24-03

The letter spoke of pride in serving his country and the excitement of being in a dangerous situation.

We’re doing a good thing over here, John "Travis" Rivero wrote from the Persian Gulf region to his sister Terese Strickland back home in Gainesville. There was so much he wanted to tell her, the letter went on, but he wasn’t allowed to say where he was or what his mission was. The words would never be said. Rivero became a casualty in the war against Iraq on Friday, April 18.

Officially, Rivero, a Florida National Guard member assigned to Company C of the 124 th Infantry Regiment, died in the crash of his Humvee in Kuwait. The family has been told that he was killed in action, Strickland said. "We’re so proud of him," she said. "He could have been anywhere in that vehicle, but he was at the gun, and he wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else."

Rivero grew up in Gainesville, joining the service shortly after graduating high school in 1998. In recent years, he had cared for the grandmother who helped raise him.

Before shipping out in February, Rivero attended the University of South Florida in Tampa, studying computers and business. Rivero was a member of the school’s cheerleading team, rated among the nation’s top squads. "He had sort of a rough family life growing up," his sister said. "But the town has really pulled together for him. His family now is in the hundreds."

 

[Silky]

Staff Sergeant Scott D. Sather, 29, Clio, Mich.

4-19-03

The Clio (Mich.) High School Mustangs will wear the number 2 on their baseball uniform sleeves this season in honor of their No. 1 war hero.

The gesture is in remembrance of 1991 Clio graduate Scott Sather, who was killed in combat Tuesday, April 8, in Iraq.

Sather was a member of the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, a special forces unit out of Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.

Sather, who wore No. 2 on the Mustang baseball team, was well known in his Michigan hometown for his athletic talent and teamwork.

Clio High School athletic director Gary Langdon was Sather’s football coach.

"He was the type of individual that every coach yearns to have on their squad," Langdon said. "He was totally selfless and an extremely fierce competitor."

Sather joined the Air Force a year after graduation.

"He loved playing football and baseball for the Clio Mustangs, just like his dad and uncles did. It meant a lot to him to be part of the Clio tradition," Sather’s family said in a written statement. "Scott was proud to be in the Air Force and to serve his country and everything the United States stands for."

Sather had been stationed at Pope since 1999.

Prior assignments included special tactics squadrons in England and Washington state.

Sather earned the Bronze Star for his actions during combat in Afghanistan in October 2001, the Air Force said.

Other commendations included four Air Force Achievement medals.

Flags at Clio City Hall were lowered to half-staff.

Sather’s uncle, State Rep. John Gleason, honored him on the Michigan assembly floor.

"People naturally gravitated toward Scott," Gleason told the Flint (Mich.) Journal.

"He was a charismatic guy, very personable. He really had a soft strength about him."

Sather was married a year ago in an elaborate ceremony in Clio.

Colleagues at Pope Air Force Base described Sather as a "quiet professional" who liked to be the "do" man.

"He’d basically go out, take care of matters. Even if he wasn’t asked to do it, he would just go out and do it anyway, just to make sure things got done," Staff Sgt. Michael Bain told The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer.

Sather’s other passion was his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

Sather is survived by his wife, Mel; his father, Rodney Sather; and his mother, Karin Craft.

 

[Silky]

Staff Sergeant Robert A. Stever, 36, Pendleton, Ore.

4-17-03

Everyone called him Tony.

He was Robert Anthony Stever, a tank mechanic who was killed Tuesday, April 8, in Iraq when enemy fire hit his convoy.

"He called two weeks ago and left a message on the answering machine that 'everything is going fine,'" said Stever's grandfather, Ray Stever of Pendleton, Ore. "He said, 'I love you. Goodbye.'"

Tony Stever used the phone of NBC reporter David Bloom, who was with his unit, the 3 rd Infantry Division based in Fort Stewart, Ga. He had used the phone to call his wife, Cyndi, on their 10 th wedding anniversary in March.

Before Bloom's death April 6 from an apparent blood clot, the family would try to keep track of Stever on the NBC reports. They caught a glimpse of him during an Iraqi sandstorm. The report showed him and his crew working on a tank.

