Almost daily, a family's life is forever changed by a knock on the door followed by news that their loved one has died. Pvt. Justin Hartford's mother saw the Soldiers at her door and knew what this meant; she could not bring herself to open the door. After three pleas from the soldiers, she finally gave in and received the devastating news. Her 21 year old son had been in Iraq for less than 30 days.
Staff Sgt. Randy Agno was an award winning chef and a father to two small children. His loss is being remembered Friday night in Iraq by his fellow Soldiers.
Since 2003, there have been 4294 American troops killed in Iraq and 682 American troops killed in Afghanistan.
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DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Pvt. Justin P. Hartford, 21, of Elmira, N.Y., died May 8 at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 699th Maintenance Company, Corps Support Battalion, 916th Support Brigade, Fort Irwin, Calif.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
It was just 6 months ago, that Justin Hartford's father died and now Justin's mother, Alice Hartford, will bury her young son. The The Ithaca Journal.com spoke to Alice Hartford:
"The military showed up at my door Saturday morning, 6:30 in the morning, just like in the movies," Alice Hartford said. "I didn't want to let them in. They asked me three times to come in. I knew that if I opened that door what they were going to say if I let them in. I knew what they were going to say. I just knew."
After three attempts, she opened the door and was given the horrible news. Alice recalled her son as someone who always helped people.
"He had a heart of gold," she said.
He was honored with a medal after he saved a young man who tried to kill himself with a drug overdose and found him convulsing on a bathroom floor.
"He gave the man mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until an ambulance and paramedics could arrive," Alice Hartford said.
Justin's death is still under investigation and is classified as non-combat related casualty. His mother wants answers.
"I need to know how and why my child is dead at the age of 21, who was a strong, healthy young man when he left me," she said. "Now he's dead. He hasn't been in Iraq 30 days. I want answers."
Pfc. Justin Hartford had a great sense of humor and was well-loved by everyone. Besides his mother, Justin is survived by an older brother who served in Iraq, and a younger brother, who is a Marine stationed in Kuwait and three sisters.
My deepest sympathy to the Hartford family.
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Staff Sgt. Randy S. Agno, 29, of Pearl City, Hawaii, died May 8 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, of wounds sustained Apr. 27 from a non-combat related incident at Forward Operating Base Olsen in Samarra, Iraq. He was assigned to the 325th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Staff Sgt. Randy Agno received many medals and awards. He was highly regarded by fellow Soldiers, some even e-mailed the the Star Bulletin in Hawaii to pay their respects to him. Here are some of the quotes:
Sgt. Kathleen Pennicooke said Agno "was always there when you needed someone to talk to and could make anyone feel better. He was a good friend and will be missed."
Spc. Erika Rivera said Agno "was the type of person that would go out of his way to do something nice for somebody else, not asking for anything in return. He was very giving and somebody I can honestly say I looked at as a bigger brother."
Staff Sgt. Rosemary Huff added, "I remember he asked me if he could cook a meal for my family. Always talking about food and sharing his recipes."
"I never would have wanted a better battle buddy than him," said Sgt. Adam Gendreau, who served with Agno at Schofield and in the Middle East.
"We miss him already," Gendreau said yesterday in a telephone interview from Virginia.
In 2006, Agno received the Junior Army Chef of the Year at the Army's 31st annual Culinary Arts Competition in 2006. He served two tours of duty: one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. Other awards include:
the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with arrowhead, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Staff Sgt. Randy Agno leaves behind a wife, two daughters ages 5 and 3, mother, father and younger brother. My deepest sympathy to Randy Agno's family and friends.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. 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.
All of the U.S. fatalities can be seen here and here. They all had loved ones, families and friends. The DoD news releases are here. I Got the News Today is intended to honor, respect and remind. Click the IGTNT tags below for previous diaries.
Click the IGTNT tags to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Media Prof, and me, Sandy on Signal. .
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.