On several sad occasions over the last few years, I’ve let friends in mourning know about The Compassionate Friends, a national organization dedicated to helping families cope with the loss of a son or daughter. Among its principles is that the pain caused by such a loss can best be understood by others who have gone through it.
Tonight, five more families have joined the sad and select group of those who mourn the death of a service member. Please hold in good thought the families – and friends – of PFC Jerimiah Veitch, Spc. Carter A. Gamble Jr., SSgt. Michael D. Moody Jr., Sgt. Chris Davis, and Pvt. Shane M. Stinson.
Please join me below in remembering their lives.
I Got the News Today, 6/28/07.
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pfc. Jerimiah J. Veitch, 21, of Dibble, Okla., died June 21 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when his vehicle was struck with a rocket propelled grenade. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo.
According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, before high school, Jerimiah Veitch moved to Dibble, Oklahoma, with his mother, Valorie Sanchez, and his stepfather, Tony Sanchez, from San Jose, California, in search of a better life. He took to life in Oklahoma quickly. "The entire town knew him. He was a rock star," his sister, Amanda Testerman told the Gazette.
He attended Dibble High School, where he followed his passions for football and weightlifting throughout high school. NewsOK.com reports that "Veitch one year took second place in a state weightlifting competition, lifting more than 1,000 pounds in three lifts in the 132-pound weight class."
NewsOK.com reports that his spiritedness led him to join the Army after graduation:
Veitch manned a .50-caliber machine gun on his patrol vehicle. The night he was killed, he had the option to stay behind in the barracks because he had been wounded the week before, his stepfather Tony Sanchez said. He went out anyway, because he wasn't going to leave his comrades without cover.
As his fellow soldiers scoured an enemy stronghold on foot, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the vehicle from behind, Sanchez said.
At one point, Veitch was the driver of a Humvee. He wouldn't accept his battle patch until he was moved to gunner, where the action was, Sanchez said.
"He didn't go there (Iraq) to not fight," he said.
Oklahoma has lost 56 service members to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 409 have been wounded, according to the list, updated monthly, at Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Spc. Carter A. Gamble Jr., 24 of Brownstown, Ind., died June 24 in Duraiya, Iraq, of wounds suffered from enemy small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
You can see Spc. Carter A. Gamble Jr. here. WTHR-TV reports that "C-J" Gamble was on his second tour in Iraq:
He planned to advance in the Army after coming home, but C-J never made it back.
"He was on patrol and they were checking buildings to make sure they were vacant and secure or whatever," (Gamble’s uncle, Jackson County Sheriff Marc) Lahrman said, " and this particular one he was the first one in the door, and it was not empty."
Sheriff Lahrman got the word Sunday: his nephew had been shot and killed in Baghdad.
"My six year old said, well, maybe we won the war. That's a tough question," Lahrman said, "and I had to tell him I'm not sure if we're in a war we can win."
The Courier-Journal notes that Gamble leaves behind "a 2-year-old daughter, Deborah Lynn, and his wife, Peggy, (who) is expecting a child in November." A final thought, from the Courier-Journal’s interview with Gamble’s uncle: ""I had a nephew killed in Iraq and I'm not sure why," Lahrman said. "How does someone explain to his 2-year-old daughter why she doesn't have a dad?""
Indiana has lost 76 service members to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 534 have been wounded, according to the list, updated monthly, at Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
From the Department of Defense:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of three soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died June 23 in Baghdad, Iraq, of wounds suffered when their unit was attacked by insurgents using an improvised explosive device and small arms fire. They were assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Benning, Ga.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Michael D. Moody Jr., 31, of Richmond, Va.
Sgt. Chris Davis, 35, of Lubbock, Texas.
Pvt. Shane M. Stinson, 23, of Fullerton, Calif.
Inrich.com remembers Staff Sgt. Michael D. Moody Jr.:
Moody's job was the Army. A tank commander with the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, based at Fort Benning Ga., he enlisted in 1997, shortly after graduating from Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield County.