Ray Stever said his grandson's death during combat garnered national media attention. "He was on Tom Brokaw. He was in USA Today."

Tony "would be embarrassed by all the attention. I know he would be," he said.

The way Tony Stever would see it, he was just doing his job. He was where he wanted to be. The 13-year Army veteran's tours included Bosnia and Macedonia.

"He was signed up to go to officer's candidate school," Ray Stever said.

He was sent in October to Kuwait, where he commanded a tank recovery unit. The day he was killed, "he was bringing a convoy of ammunition and supplies and driving the rig near the Baghdad airport," Ray Stever said.

Flags were at half-staff last week in Tony Stever's hometown of Pendleton, Ore., where he was born Nov. 3, 1966. He left Pendleton in 1993 but still considered it home.

Ray Stever said neighbors put a banner on his fence that reads, "We will remember," with two American flags on it.

Letters poured in after Tony's death , he said, including one from Tony's kindergarten teacher, who recalled the boy saying to her, "I know why you like me so well. It's because I'm so cute."

While Tony and his daughter, Nichole, 10, were returning from a fishing trip last year in Georgia, he pulled over to the roadside to give CPR to a heart attack victim. That's the type of guy he was, his grandparents said.

Tony was avolunteer firefighter with the Pendleton Fire Department, following in the footsteps of his late father, Bob.

He will be buried with military honors in Pendleton.

He is survived by his wife, daughter, parents, David and Stella Yarbrough of Springfield, Mo., his paternal grandparents and grandfather Bill Faucett of Pendleton.

 

[*Flower*]

Thanks again for this effort Silky.... it helps a lot to see the people behind the names...

 

[Silky]

Staff Sergeant Terry W. Hemingway, 39, Willingboro, N.J

4-16-03

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. Terry W. Hemingway wrote to his mother Feb. 26, assuring her he'd soon be home from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I'm in good hands over here, the best equipment in the best Army on earth, so don't worry," he wrote.

Hemingway's wife, Darlene, had no reason to doubt him.

"There wasn't one moment since the day he left Jan. 7 that I did not expect him to walk right through that door and take me to Red Lobster for dinner," she told the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga.

But as he rode down an Iraqi street in a Bradley Fighting Vehicle on April 10, a car next to it exploded, killing him and another soldier and injuring four others. He was 39.

Hemingway was with the First Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Ga., where he'd been stationed since 1994.

His mother, Eva Shannon, said Monday from her home in Willingboro, N.J., that he had no qualms about going to Iraq.

"He was doing something to make people's lives better. That was important to him," she said. "When I saw those people over there and their expression - how they were shouting for joy - I felt good about that, not knowing it would be Terry who would be killed the next day. But even after that, I still feel like his death wasn't in vain. He was a good soldier - he did what he had to do."

Hemingway grew up in a military family and enlisted in the Army in 1981, right after his graduation from high school in Trenton, N.J. His stepfather, Evine Shannon, served in the Army for more than two decades, and his brother, Staff Sgt. Gary Hemingway, was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, and also was serving in Iraq. He is to accompany his brother's body back to the United States this week.

Eva Shannon wants people to know Terry Hemingway was devoted not only to his wife and three children but also to his friends and to her.

"He was a mama's boy," she said. "I had a good boy, and I'm not saying that because he's my son."

She said she'll cherish the last letter she received from him, even though his promise of a safe return never came to pass.

"It's a comfort to me," she said. "It's a part of him, and I won't depart from it."

Hemingway is survived by his wife, Darlene, and three children, Terry Jr., 11, Venetia, 9, and Danisha, 8, of Fort Benning, Ga.; stepfather and mother Evine and Eva Shannon of Willingboro, N.J.; a brother, Staff Sgt. Gary Hemingway of Fort Bliss, Texas; and a sister, Jackie Hicks of Willingboro. Funeral arrangements are pending, but burial will be in Willingboro.

 

[Silky]

Lance Corporal David E. Owens Jr., 20, Winchester, Va.

4-19-03

David Owens Jr. craved challenges whether it was on the wrestling mat or during rigorous boot-camp training at Parris Island, S.C.

