As of today, 1,957 US military personnel have been killed in or near Afghanistan. Green Beret Staff Sergeant Andrew T. Brittonmihalo became the most recent fatality on April 25, 2012. He was killed by a soldier wearing an Afghan Army Uniform.
~ Photo Credit llbear
I Got The News Today (IGTNT) , which is among the oldest continuous series on Daily Kos, provides members of this community a venue to pay their respects to those who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The IGTNT title is a reminder that nearly every day the family of an active duty service member receives the terrible news that their beloved has died.
Staff Sargeant Andrew Brittonmihalo was 25 years old when his life was cut short. He is survived by his wife, Jesse, also serving in Afghanistan. They were married in December.
Staff Sargeant Brittonmihalo was also known as Andrew Britton and Andrew Mihalo. He was raised in Simi Valley. He remained behind to complete high school, after his mother and step-father moved to North Carolina. He resided with Craig and Danette Mathias through his senior year, and graduated from Royal High School in Ventura County. He is also survived by a sister, Michelle Caranza, also of Simi Valley.
Andrew and Jesse visited Ventura County in November. They were based at Elgin Air Force Base in Florida prior to their tour in Iraq.
Brittonmihalo was a champion CIF wrestler at Royal High School, and an Eagle Scout. He joined the Army Special Forces upon graduating from Royal.
"He was always fighting for the underdog and very patriotic, fearless but not reckless" Mathias told the vcstar. "He was very humble, just a great, great person. He was the smallest guy but the hardest worker," he said. "He was just the nicest guy in the world and he loved to protect others. He knew he was protecting his loved ones back home by serving in the military."
Brittonmihalo was fatally shot, along with a local interpreter, in Kandahar Province, when a man wearing an Afghan Army uniform turned his machine gun on coalition troops from a roof top and opened fire, according to
MercuryNews.com. The attacker wounded three other coalition members before being gunned down.
Since 2007, more than 80 NATO service members have been killed by Afghan security forces according to the MercuryNews.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.