Two more of our best have died this week:
* Specialist Jonathan C. O'Neill
*
Captain Kafele H. Sims
Death, be not proud
Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so;
For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.
Thou'art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy'or charms can make us sleep as well
And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.
- John Donne
Specialist Jonathan C. O'Neill
Jonathan O'Neill lived in Zephyrhills, Florida. He graduated from Zephyrhills High School in 2004 and was active in Junior ROTC. He served in the color guard, drill and rifle teams and was battalion commander his senior year. According to the Tampa Bay Tribune site:
Relatives and friends say O'Neill was an even-tempered, selfless person who stood up for the people he loved. He was the voice of reason among a group of friends who enjoyed pranks and had the aura of a father figure even to those who were older than him.
After he graduated high school and worked at several big-box stores in Zephyrhills, O'Neill realized he wanted to do more with his life and see places other than the small town where he was raised, said his aunt, Jennifer Watkins.
"That's the type of man he was. He needed something to work for and something to take pride in," Watkins said. "He needed more, and by getting more he sacrificed his life."
In January of 2007, he joined the Army. He was assigned work as an "MP" with the 549th Military Police Company, 385th Military Police Battalion, 16th Military Police Brigade based at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
O’Neil had less than 3 weeks left to go on his stint in Afghanistan. In his Facebook entries, O'Neill pondered his future. He was considering whether to reenlist or to work on a career in law enforcement. That future was decided for him on June 2nd, when an improvised bomb went off near his vehicle. in Paktya, Afghanistan. He suffered burns over approximately 40 percent of his body.
According to the St. Petersburg Times, Jackie O’Neill learned that her son had received a Purple Heart from President Barack Obama, who was visiting the hospital in Germany where O'Neill was being treated before being transferred to the United States.
After her son was wounded, Jackie O'Neill kept his Facebook friends up to date on his progress by posting on his page. Those postings told of surgeries, skin grafts, infections in his lungs and blood and the bandages that she said made him look like a snowman.
On June 8, "I looked at his swollen head and body and I saw my little boy beneath all of the scrapes and burns," his mother wrote on Facebook. "I pray that God eases some of his pain and helps him through all of this. . . . please pray for him. He needs all of us right now."
Two days later, she looked at her son and for the first time saw a man.
"All these years he has been my 'baby', my 'boy', my 'boo' (don't ask) but today he is now my 'son', my 'friend', my 'Soldier, my 'HERO'........ I am so very proud of the man that he has become. I don't know what I ever have done to deserve such a gift."
On June 15th, Specialist O’Neill gave up his fight. His mother was at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio to say her goodbyes. He was 22 years old.
Specialist Jonathan C. O'Neill will be posthumously awarded the Bronze Star to go along with the Purple Heart he was recently awarded. The Patriot Guard Riders will be among those honoring him at his funeral services.
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Captain Kafele H. Sims
Kafele H. Sims was from Los Angeles, California. He was assigned to the 18th Engineer Brigade, U.S. Army, Schwetzingen, Germany. There are several entries at Legacy.com that tell how compassionate, funny, and gentlemanly Sims was. One entry reads:
Kafele, man you taught me how to polish my boots, how to wear my uniform, how to tie knots, and so many other things I can't list. We used to sit and talk for hours about everything....in fact mostly, you talked about being in the military. So you are now getting your real wings bro.
Peace and blessings to your family!
Captain Sims died June 16th in Mosul, Iraq, of a non-combat related incident. He was 32 years old. Few other details have been released.
Regarding his death, California's Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger issued the following statement:
"Maria and I were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Captain Kafele Sims who served our country with courage and honor. He was a dedicated soldier and Californians will forever remember his service and sacrifice. We send our thoughts and prayers to Kafele’s family, friends and fellow soldiers as they mourn this tremendous loss.
Captain Kafele H. Sims leaves behind a loving family including his wife, Masako, and their children. In honor of Captain Sims, Capitol flags will be flown at half-staff in California this week.
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Helping our troops:
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, or Fisher House. If you have frequent flyer miles, they can be donated to hospitalized veterans or their families. See Fisher House’s Hero Miles program for details. Consider sponsoring a deployed service member at TroopCarePackage.com. Letters or care packages can 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.
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 troops. 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, JeNoCo and Mediaprof. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but an important service to those Americans who have died and to our community’s respect for and remembrance of them. If you would like to volunteer, even once a month, please contact me, Sis.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the 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.