Owens lost 30 pounds in the process but met the Marines’ challenge after choosing that branch of service over the Army late in 2000. He hoped to use his military experience to prepare himself to become a state patrolman.

Owens, the only child of Debbie and David Owens Sr., died Saturday, April 12, on his way to the hospital after being shot in the chest during combat in Baghdad.

The Owenses last saw their son when he visited at New Year’s, and he left for Kuwait from Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Jan. 28.

He was a member of Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5 th Marine Regiment, 1 st Marine Division.

Debbie Owens said her son expressed no worries before being deployed. "That was his job. He was very proud to be a Marine . . . and of what he had accomplished."

The Marines contacted the family from Camp Pendleton on April 12, telling them Owens had been wounded and his injuries were not life-threatening.

The family sought more information, but none was forthcoming until two military representatives showed up Monday with the news he was dead.

"Our whole life was centered around him," Debbie Owens said.

She said he was always trying to make her laugh. "We couldn’t ask for a better child."

He would comfort her now, Debbie Owens said. She thinks he would say: "You don’t need to be crying. Why are you crying? "

Owens was a football player and wrestler at James Wood High School, where he graduated in 2000. He placed fourth in the Commonwealth District Wrestling Tournament as a senior.

"He really fulfilled his athletic ability," said his wrestling coach, Jaye Copp. "He was just a great kid."

 

[Silky]

Specialist Gil Mercado, 25, Paterson, N.J.

4-19-03

Gil Mercado liked to use his hands creatively. A cook in the 101 st Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, he liked boxing, martial arts but especially painting and drawing. "For him it was not a matter of getting any type of recognition. It was something to satisfy himself, to speak for him more than anything else," his sister Rosa told the Chicago Tribune.

The Defense Department said Mercado died Sunday, April 13, in Iraq after suffering a gunshot wound, although the exact cause of the "non-combat weapon discharge" is under investigation.

Born in Paterson, N.J., Mercado attended high school in Isabela, Puerto Rico, 90 minutes northwest of San Juan. He met his wife, a Colombian woman, when he returned to Paterson. After joining the Army in March 2000, the couple lived at Fort Campbell, Ky. He was stationed there since June 2001.

His wife has chosen to have him buried next week in Puerto Rico near his family. Along with his sister and wife, he is survived by his half-brother, Sgt. Arnaldo Rivera Roman, who is based out Fort Campbell and is on active duty in Iraq; his father, Gil; his mother, Graciela Roman; and two sisters.

 

[Silky]

Private First Class John E. Brown, 21, Troy, Ala.

4-20-03

Like many young men, Johnny Eli Brown thrived with the structure and guidance he found in the military.

"I don’t mean to imply that he wasn’t a good kid, but he just needed the discipline that the military was able to give him," said Hank Jones, superintendent of Troy City Schools. "To see the emotional and spiritual growth that I saw in him over the last couple of years was very meaningful to me, and I’m just really proud of who he had become."

After serving in the reserves, Brown enlisted in the Army last fall. He was assigned to the 2 nd Battalion, 44 th Air Defense Artillery Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky., part of the 101 st Airborne Division.

Brown and a fellow Fort Campbell soldier died Monday, April 14, when a grenade accidentally went off while they were performing maintenance on a vehicle at a checkpoint south of Baghdad, the Department of Defense said. Two other soldiers were injured in the blast, The Associated Press reported.

The pain of losing Brown, Jones said, is eased a bit by the knowledge "he truly loved what he was doing."

Brown’s death came as fighting eased.

Jones, who attends the same church as the Brown family, got the news in a call from the church Monday night.

"There was probably a false sense of security on my part that things were going to be OK and that he would be fine and would be coming home soon," Jones said.

"It’s a loss that just kind of reminds all of us how real that war is," said the Rev. Steve Rascoe, minister of Park Memorial United Methodist Church in Troy.

Rascoe remembered Brown, a tall young man at about 6 feet 2 inches tall, as very likeable, "a bit of an outdoorsman" and a Christian "who had a very deep faith in God."

