We have three more of our US military men to mourn tonight:
o Sergeant Charles I. Cartwright from Union Bridge, Maryland
o Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger from Kimberly, Idaho
o Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott III from Jacksonville, Florida
Sergeant Charles I. Cartwright
Charles Cartwright was from a small town in rural Maryland called Union Bridge. He attended Walkersville High School and graduated in 2001. He enlisted in the Marine Corps later that same year.
In an article about Cartwright in the WJZ News, there were several who spoke about the young man from their town:
"He was very charismatic and enthusiastic about life. He walked into a room, the room stopped, Charlie's here," said Beth Slagle, friend...
"Charlie lived the mission. He had a dream to be a Marine. he took his job and his oath to his country to heart, and he lived it," said Susan Pardo, athletic director...
His former wrestling coach says he worked hard as a team member and carried that drive into his adult life.
"When he was with us at Walkersville wrestling team, he was a very dedicated team player, very intense wrestler. He worked very hard," said the coach.
Cartwright was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, US Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, based at Camp Pendleton, California. Trained as a sniper, he served five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Cartwright was trained in intelligence-related work at Camp Pendleton.
Sergeant Cartwright was injured twice while serving overseas. He earned two Purple Hearts, and his unit performed well enough under enemy fire to earn the Combat Action Ribbon and the Navy Presidential Unit Citation. He was promoted to sergeant in 2006, and then assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion at Camp Pendleton in California.
Sergeant Charles I. Cartwright died on November 7th in Farah province in Afghanistan. No details about the incident have been released other than to say that it happened while he was "supporting combat operations". He was 26 years old.
His military awards include: two Purple Hearts, Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Combat Action Ribbons, Navy Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Commendation, two Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, two Iraqi Campaign Medals, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, four Sea Service Deployment Ribbons, NATO Medal and two Certificates of Commendation.
Sergeant Cartwright's parents will be holding a memorial service Monday in Union Bridge. Further funeral arrangements have not been announced, but the Patriot Guard Riders will be in attendance to honor him.
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Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger
Mathew C. Heffelfinger joined the Army in April 2000. He listed his hometown as Kimberly, which is a small town in Twin Falls County, Idaho.
Chief Warrant Officer Mathew Heffelfinger was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. He arrived at the base of the division, Schofield Barracks in Hawaii in December of 2007. His brigade deployed to Iraq earlier this year for a 12-month tour. He served as an OH-58D helicopter pilot and had been previously deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan.
To the left is a map of the region of Iraq where the crash occured - at a base near Tikrit, in the Salahuddin province. Tikrit is north of Bagdad. A picture of Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger with a helicopter is to the right. It is an Army photo.
Heffelfinger piloted a 5,500-pound OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, which is a single-engine, double bladed, armed, reconnaissance helicopter. The two-seat observation helicopter carrying Heffelfinger and his buddy, CWO Scott, crashed near Tikrit, Iraq on November 8th. An investigation is ongoing about why his Kiowa crashed as it was landing after a routine mission. The Army did not say whether Heffelfinger, or Scott was the pilot when it came in for the "hard landing." CWO Heffelfinger was 29 years old at the time of the crash. He did not survive it.
Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger’s military awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal, Air Medal – 2nd Award, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with two Campaign Stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Combat Action Badge, Army Aviator Badge and Parachutist Badge.
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Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott III
Earl R. Scott, III, was born in Jacksonville, Florida and raised in the lovely southern neighborhood of the city, referred to as "Mandarin." He attended Mandarin High School and graduated in 2004.
He was studying aviation at Florida Community College in Jacksonville before enlisting in the Army in March of 2006. Scott trained in Alabama. In May of 2008, he was assigned to the 2nd Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment, 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division in Schofield Barracks, which is based in Hawaii. He served as an OH-58D helicopter pilot and was sent to Iraq for a second time.
The 25-year-old pilot was on a regular patrol mission, on November 8th, when the helicopter crashed upon landing. According to the First Coast News site:
According to the Department of Defense, Scott and another soldier, Matthew C. Heffelfinger, 29, of Kimberly, Idaho, died Nov. 8, in Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained when their OH-58D "Kiowa" helicopter crashed.
Scott's father, Earl Raymond Scott, II, 56, said he is unsure if his son was piloting the helicopter when it crashed.
His father was too distraught to talk on camera, but tells First Coast News Reporter Monica Landeros: "We are deeply saddened, and will miss him for the rest of our lives."
Scott’s military awards and decorations include the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal with one Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and Army Aviator Badge.
He is survived by his father, Earl Scott Jr., his mother Sandra Scott and his younger brother William Scott. The funeral for will be this weekend in Jacksonville, Florida and will be attended by the Patriot Guard Riders. A note on their site says, in part:
At a young age his Dad took him and his younger brother out to Craig Field for an "introductory" flight, Scotty was hooked. He earned his private pilots license, moved on to instrument rated and was enrolled in FCCJ's Aviation program. In 2006 he joined the Army to fly helicopters. He continued his aviation education and was working on licensing for "tail draggers". While stationed in Hawaii when friends would visit he would take them out for an aerial tour of the islands. His Dad said, "He died doing what he loved".
In his memory, the Scott family is having a drive to make care packages for CWO Scott's buddies in Iraq.
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Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or Fisher House. Sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com can provide letters or care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here. Also, you could visit:
When our veterans come back home, they need jobs. Look at the programs of Hire Heroes USA and Welcome Back Veterans to see if you can help out. The new KINship Project has also been of help to our veterans and other Kossacks In Need.
About the IGTNT series:
"I Got the News Today" is a diary series intended to honor, respect, and remind us of the sacrifice of our US troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, Mediaprof, TrueBlueMajority, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma, Ministry of Truth, and CalNM. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US Department of Defense will usually be diaried two days after the official announcement on the DoD website. This allows the IGTNT team to cover each person more fully, but still in a timely manner
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Please bear in mind that these diaries are read by friends and family of the service members mentioned here. May all of our remembrances be full of compassion rather than politics.