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

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Gavin L. Neighbor

6-10-2003

Army Pfc. Gavin L. Neighbor, 20, of Somerset, Ohio; assigned to Company C, 3rd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed by a rocket-propelled grenade in Baghdad, Iraq. Neighbor was off work from guard duty June 10, resting in a bus, when a rocket-propelled grenade round was fired from a nearby house. He died as a result of his wounds.

Gavin Neighbor couldn’t wait to join the Army, joining the long list of relatives who had served their country in the military. His parents supported that decision, even after they received the news that Neighbor had died June 10 in a grenade attack in Baghdad.

“He loved making me proud,” stepfather Willie Neighbor said while clenching a plaque that his stepson sent home after he earned his paratrooper wings. Members of Neighbor’s family had served in the military in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“Gavin was the first family member who didn’t get to come home,” said an uncle, Mike Bonham.

His mother said he was prepared to go overseas and eager to serve his country. “He loved what he was doing. He wouldn’t have given it up for nothing,” she said.

Neighbor, a 2001 graduate of New Lexington High School, wanted to make the military his career and eventually hoped to join the elite Army Rangers, his parents said. Neighbor had proposed to his girlfriend, Rachel Sanderson, before leaving for the Middle East.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. John K. Klinesmith Jr. (no picture available)

6-12-2003

Army Spc. John K. Klinesmith Jr., 25, of Stockbridge, Ga.; was assigned to Company C, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.; died June 12 in Fallujah, Iraq. Klinesmith was last seen wading in the lake on the palace compound in Fallujah on June 12. A search was launched and Klinesmith’s body was discovered at the lake.

Spc. John K. Klinesmith was last seen June 12 wading in a lake in Fallujah. Searchers found his clothes and gear on the lake shore and recovered his body the next day. He was stationed at Fort Drum.

Survivors include his mother, Domenica Columbus, of Carriere, Miss. He joined the Army in 1999.

Adam

 

[Deb in IA]

Another bump for this thread, ESPECIALLY on the day after VETERANS DAY.



Let us never, never forget these real people, with real families and real lives that were given for the service of our country.


God bless them all . . .

 

[4nana]

Heartbreaking thread

Wonderful tribute to the brave men/women who gave their lives so we may continue to be free and work towards peace. These brave souls and families will remain in my prayers for all they have sacrificed. May God Bless.

God Bless our son US Army ^i^
God Bless my dear Dad World War 11 Vet who passed Jan 28, 03 ^i^

~ Sandie

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorny

6-13-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Andrew R. Pokorny, 30, of Naperville, Ill.; assigned to 3rd Air Defense Artillery, 3rd Armor Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; died June 13 in a vehicle accident in Asad, Iraq. On the way back from patrol, Pokorny’s M113 armored personnel carrier threw a track and went over a 4-foot drop-off on the side of the road, causing the vehicle to roll over.

Andrew Pokorny joined the Army at 17, fresh out of high school, and began his career as a mechanic. He met his wife, a former administrative specialist for the Army, while stationed in Germany.

He served six months as a mechanic with the Army Rangers in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1992.

“He just loved the camaraderie. He loved being with other soldiers, the soldiers who were under him. Everything about them came first,” said his wife, Martha Pokorny, who lives with the couple’s three children at Fort Carson, Colo., where Pokorny was based.

Pokorny’s sister, Barbara Bonnet, said while Andrew worried about his troops, the family worried about him. However, she said she understood her brother’s commitment to his job.

“We knew how he felt about it,” Bonnet said. “This was his thing. He was proud to be doing it. He was ready to get down there and do it and do it right.”

Adam

 

[Keli]

Thank you for continuing this thread. I read the additions each time I see it on the first page of the CB.

God bless America and our troops.

 

[Big Dude]

Marine Pfc. Ryan R. Cox

6-15-2003

Marine Pfc. Ryan R. Cox, 19, of Derby, Kan.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Air-Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; died June 15 as a result of wounds received from a non-combat weapon discharge near Najaf, Iraq.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Joseph D. Suell (no picture available)

6-16-2003

Army Spc. Joseph D. Suell, 24, of Lufkin, Texas; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Battery, 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.; killed June 16 in Todjie, Iraq. He died from a non-combat related cause.