He is survived by his parents, Ed and Bonnie Brown of Troy, a brother, Shayne, and a sister, Jessica Brown-Tatum.

The mayor of Troy, a town of 14,000, has asked flags fly at half-staff in honor of Brown until services, which are pending.

 

[Silky]

Specialist Thomas A. Foley III, 23, Dresden, Tenn.

4-24-03

Army officials knocked on Anetta Courtney’s door in Dresden, Tenn., about 11:30 p.m. on a Monday night. She knew the knock meant bad news — and she said a prayer for her two grandsons in Iraq.

Officials said her grandson, Thomas A. Foley III, died Monday, April 14, when a hand grenade accidentally exploded inside his Humvee during a vehicle maintenance stop at a checkpoint south of Baghdad.

The explosion killed another soldier and injured two others. All were with the 2 nd Battalion, 44 th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, which is attached to the 101 st Airborne Division, based in Fort Campbell, Ky.

Courtney made one request: Find Tommy’s younger brother, David Wayne Foley, who arrived in Iraq nearly two weeks ago, tell him and get him out of harm’s way.

The next day, Courtney’s thoughts and prayers alternated between grief for Tommy and worry for David. "We were just waiting. That’s the worst part," she said.

The phone rang late Tuesday, April 15. On the other end, Tommy’s wife, Paulette, told her the Army found David.

"We don’t know where he’s going, just that they found him and they are taking him out of harm’s way," Courtney said.

Growing up in Dresden, a western Tennessee town of about 3,000, Thomas Foley was a vivacious, outgoing kid who liked playing pranks and good-naturedly ribbing people.

Courtney recalled Foley and his brother were always laughing.

Shortly after graduating from Dresden High School, he enlisted in the Army, hoping to see the world. He spent a year and a half in South Korea, then was stationed in Fort Campbell.

After Army life, he planned to enroll in college to become a teacher.

Foley is survived by his wife, Paulette, and a son, Logan, 6 months, who live on Fort Campbell; his mother and stepfather, Emily and Brian Darden of Dresden; and his father, Thomas A. Foley II.

 

[Silky]

Corporal Armando Ariel Gonzalez, 25, Hialeah, Fla

4-20-03

About eight years ago, Armando Ariel Gonzalez set sail on a raft from Cuba to reach the United States.

Last week, he gave his life in service to his adopted country.

Gonzalez died Monday, April 14, in Iraq from injuries he received when a refueling tanker collapsed on him.

He was assigned to Marine Wing Support Squadron 273, based in Beaufort, S.C., and was three years into his fouryear tour with the Marines.

The night before he died, Gonzalez called his wife of seven months, Luidmila, who is four months pregnant with the couple’s first child. He called at 5 a.m. Iraq time.

"I think that he felt deep inside that he had to make that phone call," she told the Miami Herald.

"God knows how long he had to wait in line, when he could have been sleeping."

His father, Julio Gonzalez, said the couple met in 1995 through a mutual friend.

Gonzalez made the journey from Cuba with his father and his brother, Orlando, now 23.

"He was the best kid any father ever could have had," Julio Gonzalez said.

"He died for the United States, even though he wasn’t a U.S. citizen. He cared about this country and was very patriotic."

Gonzalez is the first Marine from the Beaufort base to die in Iraq.

"The mood around here is very somber," base spokesman Capt. Don Caetano said. "We have only 4,000 people at this base, so when something like this happens . . . it brings it a lot closer to home."

Caetano said the Bureau of Citizen and Immigration Services is working with the Defense Department and the Marine Corps to make Gonzalez a citizen posthumously.

"We’re proud of him," Caetano said. "He died serving his country and protecting freedom . . . that’s what a hero is."

He is survived by his wife, father and brother; and his mother, who remains in Cuba.

 

[Silky]

Specialist Richard A. Goward, 32, Midland, Mich.

4-23-03

Richard A. Goward died Monday, April 14, in Iraq when his truck entered a dust cloud and rear-ended another truck. Goward was assigned to the 1460th Transportation Company of the Michigan Army National Guard.

