The Memorial Day bunting is coming down.
But the gold stars are going up at four more homes, from Hawaii to Massachusetts.
Today, we honor Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein, 31, of Audubon, N.J.; Sgt. Richard V. Correa, 25, of Honolulu, Hawaii; Pfc. Robert A. Liggett, 23, of Urbana, Ill.; and Pfc. Matthew A. Bean, 22, of Pembroke, Mass. Their stories are below the fold.
I Got the News Today, 6/1/07 edition
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died May 29 in Ilbu Falris, Iraq, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their position during a dismounted patrol. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein, 31, of Audubon, N.J.
Sgt. Richard V. Correa, 25, of Honolulu.
The Philadelphia Inquirer says that Staff Sgt. Joseph M. Weiglein was "Joe the Soldier" to the elementary school children that adopted him:
He was "Joe the Soldier" for the kids at Haviland Avenue Elementary School in tiny Audubon, N.J., a hometown boy fighting for them in far-away Iraq.
They eagerly adopted Joe as "their soldier." At Christmas, the school's 250 students packed up boxes of Tastykakes, cards and ornaments and mailed them to his squad of nine soldiers.
(snip)
When Joe came home on a 10-day leave in January, he visited the school and answered endless questions at a packed school assembly.
Where did he live? What did he eat? Was it scary? The students, who dressed in red, white and blue for him, loved the slides he showed them of the soldiers opening their gifts and cards. They gave him hand-made flags to bring back to the others.
"The roar of the crowd when he went into the auditorium that day, you would've sworn a rock star was going in," said Ellen Weiglein, Joe's mother. "They were so joyful to see him."
Icasualties.org says that New Jersey has lost 58 service members; see some of them here. In addition, 391 service members from the state have been wounded.
The Courier Post, which includes pictures of Weiglein and his wife, Jennifer, says that Weiglein’s last email to his best friend was optimistic:
AUDUBON - In his last e-mail to best friend Mike Nolan, Staff Sgt. Joseph Michael Weiglein assured his friend that things were calming down in Iraq.
Weiglein, in Iraq since August, was stationed somewhere near an airport in Bagdad, where he and his unit had taken over a warehouse and made it into a barracks.
The e-mail came May 26. Three days later, Weiglein was killed, Nolan said.
(snip)
Nolan said they kept in touch mainly through e-mail, communicating three to four times a week when Weiglein was stateside.
In their last e-mail, Nolan expressed concern for his best friend's safety.
"He was a great friend and a great soldier," Nolan said. "He touched so many people's lives."
The Honolulu Advertiser has a photograph of Sgt. Richard V. Correa, and notes the following:
Correa enlisted in the Army in November 2000. He completed the Ranger Course, Combat Life Saver Course and Airborne School. Correa was assigned to A Company, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.
His awards and decorations include the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab and several Air Force awards.
He is survived by his parents.
Hawaii has lost 18 service members, according to icasualties.org; 106 have been wounded.
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Robert A. Liggett, 23, of Urbana, Ill., died May 29 in Rustamiyah, Iraq, from injuries suffered in a non-combat related incident. His death is under investigation.
Liggett was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
See Pfc. Liggett’s photograph here. A number of sites mention his death, but there are few details available at the moment; if you have additional information, please post it in the comments and I will update this diary.
Update: Spread the word IRAQ-NAM has more on Pfc. Liggett. Also see his comment, below.
According to icasualties.org, Illinois has lost 126 service members, and 952 have been wounded.
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Matthew A. Bean, 22, of Pembroke, Mass., died May 31 at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., of wounds suffered on May 19 in Lutifiyah, Iraq, when he was struck by enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry), Fort Drum, N.Y.
See him here. The Patriot Ledger has the back story:
Matthew Bean was shot Saturday while searching for three captured soldiers in the Sunni Triangle area, the Rev. Paul Atwater, pastor of North River Community Church, confirmed yesterday.
Bean was involved in a door-to-door search when he was shot in the head by a sniper, the Rev. Atwater said. Bean was taken to Germany on Saturday and underwent an operation there, the Rev. Atwater said.
(snip)
The Bean family has long attended the North River church, the Rev. Atwater said.
MassLive.com has the rest of the sad story:
A Pembroke soldier who was shot by a sniper in Iraq while searching for missing U.S. soldiers died Thursday of his wounds, his sister said.
Pfc. Matthew Bean, 22, was removed from life support at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., and died early Thursday.
The Boston Herald has more:
"They were looking for their buddy, kicking doors in," said George Bean, of Macon, Mo., the soldier’s uncle. "He wasn’t afraid of doing his job."
Last Friday, President Bush stopped and talked with the family and spent a few moments at Bean’s bedside, said the family’s minister, the Rev. Paul Atwater.
"I was told that on Friday morning President Bush met with him and pinned a medal on him," Atwater said. The White House Web site notes that during Bush’s visit he awarded Purple Hearts to Americans wounded in combat.
(snip)
"He got a couple awards while he was over there," George Bean said. "(His parents) were proud of him being over there."
Again, details about his life are scant. If you come across more stories about Pfc. Bean, please post them in the comments and I will update this diary. Icasualties.org says that Massachusetts has lost 57 service members in Iqaq and Afghanistan; the state’s wounded number 414.
Update: Matthew Bean played for the Hanson Men's Softball League. According to townonline.com, "At Thursday night’s softball game, a sign with Bean’s name, his number 20 and Down to Earth — the landscaping company where Bean worked and which sponsored his team — was hanging behind home plate. An "RIP" and American flag were added to the "Bean 20" which has been on display at the field since he was injured.
(snip)
"We’re retiring his shirt, and we’re going to put it in a case and hang it," Townsend said. "We want his family to know there’s people who cared about him. We’re going to miss him a lot."
***
The Department of Defense has confirmed 3,465 deaths and the announcement of ten more deaths is expected, pending notification of the next of kin, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count. All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here. The DoD news releases are here.
You can read more about each service member at Honor the Fallen and Spread the Word: Iraq-Nam, which is written by our own spread the word. They all had friends and loved ones. Please visit the Iraq Veterans Memorial for a moving look at how a few of their survivors remember them. It will break your heart. If you want to do something more, please visit anysoldier.com, Operation Helmet, and/or Fisher House.
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 which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, silvercedes, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, American Daughter, blue jersey mom, chacounne, and me, monkeybiz.
The "I Got the News Today" team is looking for new diarists. If you would like to help out -- even once a month -- please get in touch with silvercedes, Sandy on Signal, noweasels or me, monkeybiz.