Three more deaths of young men were reported by the Department of Defense Friday. They all died far from home: Two in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Please take a moment to join me below to remember Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione, Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge and Spc. Jordan M. Shay.
DoD Identifies Navy Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castiglione, 21, of Howell, Mich., died Sept. 3 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Battalion.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin P. Castigliore
Petty Officer 3rd Class Benjamin Castiglione demurred at being called a "hero" last year when the US Navy awarded the hospitalman the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for superior performance of duties during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He believed he was just doing his duty. US Marine Corps Col R.E. Smith, Castiglione's commanding officer wrote in the certificate that accompanied the medal:
"Hospitalman Castiglione’s initiative, perseverance and total dedication to duty reflected credit on him and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and United States Naval Service."
Castiglione's dream of continuing his medical studies to become a physician's assistant when he got out of the service ended last week when he died of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
Just one day before his death, he was excitedly planning his return home around Thanksgiving, according to TheLivingstonDaily.com. He was looking forward, to a less violent duty station. After a seven month deployment to Iraq in 2008, he had arrived in Afghanistan in June and was hoping to be stationed somewhere like Europe or Hawaii once his tour there ended.
The Livingston Daily reports that following Castiglione's graduation from Howell High School in 2006, he joined the Navy as a Marine fleet force corpsman on Halloween 2006. In Iraq he treated both Marines and Iraqi citizens alike and was remembered by family and friends as someone dedicated to saving the lives of others.
His mother said:
"Those Marines meant the world to him and I talked to him before he went to Iraq about preparing himself for losing one if he had to. He said, 'Mom, I'm bringing all those guys home.'"
Rest in peace, Petty Officer 3rd Class Ben Castiglione.
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. They died Sept. 3 in Baqubah, Iraq, of injuries sustained during a vehicle roll-over. The soldiers were assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash.
Killed were:
Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge, 25, of Burnsville, Minn.
Spc. Jordan M. Shay, 22, of Salisbury, Mass.
Staff Sgt. Todd W. Selge
Photo courtesy of MySpace
Staff Sgt. Todd Selge had been in Iraq approximately a week and a half into his second deployment to that country when the vehicle he and fellow infantryman, Spc. Jordan Shay, fell 60 feet off a bridge, killing them both.
Selge's wife of five years, Dellona Selge, told the Twincities.com she believes her husband was returning from a mission in Diyala province when the accident occurred. The incident is still under investigation.
Dellona Selge told Twincities.com that her husband was definitely gung ho about the military. In fact, he was so enthusiastic about his work in Iraq:
"...that not even two gunshot wounds could keep him away. In March 2007, he was shot in the leg and the back about nine months into his first deployment. He returned home for three months to heal and then rejoined his battalion, said his wife.
"He was like, 'All right, I'm heading back,' " she said. "His captain in rear detachment said, 'No, you've done your part, stay with your family' ... but he was pretty committed. I understood why he wanted to go back, and as a wife, I wanted to be supportive."
Selge loved to promote the military's work in Iraq and believed he was helping Iraqi citizens move closer to enjoying Western freedoms, including democracy, his wife said.
"He got very offended when he heard people cut Iraq and say we're not making any progress, because that's his work," she said.
In addition to his wife, Selge leaves two sons ages six and two years.
In 2007, Staff Sgt. Selge contributed an essay to the Army News Service that seems to sum up, quite beautifully, his commitment to his mission:
"What does the average soldier think on a daily basis? He wants to accomplish the mission. He wants to see the smiles of the Iraqi people endure. He is grateful for everything he has back home, and he wishes the very same freedom he is fighting for, upon the country of Iraq."
Rest in peace, Staff Sgt. Todd Selge.
Spc. Jordan M. Shay (right)
Photo from Shay's blog: through amber lenses
Spc. Jordan Shay was barely into the second week of his second deployment to Iraq, when he and his buddy and fellow infantryman Staff Sgt. Todd Selge, were killed when the vehicle in which they were riding fell 60 feet off a bridge. Shay, a 2005 graduate of Amesbury High School, was reportedly going to ask his longtime girlfriend, Kelsey, to marry him when he returned stateside, according to the Newburyport News.
Dawn Palmer, Shay's aunt, told Boston.com,
“Jordan was the most wonderful kid I have ever met. He was kind, he was considerate, he was thoughtful, he was full of adventure,’ Palmer said.
“He is greatly missed, but we are also proud of him. We are also proud of the choice he’s made. He died for a very good reason; he died for his country. He loved his country.’’
And, she added, “now I know the sacrifice and the suffering and the loss that goes along with dying for your country - and I am still proud of Jordan.’’
Shay spent time writing about his military experiences on his blog through amber lenses. To get a better sense of who this young man was and to discover for yourself what a gifted writer he was, I urge you to spend some time reading through his blog. Another military blogger, Army of Dude wrote:
"It will always be difficult to hear a Regular soldier has been killed, but to see Jordan leave us too soon hits me especially hard. I didn't know Jordan personally, but I knew him well. I understand his need to commit his thoughts to writing to share with the rest of us. He spoke of his teachers and his mother pushing him to write more. I'm eternally grateful for their efforts, and to Jordan to take them up on their challenge. We did not only lose a great soldier, but a gifted writer. We suffer doubly at his loss, for his talent bridged the gap of understanding between soldier and civilian. Jordan's time on earth allowed just sixteen posts to be written in the span of four months, but his writing was honest, measured and disciplined. He must have thought he was bound for something great, but he never realized he was already there.
The United States lost a brave soldier, and the military blog community lost a brave new voice. I ask that you take the time to read his blog from beginning to end. In his comments section, his girlfriend tells us the blog was important to him. I hope he realized how important it was to those who read it."
From Shay's final post, he concluded:
"Also interesting to note: According to the interpreter we had along with us today, the citizens of Baqubah (and most of Diyala Province) fear the men who wear the patch with the Indian head and star on a black shield (2nd Infantry Division.) When asked about 5-20 Infantry, they talk of the grey phantoms (rough translation) who appear in the night, move without sound, and rain incredible destruction down upon their enemies. At the same time, they praise our battalion for driving Al Qaeda out of their city, out of their neighborhoods, and out of their children's lives.
We are respected in Baqubah. We are also feared. Our battalion has a fantastic opportunity to use these facts to our advantage and make a real difference before the withdrawal of all combat forces in the summer of next year. We made a difference in 2007, we could do it again in 2009. I fear we will not.
From Diyala Province,
Jordan"
I concur with Army of Dude. We have lost an important young voice.
Rest in peace, Spc. Jordan Shay
I Got the News Today (IGTNT) 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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, and JeNoCo.
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.