The following is a news article pertaining to Joseph. God only knows what thoughts our brave men and women have on the battlefield.

Lufkin soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press


LUFKIN, Texas — Fort Hood officials have notified family members that a 24-year-old Lufkin man was killed in Iraq.
Fort Hood spokesman Cecil Green said personnel from the Central Texas post went to Lufkin to notify relatives of Spc. Joseph Suell’s death. Suell was assigned to 5th Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Okla., Green said.

The Defense Department said Suell’s death was from a non-combat related cause. According to a news release on the CENTCOM Web site, the soldier died in the Taji area of Iraq.

He was evacuated to an Army medical facility for treatment, where he later died.

Suell had written a letter to his mother, Rena Mathis, that she received the day he died, The Lufkin Daily News reported June 18.

Suell’s aunt, Deborah McKay, said Suell told his mother he was ready to come home. McKay said Suell wrote that he and his comrades did not have electricity, or water to bathe, and that he was afraid for his life because of snipers.

“He had things on there like, People think the war is over, and it’s not,’’ she said.

Suell is survived by his wife, Rebecca, and their two daughters.

He graduated from Lufkin High School in 1997, and had been a member of the Panther basketball team. McKay said she believed Suell was in his third year in the Army.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pvt. Shawn D. Pahnke

6-16-2003

Army Pvt. Shawn D. Pahnke, 25, of Shelbyville, Ind.; assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Friedberg, Germany; killed by enemy fire in Baghdad on June 16. Pahnke was on patrol when he received a fatal gunshot wound.

My heart aches even more for those who give their lives and have children at home. The following is a story about Shawn:

Indiana solider dies in Iraq pursuing dream to serve in military

Associated Press


SHELBYVILLE, Ind. — A U.S. soldier from Indiana who was killed by a sniper while patrolling in Baghdad was fulfilling his lifelong dream to serve in the military, his family said June 17.
Pvt. Shawn Pahnke of Shelbyville was killed the night before after spending just a few weeks in Iraq, said his father, Tom Pahnke.

The 25-year-old grew up in Manhattan, Ill., south of Chicago, with military pride — his father is a Vietnam veteran, and his grandfather served in World War II.

Shawn Pahnke enlisted in October after getting married. Serving in the military forced him to miss the birth of his son, Dean, on March 20.

He was only able to talk his wife, Elisha, on a cell phone throughout the birth that came four days after he left with the 1st Armored Division’s 1st Brigade for Freidberg, Germany.

“She had Shawn on the phone talking to him while she had the baby,’’ Tom Pahnke said from his Manhattan home. “Shawn was able to hear the baby cry for the first time and know that he had a son.’’

Pahnke was hit in the back by a single shot as he rode in the back seat of a Humvee, said Lt. Alex Kasarda, the brigade’s public affairs officer. The gunman escaped.

Medics administered first aid and brought Pahnke to the brigade’s medical station, where he was pronounced dead, Kasarda said.

Kasarda said Pahnke was in a two-vehicle convoy that was seeking a former Iraqi missile compound when the sniper’s bullet punctured the canvas top of the Humvee.

Military officials said it was likely the bullet penetrated the soldier’s flak vest, possibly by entering at an angle that missed an armored ceramic plate.

Pahnke’s father said his son’s letters from Iraq showed a man beaming with pride.

“His last letters he talked about how proud he was to be a soldier,’’ Tom Pahnke said. “He was glad that he was finally doing what he was trained to do.’’

Shawn Pahnke also is survived by his mother and two older brothers.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Michael L. Tosto (no photo available)

6-17-2003

Army Sgt. Michael L. Tosto, 24, of Apex, N.C.; assigned to Company A, 1st Battalion, 35th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Smith Barracks, Germany; died June 17, at Camp Wolf, Kuwait. He died from a non-combat related cause.

Sgt. Michael L. Tosto was a tank driver who didn’t die from combat, but from pneumonia that his mother said developed rapidly and killed him before he could be airlifted from Baghdad to a military hospital in Germany.

