I am saddened to see young people that lived only half as much as me here. I hop ethat they have gone on to a better place. RIP

__________________
"I am no Martin Luther King or Ghandi motherfucker. I have no idea what those guys were talking about. You spit on my ass, I will knock you out. No motherfucking marching and singing in the street for me." - Jim Brown, NFL Hall-of-Famer and Cleveland Browns running back, 1957-1965

A mod could, and a mod did.

Any further posts contrary to the thread starter's topic will be removed.

Matt

Ohio soldier buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Associated Press

ARLINGTON, Va. — The mother and two younger brothers of an Ohio soldier killed in Iraq knelt in the rain before his wooden casket at Arlington National Cemetery on Aug. 7 to say goodbye.

About 50 family members and friends stood nearby as Maj. Douglas Fenton said a prayer for Army Spc. Brett T. Christian, whom Fenton called an American hero.

“I have a request to make of all of you and that is when time permits, write your memories of Brett and send them to his family,” Fenton said.

Christian, 27, of North Royalton in suburban Cleveland, was driving a troop truck in Mosul, Iraq, on July 23 when his convoy was ambushed by rocket-propelled grenades. In Cleveland, it was still July 22, his mother’s 47th birthday.

Tess Christian, a self-employed multimedia artist, said her son always wanted to be a soldier and enlisted before he finished high school.

Six soldiers carried his coffin to the graveside while a lone bugler played ‘Taps.’

Christian’s mother was presented a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart by Lt. Gen. Dan K. McNeil, commander of the 18th Airborne Corps.

Christian is one of 10 Ohio soldiers killed in Iraq since the war started March 19. A memorial service for him was held last Saturday in Broadview Heights, a Cleveland suburb.

Matt, thank you soooo much. You rock.



Jacob Bruce Kovco

Rest in Peace Jake.

Matthew E. Schneider
Matthew didn't die by enemy fire or roadside bombs. He died of a heart attack while serving our country. He worked in communications in Iraq and he set up high speed internet access for his fellow soldiers in his spare time. I'm sure he is missed. Rest in peace Matthew.

Beautiful work, Samantha. Thank you.

Coffins from Trinh Van needed display - SP4 Melton Howard Presley, PFC Lawrence Scanlon, and PFC James Ronald Bateman were good men in a bad war. Now as then the public show see.

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"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the American flag." -- Huey Long, Senator (D-LA)

To get this thread back on track:

This kid is from one of the towns I grew up in;


Jeffery B Starr
22, Snohomish, WA

"Starr died from small-arms fire while conducting combat operations against enemy forces near Ar Ramadi, Iraq. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, California. During Operation Iraqi Freedom his unit was attached to 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward). Died on May 30, 2005."

Another site said that he was on his 3rd tour of duty. A true servant for his country
Quoted from: http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/...rjeffreyb.html

Rest in Peace

__________________
Yes, the little green fist up there is a symbol of Earth First! No, I'm not an eco-terrorist, nor do I agree with eco-terrorism...I just thought it looked cool.

For the folks who did not understand my post above, I will say this one more time.

This thread is for the sole purpose of paying respect to US and allied soldiers lost in Iraq and Afghanistan.

There will be no further argument or off topic postings in this thread. If you want to argue about the war, use one of the 29,323 threads on the topic.

Think of this as the on-line reception in a funeral home, and act accordingly.

Matt

I actually served with this sgt. I had him in my platoon in C co 2/187 . He had a problem following orders so i relieved him and he was sent to 3bn. There he became a hero..............




Army Sgt. Troy David Jenkins

25, of Ridgecrest, Calif.; assigned to B Company, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment based in Fort Campbell, Ky.; died from wounds received as a result of an explosion April 19 while on a dismounted patrol with other soldiers in Iraq. He died from his injuries at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany.





Troy Jenkins told his father he planned to get out of the military because he felt his luck was running out. Even so, he made a courageous, split-second decision April 19 that ended his life, but saved those of a 7-year-old girl and several soldiers in his 187th Infantry Regiment

Jenkins, 25, was critically wounded when an Iraqi child approached a group of soldiers with an unexploded cluster bomb. As the bomb went off, Jenkins threw himself over it.

He was transported to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and died Thursday.

“The boys in his outfit called me and said he deserves the (Medal of Honor),” said his father, Jack Jenkins of Turkey Creek, La. He said one soldier from his son’s outfit explained Troy’s actions this way: “If you were standing in a store and there was a guy in there with a hand grenade, which way would you run? Troy ran forward, to save that little girl and to save his buddies.”

Jenkins grew up in Evergreen, Ala., the youngest of three children of divorced parents, raised by their father. “He loved music. He loved to roam the woods. And he loved to go fishing,” his father said. “He was the kind of kid, if he had a problem, he’d take his radio out to the woods and try to think it out. He never got in any trouble, and he never lied to me.”

When he graduated from high school in 1995, Jenkins had already joined the Marines. He later joined the Army.

Jenkins, who served in Afghanistan, was planning to leave the service in July and wanted to join the California Highway Patrol. He didn’t want to leave his wife and two children, ages 4 and 2, alone again. “I think he had a premonition,” his father said.

His wife, Amanda Jenkins, said the circumstances of his death were not surprising. “He didn’t have a selfish bone in his body. He was always thinking of other people first.”

— USA Today, Associated Press

Rest in Peace Troy.

Oh Friday September first, two young Americans died in Iraq.


Cliff Golla
He was 21.


Michael Deason
He was 28.
The Iraq Page

Rest in Peace Michael and Cliff.

Army Pfc. Scott A. Messer

26, of Ashland, Ky.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Feb. 2 when his Humvee accidentally rolled over during convoy operations in Ashraf, Iraq.



