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

[Big Dude]

Army Sgt. Charles T. Caldwell

9-1-2003

Army Sgt. Charles T. Caldwell, 38, of North Providence, R.I.; assigned to the 115th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, Cranston, R.I.; killed Sept. 1 when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device on Main Supply Route Tampa, south of Baghdad, Iraq. Caldwell was one of two soldiers killed in the incident.


Sgt. Charles T. Caldwell and his bride, Margaret, had pushed up their wedding from June to February when things began heating up in the Middle East. Charles wanted to celebrate their union with “a huge party” as soon as he came home.

“Well, baby, this is some party,” Margaret Caldwell said at a memorial service for her husband, sending a wave of laughs through the audience. Caldwell, 38, of North Providence, R.I., was killed Sept. 1 when the Humvee he was riding in struck a land mine in Iraq. He was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard.

Kipp Caldwell remembered his older brother as a loving and loyal friend. He liked the camaraderie and the structure of the military.

“He was happy that he was doing something that he felt was very worthwhile and we’re proud of him for that,” said Kipp Caldwell. “I think he was at a happy point in his life. He was doing what he wanted to do.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara

9-1-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara, 40, of New Bedford, Mass.; assigned to the 115th Military Police Company, U.S. Army National Guard, Cranston, R.I.; killed Sept. 1 on Main Supply Route Tampa, south of Baghdad, Iraq, when his vehicle was struck by an improvised explosive device.Another soldier also died in the incident.


Staff Sgt. Joseph Camara was a quiet, funny man who had a calming effect on the people he encountered in his four years as a patrol officer.

“Those are tough qualities to find,” said Lt. Richard Spirlet, spokesman for the New Bedford Police Department in Massachusetts.

Camara, 40, of New Bedford, died Sept. 1 when the Humvee he was in struck a land mine near Baghdad. He was a member of the Rhode Island National Guard.

“He was an exceptional partner,” said Officer Luis Sud-Martinez. “He had no qualms about going back and serving his duty in the military,” Sud-Martinez said. “He had put his time in and was ready to retire but he went back and he had a job to do.”

Camara is survived by his wife, Ana, and children Matthew, Angela and Ashley.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Staff Sgt. Cameron B. Sarno

9-1-2003

Army Staff Sgt. Cameron B. Sarno, 43, of Waipahu, Hawaii; assigned to the 257th Transportation Company, Army Reserve, Las Vegas, Nev.; died Sept. 1 when he was hit by a truck while changing his vehicle’s tire in Kuwait City, Kuwait.


Staff Sgt. Cameron B. Sarno was full of energy. After driving a truck all day, he would drop by to see his aunt and the two would talk late into the night. And his enthusiasm for the Army Reserve was boundless.

“He was gung-ho,” said his aunt, Nancy Gurdison. “He really believed he should do something for his country.”

Sarno, 43, of Las Vegas, was killed Sept. 1 while changing a flat tire on a heavy transport truck in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He had 19 years of combined active and reserve duty in the Army.

A native of Hawaii, he joined the military soon after graduating from high school, following in the footsteps of his late father, James Sarno Sr. His son, Cameron Bryan “B.J.” Takeuchi, served in Afghanistan.

“He always had a smile on his face,” said Spc. Anthony Grimando. “There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for anybody. He was selfless.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Pfc. Christopher A. Sisson

9-2-2003

Army Pfc. Christopher A. Sisson, 20, of Oak Park, Ill.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 325th Parachute Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, N.C.; died Sept. 2 in Baghdad, Iraq. Sisson was in a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter participating in an air assault mission. The helicopter flipped and crashed on take off.

Pfc. Christopher A. Sisson loved to fly and planned to become a pilot when he returned from his stint overseas as a paratrooper. Upbeat and confident, he was known as a professional soldier who always did his duty.

Sisson, 20, of Oak Park, Ill., died Sept. 2 in Iraq when the helicopter he was riding in flipped and crashed on takeoff. He was stationed at Fort Bragg.

“He died doing something that he loved to do and wanted to be a part of,” said Pfc. Jeremy Brown, one of his friends from the squad. Brown said he and Sisson did everything together. In North Carolina, they hung out when they weren’t working. In Iraq, they kept each other company on guard duty.

“He kept me going,” Brown said. “He was motivated, determined and loyal. You could not ask any more from this guy. He did it all.”