(snip)
One of his son's proudest days, Moody's father recalled, was his recent promotion to staff sergeant, one step above his own rank before his return to civilian life.
"I used to say: 'I'm the sergeant, I'm in charge.' . . . When he made E-6 [staff sergeant] he said, 'Dad, now I'm in charge,'" said Michael D. Moody Sr., smiling sadly.
According to another inrich.com article, "He was a tank commander whose honors include two Army Commendation medals, two Army Achievement medals and two Presidential Unit Citation awards. Moody had two Global War on Terror expeditionary medals and an Iraqi campaign medal, as well as medals for service in Southwest Asia and in the global war on terrorism."
You can see Sgt. Chris Davis here. News Radio 1420 spoke with his father:
Ray Davis says, "Once we get over this I think we can do pretty good because he told me, he said, "Dad, whatever happens, don’t be mad at nobody. Don’t be mad at my country. Don’t be mad at the army. Don’t be mad at the President. Don’t be mad at nobody.’ He said, "I’m doing this on my own, all volunteer. I wanna fight for my country. I wanna do something for my country.’"
According to Lubbockonline,
Davis had earned the following awards during his career: one Army Commendation medal, three Army Achievement medals, one Presidential Unit Citation, one Good Conduct medal, one National Defense Service medal, one Armed Forces Expeditionary medal, one Southwest Asia Service medal, one Iraqi Campaign medal, one Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary medal and one Global War on Terrorism Service medal.
(snip)
Davis leaves behind a wife and children, who live in Georgia, and his parents, who are in Lubbock.
See Pvt. Shane M. Stinson here. The Orange County Register remembers him:
He was born in Artesia. Stinson attended Fullerton’s Troy High School before earning his general-equivalency diploma in 2001.
He worked three years at Toys "R" Us before he decided he wanted something more for his life. He told his family and friends that he planned to join the Army to serve his country and earn money to attend college.
(snip)
"My brother believed in what he was doing over there and he wanted to better his life," Rhyan Stinson said. "It hurts that he doesn’t get a chance anymore."
(snip)
"He was happy to be home, but he said he missed his buddies in Iraq and he was ready to go back and serve," Rhyan Stinson said. "Coming home, several people stopped him to shake his hand and thank him for his service. That made him very proud."
In addition to his brother, Stinson is survived by his mother, Evelyn, and his stepfather, Joseph Hackerd.
The office of California’s governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has announced that Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in honor of Pvt. Stinson. Schwarzenegger’s announcement reads, in part, "As a member of the armed forces, Private Shane Stinson fulfilled a tremendous responsibility to our nation. Shane reminds us of the courage and valor of all our service men and women serving in our nation’s military."
According to the list, updated monthly, at Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, Virginia has lost 100 service members to war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and 594 have been wounded; Texas has lost 324, and had 2,425 wounded; and California has lost 375 and had 2,672 wounded.
It is hard to sing of oneness
when our world is not complete,
when those who once brought wholeness
to our life have gone,
and naught but memory can fill
the emptiness their passing leaves behind.
But memory can tell us only what we were,
in company with those we loved;
it cannot help us find what each of us,
alone, must now become.
Yet no one is really alone;
those who live no more
echo still within our thoughts and words,
and what they did is part of what we have become.
We do best homage to our dead
when we live our lives more fully,
even in the shadow of our loss.
—In "A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies," by Ann McCracken and Mary Semel
My thanks to the volunteer who helped research and put together tonight’s diary. The vigil is less lonely, knowing that you’re out there.
***
The Department of Defense has confirmed 3,568 deaths and the announcement of three 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 IRAQ-NAM. 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, Worried Dem, Wee Mama, and me, monkeybiz. We bid adieu to several of our contributors, but new volunteers will begin participating in July. We thank them all.
If you would like to help out with IGTNT -- even once a month -- please get in touch with silvercedes, Sandy on Signal, noweasels or me, monkeybiz.