Tosto, who grew up in Chatham County, N.C., and was stationed in Germany, died June 17. Family members say his death came less than 48 hours after he started showing symptoms of pneumonia. He had been assigned to duty in Baghdad April 30.

He is survived by his wife, Stephanie, and 19-month-old son, Cameron.

The last time his mother, Janet Tosto of Atlantic, N.C., heard his voice was when he called on her May 5 birthday. “He loved driving tanks,” she said. “He didn’t like being away from his family now, and he just loved that little boy, but he really enjoyed what he did.”

His mother said Tosto’s wife had received two letters from him since he died in which he was “talking about how much he loved her and how much he wanted to spend the next 80 years with her.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pvt. Robert L. Frantz

6-17-2003

Army Pvt. Robert L. Frantz, 19, of San Antonio, Texas; assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division, Ray Barracks, Germany; killed June 17, in Baghdad, Iraq. He was on guard duty when a local resident threw a grenade over the wall. Frantz died of his injuries.

Here is a story about Robert:

San Antonio soldier killed in Iraq grenade attack

Associated Press


SAN ANTONIO — From Operation Iraqi Freedom, a Central Texas soldier told of his nights spent in the charred remains of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces and days spent guarding the Central Bank of Baghdad.
To Robert L. Frantz’s family, it appeared the 19-year-old high school dropout with a 2-year-old daughter and plans to marry had matured quickly since joining the Army and then going overseas for the war in Iraq.

“He wanted his daughter to be proud of him,’’ said his stepfather, Vincent Smith, a Lackland Air Force Base firefighter. “He grew into a man strictly overnight, by joining the Army. He was a little scared, but excited. He knew he was going to do good things.’’

But Frantz died June 17 as a result of a grenade attack the previous night, according to Phil Reidinger, a spokesman for Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.

Frantz, assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry, was hit with shrapnel while he was standing guard duty. An unknown assailant threw the grenade over a wall in the Iraqi capital.

For the San Antonio native who joined the Army 10 months ago and his family, “this was supposed to be a happy week’’ on the heels of the Spurs’ NBA championship, said Frantz’s mother, Kim Smith.

Instead, the family spent the day coping with the death of Frantz, an Army private first class.

“We thought the war was over,’’ his mother told the San Antonio Express-News. “I told him, ‘Be careful. Watch your back.’ But I had no thoughts that there would be this.’’

Frantz was about 4 when his father died. His family moved a short time later from Michigan to San Antonio, where he attended elementary and middle school. He attended Marshall High School, then withdrew and earned a General Educational Development diploma.

Later while waiting tables at an International House of Pancakes, Frantz met the woman he would eventually makes plans with to marry, Ana Perez.

His daughter, Shannon, 2, is in the custody of her mother, who lives in San Antonio and has remained close to Frantz’s family.

Frantz also had a 22-year-old sister, Heather Frantz, and a stepsister, stepbrother and a 3-year-old brother, who is too young to understand the tragedy.

“He’s been telling us, ‘Don’t be sad, Robby’s coming home,’ ” Vincent Smith said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. William T. Latham

6-18-2003

Army Staff Sgt. William T. Latham, 29, of Kingman, Ariz.; assigned to Troop E, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.; died June 18, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Latham was participating in a raid at a suspected arms market in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, on May 19 when he was hit by shrapnel. Latham was evacuated back to the United States where he died of his wounds.

Here is a news story about William:

Fort Carson casualty always wanted to be in the military

Associated Press


PHOENIX — A 29-year-old soldier from Fort Carson, Colo., who was killed after being hit by shrapnel in Iraq had been adamant about joining the military since childhood, his parents said.
William T. Latham of Kingman had insisted on joining the military since he was 12, said his mother, Brenda Latham.

“He attained his goal and enjoyed it. He was doing what he wanted to do,’’ she told The Arizona Republic.

Latham died June 18 at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. Fort Carson spokesman Richard Bridges said Latham’s wife decided to take him off life support and was at his side when he died.

Latham was injured during a May 19 raid at a suspected arms market in Iraq as he and other soldiers broke through the door of the compound.

