Late Saturday evening, the Department of Defense announced the loss of two highly trained and highly decorated Navy SEALs, Chief Petty Officer (select) Jason Richard Freiwald, age 30, and Senior Chief Petty Officer John Wayne Marcum, age 34. Both men were killed while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. They are the latest of the 519 US service members who have been killed in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan since the US invastion of Afghanistan in 2001.
Follow me below the fold to learn more about the lives of these two brave sailors.
The Navy SEALs are trained to operate on sea, in the air, and on land. The Detroit News explains the nature of their activities in the Middle East:
Both were members of Naval Special Warfare Development Group, a unit more popularly known to the public as SEAL Team 6, its designation until the late 1990s. The unit, based at Dam Neck, Va., is among the elite of U.S. special warfare units, regularly working with commands such as the Army's Delta commandos. Its official responsibility is to test new weapons, equipment and techniques for use by all U.S. special operations groups, but it is widely reported to have been involved in the hunt for top al Qaida leaders in Afghanistan and Iraq.
On Saturday, the Department of Defense made the following announcement:
Chief Petty Officer (select) Jason Richard Freiwald, 30, of Armada, Mich., died Sept. 12 from injuries sustained while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan Sept. 11. Freiwald was temporarily forward deployed from his assignment at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Dam Neck, Va.
Jsaon Freiwald was born in Utica, MI in 1977. He graduated from Armada (MI) high school in 1996, and enlisted in the Navy that same year. After completing basic training and Marine Corps intelligence training, Freiwald trained as a SEAL in Coronado, California. He received sniper training, Arabic language training, and learned tactical rock climbing in California.
Before his service in Afghanistan, CPO Freiwald had served mutliple tours of duty in Iraq. He was a highly decorated combat veteran, having received the Bronze Star with combat "V" distinguishing service, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal with combat "V".
Freiwald is one of four brothers, all of whom have strong backgrounds in athletics. One of his brothers is also a Navy SEAL; the second is training to become a SEAL; and the third is in college. A physical education teacher at Armada High school, Nancy Moegle, said, "Their whole family makes everyone in this area quite proud."
The commanding officer of the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Captain Scott Moore, released a statement after the announcement of the loss of CPO Freiwald and SCPO John Wayne Marcum:
They died while taking the fight to the enemy, going in harm's way with the selflessness that resonated in their character and made them giants among men.
~source
In addition to his three brothers, CPO Freiberg is survived by his wife, Stacy, his daughter, Jasmine, and his parents, Terri and Richard Freiberg.
Last Saturday the Department of Defense also announced the following:
Senior Chief Petty Officer John Wayne Marcum, 34, of Flushing, Mich., died Sept. 12 from injuries sustained while conducting combat operations in Afghanistan Sept. 11. Marcum was temporarily forward deployed from his assignment at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Dam Neck, Va.
SCPO Marcum was a native of Flushing Township, Michigan. He graduated from Flushing Senior High School and enlisted in the Navy 1991. Like CPO Freiberg, he received his SEAL/Underwater Demolition training in Coronado, CA after completing basic training and advanced training at the Naval and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center.
John Wayne Marcum was also a veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. His was the recipent of FOUR Bronze Stars with combat "V' distinguishing service. His other awards include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, the Army Commendation medal, the Joint Service Achievement Medal, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, along with other decorations.
Marcum was a fun-loving high school student who set his sights on a military career.
"(He was) the kind of kid that could light up your day," said Genesee County Commissioner Archie Bailey, who was an administrator at Flushing High School when Marcum was a student there. "What a loss. He was a wonderful, wonderful kid."
~source
Marcum is survived by his parents, his wife, Cynthia, and his daughter, Madison.
A reader of the Flint Journal left the following comment:
We have lost two more great men from our area. Even though it comes from a person you may never meet, I acutely feel your loss and would like to extend my most sincere condolences to the family and friends of these true American patriots. We can never have enough men like these. I am so proud of CPO Marcum, CPO Friewald, and their families.
Freiberg and Marcum are the sixth and seventh servicemembers with ties to Michigan who have been killed in Afghanistan this year.
There is a special verse of the Navy Hymn that is dedicated to the SEALs:
Eternal Father, faithful friend,
Be quick to answer those we send
In brotherhood and urgent trust,
On hidden missions dangerous,
O hear us when we cry to Thee,
For SEALs in air, on land, and sea.
May these two men rest in eternal peace, and may their families find comfort in their memories. Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance:
About "I Got the News Today" (IGTNT)
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor service members who have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; its title is a reminder that almost every day a military family gets the terrible news about a loved one. Diaries about the fallen usually appear two days after their names are officially released, which allows time for the IGTNT team to find and tell their stories.
The series was begun by i dunno and is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, MsWings, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, moneysmith, labwitchy, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, AGirlinMI, JeNoCo, mediaprof and Pager.
Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members chronicled here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.