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bruce E. Brown

9-4-2003

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Bruce E. Brown, 32, of Coatopa, Ala.; assigned to the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.; killed in a motor vehicle accident on Sept. 4 near Udeid, Qatar.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Jarrett B. Thompson

9-7-2003

Army Spc. Jarrett B. Thompson, 27, of Dover, Del.; assigned to the 946th Transportation Company, U.S. Army Reserve, Lewes, Del.; died Sept. 7 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Thompson was in a convoy on Aug. 30 when a civilian vehicle passed the convoy and swerved between the lead military vehicle and an approaching Iraqi truck. The driver of the civilian vehicle hit Thompson’s truck. Thompson was medically evacuated to WRAMC where he later died of his injuries.

Here is a story about Jarrett:

Family, friends gather at Delaware soldier’s funeral

Associated Press


GALENA, Md. — Hundreds of friends and family gathered Saturday to remember a 27-year-old Dover, Del., resident who died Sept. 7 from injuries sustained in Iraq.
Close to 400 people filled St. Dennis Roman Catholic Church in Galena, Md., for a memorial Mass for Spc. Jarrett Thompson.

Thompson, who was assigned to the Army Reserve’s 946th Transportation Co., based in Lewes, Del., was in a convoy in Iraq on Aug. 30 when a civilian vehicle hit Thompson’s truck, according to the Pentagon’s Public Affairs Department.

Thompson was taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, where he died Sept. 7 as a result of his injuries.

Thompson was born in Dover and grew up in Millington, Md.

Thompson received a military burial with full honors, including a 21-gun salute and a bugler playing taps.

Maj. Gen. Karol Kennedy of the 99th Regional Readiness Command, which oversees the 946th Transportation Co., presented the flag draped over Thompson’s coffin to his widow, Kelly.

The Army awarded Thompson the Bronze Star on Saturday.

“The Bronze Star is one of the highest medals that is given in a combat environment,” Kennedy said. “It is given for service and valor in that environment.”

Thompson is the third Delawarean to die since the United States invaded Iraq in March.

“Every soldier’s loss is something that lasts forever,” Kennedy said Saturday.

Thompson had two young sons with his wife — 6-year-old Connor and 2-year-old Collin.

Adam

 

[Big Dude]

Army Spc. Ryan G. Carlock

9-9-2003

Army Spc. Ryan G. Carlock, 25, of Macomb, Ill.; assigned to the 416th Transportation Company, 260th Quartermaster Battalion (Petroleum Support), Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.; killed Sept. 9 northwest of Baghdad when his fuel truck was attacked by the enemy.

Here is a story about Ryan:

Illinois soldier killed in Iraq

Associated Press


MACOMB, Ill. — A soldier from the Macomb, Ill., area died of injuries sustained when his fuel truck was attacked in Iraq, the Department of Defense has announced.
Army Spc. Ryan G. Carlock, 25, died in combat north of Baghdad on Tuesday. The department listed him as a resident of Macomb. A family friend said Carlock lived in rural Colchester, about seven miles west of Macomb.

Family members said they weren’t given a lot of details about the attack.

“He was shot when his convoy was ambushed and he died en route to the hospital,” said Carlock’s stepfather, Terry Evans, of Evansville, Ind.

Carlock’s death came just days after he spoke to family members, who were expecting him to return to the United States in a couple of months.

“We just talked to him Sunday about stuff he needed to take care of at home, like his bank account,” said Evans.

His wife, Heather Carlock, moved in with her parents in Pennsylvania after her husband was sent to the Middle East earlier this year.

In those months, she said, she and her husband were in regular contact.

But his words were usually about their 10-month-old daughter, Sierra. He did not talk much about his surroundings because he did not want her to worry any more than she already was.

“He just wanted to do his duty, then come home,” she said.

Heather Carlock said her husband was devoted to her daughter and a 7-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.

“He loved his children,” she said. “He was a loving husband. I’ve never seen a mean streak in him.”

Carlock joined the service about three years ago to earn a living and get job training, said family friend Don Hocker.

Carlock was assigned to the 416th Transportation Company, 260th Quartermaster Battalion, based at Hunter Army Airfield in Georgia.

Adam

 

[browneyes]

Mother, mother
There's to many of you crying
Brother, brother, brother
There's far too many of you dying
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today - Yah

Father, father
We don't need to escalate
You see, war is not the answer
For only love can conquer hate
You know we've got to find a way
To bring some lovin' here today


Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me
So you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going
Ya, what's going on
Ah, what's going on

(Background music and conversation)
In the mean time
Right on, baby
Right on
Right on

Father, father, everybody thinks we're wrong
Oh, but who are they to judge us
Simply because our hair is long
Oh, you know we've got to find a way
To bring some understanding here today
Oh

Picket lines and picket signs
Don't punish me with brutality
Talk to me,
So you can see
Oh, what's going on
What's going on
I’ll tell you Ya, what's going on - Uh
Ah, what's going on
Right on baby
Right on baby