Latham ordered his troops to fire a grenade at the door, and a piece of shrapnel flew under his helmet and lodged in his head, his parents were told by the military. No one else was injured.

“I hear that the troops are blaming themselves,’’ said Latham’s father Sid, choking back tears. “It’s nobody’s fault.’’

Latham was part of Eagle Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Regiment, stationed at Fort Carson.

He comes from a long line of service members, said Sid Latham, an Army veteran. Two uncles are Vietnam veterans, and both grandfathers served in World War II.

“The kid ate up being in the military,’’ his father said. “He really loved it.’’

Besides his parents, Latham is survived by his wife, Melissa, and three children, Patricia, 10; Travis, 9; and Jeremy, 6.

Latham was the 10th fatality among soldiers from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Iraq and the 11th Fort Carson soldier killed overall.

A memorial service will be held at Fort Carson but no date has been set, Bridges said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Michael R. Deuel

6-18-2003

Army Pfc. Michael R. Deuel, 21, of Nemo, S.D.; assigned to Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.; killed June 18, in Baghdad, Iraq. Deuel received fatal gun shot wounds while on guard duty at a propane distribution center.

Here is a news article about Michael:

Cheyenne-born soldier killed in Iraq

By Robert W. Black
Associated Press


CHEYENNE, Wyo. — Pfc. Michael Deuel joined the Army about a week before the Sept. 11 attacks because he wanted to learn parachuting and eventually become a smokejumping firefighter.
He will never get the chance.

Deuel, who grew up in Cheyenne and most recently lived in Nemo, S.D., was killed June 18 while on guard duty at a propane distribution center in Baghdad, Army Maj. Steve Stover said. He deployed to Iraq on March 11.

His parents, Dudley “Ace” and Debra Deuel — both retired Air Force personnel — were visiting Cheyenne when they received word of their son’s death from the Army on Wednesday.

“They came by and told us he was gone,” Debra said Thursday night. “We don’t know any particulars or anything yet.”

Michael Deuel will be buried in Cheyenne, where he lived from age 7 through his junior year in high school. He attended Cheyenne East for two years before joining the Boxelder Job Corps program in South Dakota at the age of 17.

In 15 months, Deuel earned his GED and a certification in culinary arts.

Dennis Jaeger, director of the Boxelder center in Nemo, S.D., said Deuel had a good sense of humor, “but knew which direction he was headed with his life and his goals.

“We are nothing but proud of Mike, proud of what he did for the program and proud of what he did for his country and nation,” Jaeger said.

While at Boxelder, Deuel fought some large forest fires in the Rockies.

“He really got this desire to become a smokejumper and the best way to do that was to go into the military to get his jump wings,” Debra Deuel said. “He planned on four years in the Army, getting his parachuting, then going back to South Dakota School of Mines and get his forestry degree.”

Michael Deuel was born in Michigan, then lived in California until the family moved to Cheyenne, where his parents were stationed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base as tech sergeants.

They retired in 1994 and moved to San Antonio, Texas, 15 months ago.

Michael’s sister, Dawn, 22, lives in San Antonio. He also has a stepbrother in Cheyenne and stepsister in Arizona.

Debra Deuel served in the first Gulf War, when Iraq’s troops were pushed out of Kuwait, and is frustrated that American servicemen and servicewomen are still in Iraq.

“I think we should have ended it (then),” she said. “We need to end it now. We need to get some police forces over there or get some more troops over there. These guys need some backup, some guys watching their backs.”

Adam

 

[nativetxn]

Thank you, Adam. We need to remember these young men and women who gave their lives for our country. Bless them all

 

[Big Dude]

Being an ex-EMT, this one hit closer to home for me. He was part of an ambulance crew transporting the wounded.

Army Spc. Paul T. Nakamura

6-19-2003

Army Spc. Paul T. Nakamura, 21, of Santa Fe Springs, Calif.; assigned to 437th Medical Company, based in Colorado Springs, Colo.; killed by enemy fire on June 19 in Iskandariyah, Iraq.
Nakamura was part of an ambulance crew transporting an injured soldier when the vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade.


