Fear No More
Fear no more the heat o’ the sun,
Nor the furious winter’s rages;
Thou thy worldly task has done,
Home art gone and ta’en thy wages:
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Fear no more the frown o’ the great;
Thou art past the tyrant’s stroke;
Care no more to clothe and eat;
To thee the reed is as the oak:
The scepter, learning, physic, must
All follow this and come to dust.
Fear no more the lightning-flash,
Nor the all-dreaded thunder-stone;
Fear not slander, censure rash;
Thou hast finish’d joy and moan:
All lovers young, all lovers must
Consign to thee and come to dust.
No exorciser harm thee!
Nor no witchcraft charm thee!
Ghost unlaid forbear thee!
Nothing ill come near thee!
Quiet consummation have;
And renowned be thy grave!
William Shakespeare
With great sorrow, tonight we honor two brave men – one a soldier, the other a Marine – who lost their lives in Iraq, leaving behind devastated families and eight young children. Please join me over the fold to say good-bye to these heroes.
Major William G. Hall: "One of the finest people I’ve ever met...."
DoD Identifies Marine Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Maj. William G. Hall, 38 of Seattle, died March 30 from wounds he suffered while conducting combat operations in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on March 29. He was assigned to 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Combining a career in the military with a family is never easy. As a devoted family man and father of four, as well as a dedicated member of the Marine Corps, Major William G. "Billy" Hall wanted to spare his loved ones from constant worrying over his welfare. So in his communications with them, he focused on the positives, as his last email shows:
"I know most of what you hear on the news about Iraq is not usually good news and that so many are dying over here," Maj. Hall wrote in a March 27 e-mail to his family, two days before he was fatally wounded. "That is true to an extent but it does not paint the total picture and violence is not everywhere throughout the country. So please don't associate what you see on the news with all of Iraq."
(snip)
He ended his e-mail with: "Love you and miss you. I'll write again soon."
SOURCE
When he called home on Easter Sunday, Hall again made certain he put his family’s fears to rest. According to his sister, Dolores Perry, even though he sounded tired, he didn’t want anyone to worry.
"He didn't say a lot. He just gave us the reassurance he was OK," she said.
SOURCE
Tragically, on March 29th, Hall was wounded by an improvised explosive device, and died the next day.
A native of Seattle, Hall graduated from Garfield High School in 1987. He then studied at Washington State University, where he was a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps. In 1992, he obtained a Bachelor’s degree from WSU in physical education. Later, he enlisted in the Marine Corps. While stationed in Florida, he met his wife, Xiomara, now of Temecula, California.
Hall was on his second deployment to Iraq. As a member of an air defense battalion’s transition team, Hall was helping train Iraqi forces when at the time of the fatal accident. According to North County Times, if Hall had not been serving on this transition team, he would have returned home this week.
The unit he normally served with [the 3rd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, Marine Air Control Group 38, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, I Marine Expeditionary Force ] was due back at Camp Pendleton this week following a seven-month deployment in Djibouti, Africa, where it served as a security force and conducted several civil affairs operations.
Since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in March 2003, 331 Camp Pendleton-based Marines and sailors have been killed in Iraq.
Hall is survived by his wife, Xiomara Hall; daughters Tatianna, 6, and Gladys, 3; stepsons Xavier, 13, and Xander, 9, all of Temecula, Calif.; his mother, Mildred Hall, of Seattle; sisters Dolores Perry and Margie Bell; aunt Alberta Hall of Seattle; uncle Howard Berry of Kent, and several nieces and nephews.
His family and friends remember a man of integrity and quiet strength, who only weeks ago received word that he would be promoted to lieutenant colonel during the coming year. As his sister, Dolores Perry, told the Seattle Times:
"He could be having a conversation with me and then my 10-year-old niece could walk in the room and he'd capture her like he'd just captured me," said Maj. Hall's eldest sister, Dolores Perry, 56, of Seattle. "He could talk to anyone — from the minister to a drug addict. He was just that kind of person."
People who knew Hall agree that his loss will be felt by all those whose lives he touched. As family friend Pat Ward told the Marine Corps Times:
"He just was one of the finest people I’ve ever met," Ward said in a telephone interview.
"He was just a fine Marine and a fine man. He loved his mother. He loved his wife and children. He just was very content in who he was."
Major Hall will be laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery next week.