The unit, which is attached to the 4th Infantry Division, is responsible for hauling heavy equipment, vehicles and ammunition to staging areas where military action is imminent.

Goward served with the 12th Special Forces group based in Tulsa, Okla., from 1990 to 1996. He was a paratrooper and received his Green Beret with that unit. He joined the Guard after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"He told me, 'If I can't protect my family, then who can?,' " Goward's wife, Karen, said in a statement released by the National Guard.

Goward actively pursued physical fitness, enjoying jujitsu as well as outdoor activities.

Capt. Dawn Dancer, a Michigan National Guard spokeswoman, told the Midland Daily News he was a top soldier who received a certificate of merit for physical fitness.

In addition to his wife, Goward is survived by two daughters, ages 8 and 5.

 

[Silky]

Private First Class Joseph P. Mayek, 20, Rock Springs, Wyo.

4-20-03

Joseph P. Mayek, who joined the Army less than a year ago after helping his high school football team win a state title, died Monday, April 14, when he was hit by "friendly fire."

Mayek was killed when he was hit with a round from a Bradley fighting vehicle. He was assigned to the 6 th Infantry Regiment in Germany, which was sent to Kuwait on March 10.

"He was a fine young man," said his stepfather, David Mc-Fadden. "He liked the outdoors and loved sports."

Mayek enjoyed fishing and camping with his family, especially on the Wind River range in northwest Wyoming. He followed the Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Braves and San Antonio Spurs.

He also played cornerback and split end on his school’s football team. His team was undefeated in 2001, when Mayek was a senior, and captured the Class 5A state title.

"He was elated," McFadden said. "It was the first time Rock Springs had had a state championship team in 20-some years."

But it didn’t go to his head.

"He was really nice," said Tami Blosson, who was in Mayek’s math and computer classes. "Most of our football players are egotistical, and he wasn’t. He treated everybody the same. It seemed like he was friends with everybody."

McFadden said his stepson joined the Army just after high school.

"He was torn between college and the military, and he was weighing both options," he said. "He thought the Army would be the best growing-up experience for him."

McFadden said Mayek mowed the lawn, washed dishes and helped with other household chores, and developed into a fine person before he left home, McFadden said.

His football coach, Jamie Christensen, said, "The biggest thing I remember about Joe was, he was probably a great soldier because he was such a team guy for us."

"He’s greatly missed," Mc-Fadden said. "You couldn’t ask to have a better son."

Mayek is survived by his stepfather; his mother, Margaret; a brother, Jason, 12; a sister, Camillia, 17; and his father, Patrick Mayek of Wisconsin.

 

[Silky]

Corporal Jason Mileo, 20, Centreville, Md.

4-23-03

Jason Mileo was in Baghdad's city square when the statue of Saddam Hussein came down. Caught up in the excitement of the moment, he borrowed a reporter's cell phone and called Maryland. "He called his mother, but they weren't home at the time he called, so he just left a message," said his grandmother Joyce Hall of Pasadena, Md. The message, his grandfather Walter Hall told USA Today, expressed his pride in being a Marine and being part of the celebration. He said he would be home soon.

Mileo, 20, died near Baghdad Monday, April 14, a victim of friendly fire. He was shot when he was mistaken for an Iraqi soldier.

The Defense Department said the death is under investigation.

Mileo was assigned to the 3 rd Battalion, 4 th Marine Regiment, 1 st Marine Division stationed in Twentynine Palms, Calif.

His parents, Phillip Hall and Leah Mileo Hall of Centreville, Md., are not talking with the media.

"Words cannot express the sorrow we feel over the loss of our son," they said in a statement. "Jason embodied the Marine Corps motto 'Semper Fidelis.' Jason was always faithful to his friends, his family, his Marine Corps and his country. Jason died doing what he loved - being a Marine, surrounded by Marines who loved him. We will miss him dearly."

Mileo was born in Baltimore and grew up near Chesapeake Bay. As a child he went bass fishing and deer hunting with his grandfather Vincent Mileo, The Washington Post reported.

He attended Chesapeake High School in Anne Arundel County, Md., where he played on the golf team and was a member of the drama club, according to The Baltimore Sun. As a stage crew member, he helped build sets for a production of "The Wizard of Oz."