His father had concerns, but Paul T. Nakamura was intent on joining the Army Reserves. His motivation: patriotism. “One day he said, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m so proud I was born in the United States,’ ” said his mother, Yoko, of Santa Fe Springs, Calif.

Nakamura was a lifeguard who had taught swimming since he was 17 and belonged to the high school water polo team, said his sister, Pearl Nakamura. Family members recalled him as a rascal and a risk-taker.

“You would tell him not to do something, and he would do it anyway,” his sister said. On Father’s Day, the family spoke with him for the last time. “The first thing he told me was that he had showered and had steak for dinner — we know he was lying,” said his father, Paul. “He didn’t want us to worry.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Orenthial J. Smith

6-22-2003

Army Spc. Orenthial J. Smith, 21, of Allendale, S.C.; assigned to Company A, 123rd Main Support Battalion, Dexheim, Germany; killed by enemy fire on June 22, in Baghdad, Iraq. Smith was in a convoy that was ambushed.

Orenthial J. Smith joined the high school football team his senior year, as a wide receiver and kicker. He didn’t play every game, but that was OK, his former coach said, he was happy just being part of the team.

“He liked the camaraderie and the relationships he built with the guys he played with,” said Carlos Cave, football coach at Allendale-Fairfax High School in South Carolina. “He tried extra hard. He always did whatever that was asked of him.”

Smith joined the military right out of high school, and was stationed in Germany. His mother, Iratean, said her son had hoped to make the military his career. But still, she said, he had reservations about the war. “He loved the Army, but he didn’t like the war,” she said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Cedric L. Lennon

6-24-2003

Army Spc. Cedric L. Lennon, 32, of West Blocton, Ala.; assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Fort Polk, La.; died June 24 in Baghdad, Iraq, from a non-combat-related cause.

Cedric L. Lennon had lived with his grandmother at the end of a rural gravel road just outside West Blocton, Ala. He was deployed from Fort Polk to Iraq in March.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Marine Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald

6-25-2003

Marine Lance Cpl. Gregory E. MacDonald, 29, of Washington, D.C.; assigned to Bravo Company, 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, Frederick, Md.; died when the light armored vehicle he was traveling in rolled over June 25 in Iraq.

Gregory MacDonald loved books and classical guitar, and studied philosophy as an undergraduate. He earned his master’s degree at American University in 2001, with an eye toward a career in Middle Eastern affairs. To him, serving in the military was a way to gain credibility and experience in the field.

“He wanted to do foreign policy work, and he wanted to do it for the Middle East, and he wanted to create peace in the Middle East,” said Jeni Spevak, one of his closest friends.

He and six other Marines were traveling to help a U.S. unit under ambush when the road’s shoulder gave out. For his brother Matt MacDonald, there was at least some comfort in the way he died. “He died doing something meaningful,” the brother said. “He was going to aid other soldiers.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Andrew F. Chris (only small picture available)

6-25-2003

Army Spc. Andrew F. Chris, 25, of San Diego; assigned to Company B, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.; killed June 25 in Iraq. Chris was fatally wounded in combat operations in hostile enemy territory.

Army Ranger Andrew Chris called his brother on June 22 to let him know he was headed overseas.

“He said, ‘This is the last time I’m going to call you from the States,’ ” Josh Chris recalled.

Andrew Chris died just a few days later. The Florence, Ala., native was killed along with another Ranger on June 25 when a vehicle packed with explosives on the side of a Baghdad road detonated.

“He went through some of the most rigorous training in the world just to be a Ranger,” Josh Chris said. “But he loved it. He’d go on a 20-mile hike with a 60-pound pack and call me that night and be in a great mood.”

Chris, who lived in San Diego, followed a long line of relatives into the military. Both of his grandfathers served in World War II, his father served in the Army, his uncle in Special Forces and his brother Derek in the Navy. Josh Chris said knowing that his brother died doing what he loved has made it easier to accept.

“He was spiritually and emotionally ready,” Chris said.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

I know I have so much to be thankful for in my life. During this holiday weekend, please remember those who have given their lives so we could be free.

Adam