Sergeant Jevon K. Jordan: "We all lost such a vital part of our family"
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. Sgt. Jevon K. Jordan, 32, of Norfolk, Va., died Mar. 29 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Landstuhl, Germany, from wounds suffered Mar. 23 in Abu Jassim, Iraq, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
As Jevon Jordan’s MySpace page shows, his vision of the future included a rich, fulfilling life for his family (Sgt. Jordan is shown with two of his children, above):
"I have big dreams for me and my kids. I hustle to get what I need. The American dream is alive and well, and I plan on living it by any means. Remember, a peace of mind is worth more than anything in the world. There is no reason you shouldn't have it."
A devoted husband and father, Jordan graduated from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, and later attended Tidewater Community College, where he studied political science. He served in the Army for nearly four years in the late 90s, and then became a member of the Army Reserve. In 1996, he married his wife, Michelle. The couple were raising four children – sons Tony, Cory, and Zakees, and daughter, Michelle Jevontae Jordan.
Michelle remembers her husband’s love for sports, which began when he played football and was a member of the track team in high school. While stationed at Fort Stewart, Jordan played on a flag football team, inspiring Michelle to save press clippings about the team’s recent wins for him. A New York Giants fan, Jordan had even affixed a Giants’ emblem on his Camaro’s license plate.
But for Jordan, his country came first. After working for a time as a rigger in a local shipyard, the Norfolk, Virginia native decided to return to the service in 2006.
"Especially after the war started, he felt like that's where he needed to be," she [Michelle Jordan, his wife] said.
Michelle Jordan was taken aback by his decision, but supported it. "It was what he wanted to do," she said.
SOURCE
Jordan was on his second deployment to Iraq and stayed in touch with his family whenever possible.
The day before Easter, Michelle Jordan got a special treat - a video teleconference with her husband, Sgt. Jevon Jordan, in Iraq.
With nieces and nephews and their daughter at her side, Jordan marveled at how good her husband of almost 13 years looked, and how nice it was to see and hear him laugh.
SOURCE
The next day, Michelle Jordan got another call. Her husband had been badly wounded in an explosion that claimed the lives of the three soldiers with him. He was being rushed to a military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany.
Jordan arrived in Germany in a coma. His wife and his mother, Velda Brathwaite, flew there to be with him. At first, the Army planned to move Jordan to Bethesda Naval medical Center as soon as he was stable. But his condition grew worse. On March 29, six days after the accident, Jordan died of his wounds.
"I'm glad I got an opportunity to see him, and hold him, and kiss him, and smell him," Michelle Jordan said. "It's still hard. But I'd rather have that time than to see him in a coffin like I did today, and not be able to touch him."
SOURCE
Days later, Jordan’s aunt, Karen Ellis, joined other family members as they waited for his casket to return to the U.S.
"It was heartbreaking today, at the tarmac, where we were waiting for him," she said. "We just all lost such a vital part of our family."
SOURCE
Proudly escorted by the magnificent Patriot Guard, Jordan will be buried at the Albert G. Horton Jr. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Suffolk, Virginia.
Many thanks, greenies, for your help with researching Sergeant Jordan.
May you rest in peace, Major William G. Hall and Sgt. Jevon K. Jordan. Your devotion and service will not be forgotten.
To date, 4013 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Iraq. Of these, 102 have been women. More than 30,000 men and women have been wounded, and 145 have taken their own liveswhile on active duty. All of the fatalities can be seen here. The Department of Defense Press Releases, from which the information at the start of this diary was drawn, can be seen here. The death toll among Iraqisis unknown, but is at least 100,000 and perhaps many times that number.
To date, 491 members of the United States military have lost their lives in Afghanistan. Thus far, the death toll for 2008is 16. 298 members of the military from other countrieshave also lost their lives.
Stories, video, pictures and remembrances honoring the troops can be found at a number of other sites, including: Honor the Fallen.
If you want to do something to assist our military and their families, please visit anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, please see Fisher House’s Hero Miles program. Finally, if you would like to assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here.
Sending a care package to a soldier in Iraq or Afghanistan is easy. Read how in this great series by Ninepatch. Brighten the day of a soldier in 2008.
And don’t forget them when they get home! Read welcomebackveterans.org to learn what you can do.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI and me, moneysmith. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them.
If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, or noweasels
As you read this diary, please remember that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it. Whatever your feelings about the war and occupation, please be considerate of others’ feelings in your comments. We are here to demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families, not political views.