• • • • •


Slain soldier joined military for a better life

Associated Press

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A soldier from eastern Kentucky who died in Iraq joined the military to give his family a better life, his wife said Saturday.

Pfc. Scott A. Messer, 26, of Ashland, was killed in Ashraf, Iraq, on Thursday, when the Humvee he was riding in accidentally rolled over during convoy operations, the Pentagon said Friday.

He was one of five members of the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division killed in Iraq since Wednesday in three separate incidents, the Pentagon said.

Messer was assigned to 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

His wife, Jennifer, said Messer was “a little nervous” about leaving her and their two daughters — 4-year-old Hailee and 1-year-old Natalie — to deploy to Iraq.

“He didn’t want to leave us, but he was pretty strong about it,” she said.

Messer’s mother, Joyce Johnson, told The Independent of Ashland that her son was at home for 15 days recently after spending six months in Iraq. She said he had been back in Iraq for about two weeks when he was killed.

“When he was at home, he talked about how much he liked being a soldier,” she said. “He said he wanted to re-enlist at the end of his time and go back in the medical field to help the wounded.”

Three other soldiers were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee, the Pentagon said. A fourth soldier, a member of the same combat team, died in an insurgent attack, also on Wednesday.

The three soldiers, First Lt. Garrison C. Avery, 23, of Lincoln, Neb.; Spc. Marlon A. Bustamante, 25, of Corona, N.Y.; and Pfc. Caesar S. Viglienzone, 21, of Santa Rosa, Calif., were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.

Spc. Anthony C. Owens, 21, of Conway, S.C., was also killed on Wednesday when his unit was attacked by insurgents using grenades and small arms fire.

Messer joined the Army in September 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in February 2005. He also is survived his parents, Victor Messer of Bellefonte and Joyce Johnson of Westwood.

Avery joined the Army in May 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in June 2005. He is survived by his wife, Kayla, of Clarksville, Tenn.; and parents, Gary and Susan Avery of Lincoln, Neb.

Bustamante joined the Army in April 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in August 2003. He is survived by his wife, Danielle; twin boys, Gabriel and Xavier; and a daughter, Annalyse of Fort Campbell.

Viglienzone joined the Army in October 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January 2005. He is survived by his parents, Dennis and Norma Viglienzone, of Santa Rosa, Calif.

Owens is survived by his parents, Ronnie and Carrie Owens. His sister, Veronica Owens, lives in Conway, S.C.

There have been 117 soldiers from Fort Campbell killed in the Iraq war.

• • • • •


Family, friends gather amid snow to remember fallen soldier

ASHLAND, Ky. — Jennifer Messer laid a single red carnation from a floral wreath on top of her husband’s casket.

It was the final goodbye to her husband, Pfc. Scott Messer, 26, who died Feb. 2 when his Humvee overturned during a convoy near Ashraf, Iraq, the Army said.

Family and friends gathered Saturday in the cold and snow at Rose Hill Burial Park to remember Messer, one of 122 members of the Fort Campbell-based Army 101st Airborne Division killed in Iraq.

Army Brig. Gen. Bruce Berwick presented an American flag to Jennifer Messer, telling the widow and her two children that the United States was grateful for her husband’s sacrifice.

Berwick gave two similar flags to Scott Messer’s parents, Joyce and Victor Messer.

During a memorial service at Steen Funeral Home in downtown Ashland before the burial, Berwick described Messer as a brave soldier and proud father.

“It has been a high privilege and honor to get to know Scott Messer through your eyes and the eyes of his comrades,” a tearful Berwick told the assembly of family and friends. “He earned the undying gratitude of this nation.”

Jennifer Messer cried while sitting near her husband’s coffin, holding the couple’s two daughters, Hailee and Natalie, each of whom held a tiny American flag.

At the cemetery, members of the 101st Airborne gave Messer a 21-gun salute that echoed off the snow-dusted hills.

Army Chaplain Clinton Caszatt gave the eulogy at the funeral and said the final words at the burial, telling mourners to put their trust in God during this difficult time.

“This world doesn’t offer us a lot of hope. But our hope comes from God. Our peace comes from Him,” Caszatt said. “It’s hard to get our sights beyond this life, but the Lord encourages us not to get so locked up in this world that we forget what life is about.”

— Associated Press

William E. Thorne

Rest in Peace Scott and William.

GREENSBORO - Strength and honor. They were the cornerstones of Lance Cpl. Andrew David Russoli's life.

They were the words that friends and family leaned on for support as they buried the young Marine on Wednesday afternoon.

Strength and honor also became the battle cry they headed home with, to help them face the world without the son, friend and warrior.

Hundreds of mourners gathered at College Park Baptist Church on Wednesday to honor Russoli, of Greensboro in a service that celebrated his individuality, his lifelong love of all things military and his devotion to his family and God.

Russoli was killed Oct. 20 during a roadside bomb attack in Nasser Wa Salaam, Iraq. The Rev. Michael Usey told the crowd that Russoli volunteered to investigate, with two other Marines, a tip that a bomb had been found in an open field.

When Russoli's vehicle approached the bomb, insurgents waiting nearby detonated it. Russoli and the two other Marines died instantly.

It was the 21-year-old's second tour of duty in Iraq. His parents, Sally White and Roland Russoli, were presented with a purple heart - the second their son was awarded - during Wednesday's service.

__________________
"You know you were way too high when you wake up next to a handwritten list of all the things you would do for a Klondike bar." - Unknown

"What happens if a big asteroid hits Earth? Judging from realistic simulations involving a sledge hammer and a common laboratory frog, we can assume it will be pretty bad." - Dave Barry

Rest in Peace Andrew.