I have written many diaries for the "I Got the News Today" series. And the tears still come when I hear stories like this:
...Leah (Rao) had to deliver the bad news. She had received a call from the military saying they wanted to talk to her -- they didn't say why.
Leah immediately called the Hauerkens, and she was still on the line with them when the messengers came.
Sharon Hauerken: "And I said to her: what do you see, what do you see. And she said they're pulling up and there are two men in Class A uniforms and one's carrying a Bible. and I knew."
Dan Hauerken: "Our hearts just totally sunk at that moment because we just knew."
Tonight, we honor the service, and mourn the passing, of Sgt. Elijah J. Rao, 26, of Lake Oswego, Ore. and of the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., who was killed by an IED in Afghanistan. Please join me tonight in remembering him.
Sgt. Elijah J. Rao, 26, of Lake Oswego, Ore. and of the 2nd Battalion, 77th Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colo., "died Dec. 5 in Nuristan, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device," according to the Department of Defense.
(Photo source: Family of Sgt. Elijah J. Rao)
"He was the perfect son," (his mother, Sharon) Hauerken said. "I know people say that at times like this, but I tell you, with Elijah, he was like this."
Here is how Don Hauerken of Vancouver, Wash. got the news about his stepson:
The words you never want to hear from a military officer or policeman. We heard them today.
Sharon and I were informed by the military today our son/stepson, Specialist Elijah Rao, was killed by an IED earlier today in Afghanistan. His convoy was stopped at the site of an explosion. Elijah stepped out of the humvee and within moments, another IED was detonated, taking Elijah out. Something we have feared for years, but hoped would not come to pass.
Elijah served an extended (15 month) tour in Iraq before serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He was scheduled to come home in January on leave and then come home for good in May. Elijah has been posthumously promoted to Sargent E5, will receive the Purple Heart, and has been recommended to receive a Bronze Star.
He was an incredible, gentle, bright, loving person and this hits really, really hard. He has a wife and 1 1/2 year old daughter. The coming week will be very difficult. We were visited by two incredible Army officers earlier today and spent most of this evening with another. We have a lot of grief and ceremony to move through this week, and beyond.
We've cried about all we can cry today, I think, and now about all we know to do with ourselves is to let people know about our beloved Elijah.
His sister, Cicily Ulrich, also posted about Elijah:
I couldn’t have asked for a better brother. He was a kind, loving, honorable man and will be missed dearly by our family and all those that he touched with his gentle spirit. We have faith that he is in Heaven and one day we will all be together again.
Elijah served an extended tour in Iraq before serving in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. He was scheduled to come home in January on leave and then come home for good in May when his tour ended. He leaves behind a wife and 1 1/2 year old daughter.
Please pray for our family during this unimaginably difficult time. The outpouring of love and support from the military and community is a blessing and really shows us how many people Elijah touched in his short life.
He was part of West Linn High School's (in West Linn, Ore.) class of 2001. But the events of later that year marked an even bigger turning point. In 2003, he called his mother, Sharon Hauerken, and announced that he was joining the Army:
It wasn't that she was against the idea. She just wanted to know why. So she took him to lunch at a restaurant in Lake Oswego.
Sharon Hauerken: "He brought up 9/11. He brought up things that he'd seen."
Dan Hauerken: "The beheading of Daniel Pearl."
Sharon Hauerken: "Yes and he mentioned the beheadings that he's seen video tapes on line. Unspeakable horrors and he told me that something needed to be done and someone had to help."
Hauerken told him she understood and felt the same horror. She also said she'd worry about him every minute of every day.
This was not Rao's first deployment; he had served in Iraq from October 2006 to December 2007 before he deployed to Afghanistan in June, says the Colorado Springs Gazette. While in Afghanistan, as his mother told Oregon Public Broadcasting, "Rao travelled to small villages, talked to the elders and tried to build relationships. He also helped ensure the safety of civilians during the elections." He was a field artillery meteorological crew member, writes the Colorado Springs Gazette, and repaired meteorological equipment.
Details of the incident that killed him are still unclear, but according to Rao's family, his convoy stopped at the site of a previous explosion. Rao got out of his vehicle and was killed when an IED exploded.
In addition to his mother, his stepfather and his sister, Rao leaves behind his wife Leah and their 21-month old daughter, Eilana; his father Frank Rao; and his brother Gabriel Rao.
Source: Family photo submitted by Don Hauerken
His awards and decorations included: The Army Commendation Medal (2), Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Driver Mechanic Badge and Marksmanship Qualification Badge Marksman - Rifle. He posthumously received the Purple Heart and was promoted to sergeant. His name has been submitted for a Bronze Star, which "may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service."
His remains were returned to Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Del. on Monday. According to The Oregonian, Rao is the "24th person from the Portland/Vancouver area and among 853 soldiers killed in Afghanistan since the start of the war." The Gazette adds that he is Fort Carson's 290th war death. He will be buried in Willamette National Cemetery, where his grandfather was also buried.
"As a family, we are so proud of Elijah," said his mother. "He was an honorable son, grandson, brother, uncle, husband, father, soldier and hero. We were lucky to have him."
Godspeed, Sgt. Elijah J. Rao.
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You can help.
This list is from noweasels and I reprint it here with thanks to her and to you. Here's what you can do:
You can send a care package. Please consider brightening the day of a soldier with a care package.
You can write letters.
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You can find other ways to give at anysoldier.com or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles you would like to donate to hospitalized veterans or their families, please see Fisher House’s Hero Miles program.
You can help the left-behind animal companions of our troops. See how here.
And don’t forget them when they get home! Read welcomebackveterans.org to learn what you can do. Visit VoteVets and IAVA.
You can also participate in Netroots for the Troops. Here's how.
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.
Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by Sandy on Signal, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, twilight falling, joyful, roses, Chacounne, JeNoCo, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JanosNation, Proud Mom and Grandma and True Blue Majority. Timroff created the IGTNT logo.
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.