Mileo enlisted in the Marine Corps after graduation in 2000.

Friends and family contacted by media after his death said he will be remembered for his sense of humor, his funloving spirit and his pride in being a Marine.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by a brother, Zachary Hall of Pasadena; his maternal grandmother, Margaret Mileo of Pasadena; his maternal grandfather, Vincent Mileo Jr., of Glen Burnie, Md.; his paternal grandparents, Joyce and Walter Hall of Pasadena; and his maternal great-grandmother, Isabelle Mileo of Westminster, Md.

 

[Silky]

Chief Warrant Officer Andrew Todd Arnold, 30, Spring, Texas

4-28-03

Andrew Todd Arnold was a true friend. He lived, worked and even died near the people who loved him.

The Marine died Tuesday, April 22, on a firing range near Al Kut, Iraq, when a rocket-propelled grenade launcher malfunctioned.

Dying next to him was longtime friend Chief Warrant Officer Robert William Channell Jr.

A third Marine, Lance Cpl. Alan Dinh Lam, died in the accident.

Arnold and Channell went to Officer Training School at Quantico, Va., together in 2001 and lived on the same street in Hubert, N.C.

Both were members of the 1 st Battalion, 10 th Marine Regiment of Task Force Tarawa assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Arnold loved to boat and camp with family and friends, including neighbor and ex-Marine Rick Heaser.

He enjoyed fishing, NASCAR and playing with his two children.

"My vocabulary can’t express how great a person he was and how much I admired him," Heaser said. "He was a friend to everyone."

Heaser last saw Arnold the night before he left for Iraq in January. The two toasted Arnold’s safe return.

The 11-year Marine left behind his wife, Lisa; a son, Austin Blake, 8; and a daughter, Jessica Lynn, 4.

Arnold last spoke to them two days before he died.

"(Arnold) had called Easter morning and talked to Lisa and the children," Cynthia Martinez, Lisa Arnold’s best friend, told The Daily News in Jacksonville, N.C.

"This was the first time they had spoken since he left. He thought he’d be coming home in a month to three months."

Arnold was born Nov. 28, 1972, in Memphis, Tenn.

His family moved to Louisiana before relocating to Spring, outside Houston, in 1981.

As a child, he was active in Cub Scouts, Civil Air Patrol and soccer.

He graduated from Klein Oak High School in 1990 where he participated in orchestra and was a member of the Spanish club.

In 1992, he joined the Marines, like his grandfather.

He met his wife a few years later while stationed in North Carolina.

He also is survived by his parents, Jim and Mary Arnold, of Spring; a sister, Michele Arnold Garland, of Spring; a brother, James Arnold IV, of Kansas City, Mo.; and his grandfather, James Arnold Jr., of Houma, La.

"Andrew was proud to be a Marine and loved the country that he served," Heaser said in an e-mail to The Gazette.

 

[Big Dude]

Thank you Silky. Continuing to remember my heros. They may not have known it but they ALL hold a special place in my heart. Whenever I hear the Star Spangled Banner, I cry out of respect for these and all who gave their all in the past.

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Big Dude]

As the mother of a Marine who came home safely, I can't help but notice that Marines lead this terrible list. It seems strange that the smallest branch of the service has the largest number of casualties....but as we've always been told - the Marines are the first one's in and the last one's out.

Twinmom7

HOO RAH!!!!

SEMPER FI

May God bless you and your son!

Adam aka Big Dude

 

[Silky]

Lance Corporal Alan Dinh Lam, 19, Snow Camp, N.C.

5-2-03

Alan Dinh Lam went straight from the graduation stage to the Marine Corps recruiting office.

Lam had just graduated from Southern Alamance High School in 2001 when he enlisted in the Marines. He was assigned to the 8 th Communication Battalion, 2 nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

"It was obvious he had really thought this through and was deeply committed to serving his country," Principal Kent Byrd told the News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. "People were proud of him. But it was still an awful shock when we heard he had been killed."

Lam died Tuesday, April 22, in Iraq when a rocket-propelled grenade malfunctioned during a training exercise. Two other Marines died in the accident.

