I Got The News Today 01/22/2007 Edition

Hello everyone.  I am helping i-dunno so he can have a break.  I dunno will be back on Thursday & Friday, then Monkey Biz will do the weekend.  If anyone else is available to help out with this honorable project, this would be terrific.   Honestly, I do not know how someone can do this for so long without it affecting one’s emotional state.  It has to weigh heavy on one’s heart.  This weekend has been quite bloody and with the escalation, this diary will need more help, so please consider offering to write it sometime.  If you read over at DoD site, there are 29 names to be released in the next few days.   Thanks for any help you could offer.  Here it is:

Yesterday, the Department of Defense announced the names of  2 soldiers killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom.  According to the  Iraq Coalition Casualty Count the number of names released by the DoD is now 3025 and there are  29 more names of the deceased awaiting notification of the next of kin before being publicly released.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty 


           The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Spc. William J. Rechenmacher, 24, of Jacksonville, Fla., died Jan. 18 in Baghdad when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.

Spc. Rechenmacher was assigned to the 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

According to family and friends Spc. Rechemacher wanted to be in the military ever since he was a little boy.  He watched Top Gun and this was a turning point for him.  His father told the news he died doing what he loved.  He also added:

Information on what exactly happened that day in Iraq has been slow to come which is frustrating for a family trying to come to grips with the loss of a son, a fiancé, a father. "I wish I could tell [his father] it's a bad joke and he was fine and were going to talk and he's going to come and I can't and the [Military] is not giving the information that I want and I need."

The local story here.

DoD News Release

DoD Identifies Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Sgt. 1st Class Russell P. Borea, 38, of El Paso, Texas, died of injuries suffered in Mosul on Jan. 19 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his HMMWV during combat operations.

Borea was assigned to the 2d Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Bliss, Texas.

Sgt. Borea leaves behind a wife and a young daughter.  He is the fifth casualty from Fort Bliss in a week.  The story is from the el paso times

All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here.  They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here.

I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here for the previous diary in this series.

•  I pray that each soldier is in a peaceful place

  free of the stress, the pain, and the horror of being at war.  Thank you for taking on this particular diary.  PEACE

  by godislove on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:04:37 AM PDT

•  For Russell and William

  Please think of these men today, and of the families and communities that feel their loss so deeply.

  by monkeybiz on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:09:24 AM PDT

•  Sandy on Signal, thank you. n/t

  by monkeybiz on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:10:09 AM PDT

  •  thank you too

    and especially i dunno.  When I read and wrote about the blog earlier, I felt so sad.  Then, I had an 'error' message so I spent a great deal of time being frustrated.  Oh well, long day already.  

    I dread seeing the report tomorrow.  This is just awful.  Bush or his twins need to be writing these diaries so they can reflect on his catastrophic creation.

    by Sandy on Signal on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:23:35 AM PDT

•  Another very sad day.

  Bless all of our troops and their families.

  by noweasels on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:14:17 AM PDT

•  Two more from Texas

  That makes over 264 from this one state alone.

  I hope for peaceful rest for Russell and William, and comfort for their families.

  by kath25 on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:33:14 AM PDT

  •  I am sorry

    when I read the El Paso Times and it said Russell was the 5th troop to die from their area this week, I was stunned and sickened.  So sad.

    by Sandy on Signal on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 12:05:12 PM PDT

•  Good Resource For This

  http://antiwar.com/...

  Scroll down, click on The List or scroll all the way down for links to casualty reporting orgs.

  Antiwar.com has been the best maintained site I've seen, with a list of names, dates, and the details of each death. They also maintain a list of wounded.

  by SignalSuzie on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 11:55:38 AM PDT

  •  Thanks Signal Suzie

    I bookmarked it.  Hope all is well with you.  

    by Sandy on Signal on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 12:00:42 PM PDT

•  Thanks for all that you are doing....

  to keep this series going.  With RubDMC gone I feel this will become a place to recognize the losses we are suffering in this 'war' and pay homage to the lives of the soldiers and their grieving families,friends and communities.

  For Russell and William, I light this candle.
  
  Rest in Peace as we work to bring you brothers and sisters home.

  by Cronesense on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 12:20:44 PM PDT

•  Thanks

  for doing this.

  by i dunno on Mon Jan 22, 2007 at 03:30:55 PM PDT

•  For every casualty, there are...

  parents weeping, spouses or sig-others bereft, and often children left wondering why, why, why.

  I weep for all of them and for all of us.

  by va dare on Tue Jan 23, 2007 at 07:11:17 AM PDT