As a student at Southern Alamance, Lam joined the school newspaper and the art club, North Carolina news reports said.

He was a natural artist who was quiet only when he worked on a drawing, one of his art teachers told the News & Observer.

He loved to talk about his future in the Marines.

"He came back to see me about a year ago," Laura Perry said. "He was in his uniform, and I asked him how he was. With a huge smile, he said he was great."

He is survived by his parents, Adam and Brenda Lam, and four older sisters.

The family held a private service in Snow Camp, then went this week to a burial service at Arlington National Cemetery.

 

[Silky]

Specialist Roy Russell Buckley, 24, Hobart, Ind.

5-2-03

Roy Russell Buckley died Wednesday, April 23, in a noncombat vehicle accident in Baghdad.

A 1996 graduate of Merrillville High School in northwest Indiana, Buckley joined the Army Reserve three years ago in Hobart, Ind., and was deployed to Fort Campbell, Ky., in late January.

He had been employed for a short time as a millworker at Midwest Steel when he was deployed.

His fiancee, Jenina Bellina, 24, of Chicago was a reservist with the Hobart unit. She returned home from Iraq after Buckley’s death .

His uncle, Joe Richard of New Chicago, Ind., said the family believed the two planned to marry.

"He hadn’t announced it, but we kind of expected it."

Buckley, known as Bucky to family and friends, had a special place in his heart for Alicia, his 6-year-old daughter, who lives with her mother in the Hobart area.

"He was so thrilled to get a new picture of her in the package we sent," Richard said. "He showed it to everybody in his unit, saying, ‘This is my daughter.’"

Buckley was a sports enthusiast growing up and became involved with karate.

"He was more patriotic than anyone," Richard said. "He was American through and through." His bedroom was decorated with American political and military memorabilia.

Richard said an officer told him his nephew "was an excellent soldier."

"He would get his job done, then go help someone else with their job," he said. "That made me very proud."

Buckley was the third resident of a small area in northwest Indiana to be killed in the war, news services said.

In addition to his daughter, Buckley is survived by his mother, Janie Espinoza, and his stepfather, Phillip Espinoza, both of Hobart; two brothers, Victor Calvin of Hobart and Charles Calvin of Portage, Ind.; and a sister, Catrena Calvin of Hobart.

 

[Silky]

Sergeant Troy David Jenkins, 25, Evergreen, Ala.

5-7-03

Troy David Jenkins was willing to pay the ultimate sacrifice to save the lives of those around him.

Jenkins was injured in an explosion Saturday, April 19, and died April 24 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

He was on patrol when the accident occurred. He was assigned to B Company, 3 rd Battalion, 187 th Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, Ky.

While on patrol, an Iraqi child playing with unexploded ordnance approached a group of soldiers and tossed it toward them, Jenkins’ mother, Connie Gibson, told the Mobile (Ala.) Register.

Jenkins recognized the danger and threw himself on the explosive as it detonated, saving the lives of the soldiers and child, Gibson said. The blast severed Jenkins’ left leg and fingers on his left hand and peppered much of his body with shrapnel.

Gibson said officials notified her surgeons had to amputate Jenkins’ right leg at the knee because of infection. He died less than a week later.

"Troy was a pure man," said his father, Jack Jenkins. "He knew what he was doing, and he saved a lot of them boys."

Jenkins was the youngest of three children with one brother and sister. He was born in Phoenix but was raised in Evergreen, Ala., by his father.

"We didn’t have much money but we always had a good time, and there was a lot of love around the house," Jack Jenkins said.

Jenkins was active in the Boy Scouts and enjoyed fishing and music. He played football in junior high school.

He graduated from Hillcrest High School in Evergreen in 1995 and joined the Marines, serving four years. He then joined the Army, serving in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.

While Jenkins was stationed in Twentynine Palms, Calif., he met and married his wife, Amanda.

Jenkins is survived by Amanda and two sons, Tristan, 4, and Brandon, 2.

Jenkins planned to end his military career in July and move to California, where his wife is attending college to become a teacher.