This last week has been dreadful, we lost 16 of our servicemen in Afghanistan and one in Iraq. Tonight we will honor four who were killed when an I.E.D. exploded near their vehicle. Two were from Georgia and two were from Illinois. This week, there have been three killed from the Illinois National Guard.
Since 2001, there have been 731 American troops killed in Afghanistan. Since 2003, there have been 4324 American troops killed in Iraq. Please take a moment to honor their sacrifice.
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DoD Identifies Army Casualties
The Department of Defense announced today the death of four soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. They died July 6 in Konduz, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle.
Killed were:
2nd Lt. Derwin I. Williams, 41, of Glenwood, Ill. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 106th Cavalry Regiment, Dixon, Ill.
Sgt. Brock H. Chavers, 25, of Bulloch, Ga. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 121st Infantry Regiment, Americus, Ga.
Spc. Chester W. Hosford, 35, of Hastings, Minn. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 106th Cavalry Regiment, Dixon, Ill.
Spc. Issac L. Johnson, 24, of Columbus, Ga. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 108th Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron, Rome, Ga.
1st Lt. Derwin Williams was posthumously promoted this week. He was leading a five vehicle convoy from the 33rd Infantry Bridgade Combat Team, when his vehicle hit an IED, killing all four on board.
Derwin Williams grew up in Chicago's south side in the Glenwood area. Williams worked as a drill instructor at the Cook County Boot Camp. Sheriff Thomas Dart told the Chicago Tribune, Williams was well liked.
"His kindness and soft-spoken manner had a great impact on everyone here. ... He will be greatly missed, and the thoughts and prayers of the entire sheriff's office go out to his family," Dart said.
He loved and excelled at his work which involved helping and counseling those who were adrift. His coworkers remember him as a man who would help anyone.
He is survived by his wife, Felicia, four daughters and one son. Felicia told the Chicago Tribune, her husband had been in Afghanistan since last September and was due home next month in August. Williams had been with the Illinois National Guard since 1993 and served a year in Iraq in 2004. This was his second tour in Afghanistan. Afghanistan was much worse for him than Iraq.
"He said Iraq was nothing like Afghanistan. It was just terrible," his wife said. "He just told me he couldn't wait to come home, he couldn't wait to get out of [Afghanistan]. He wouldn't elaborate."
ABC 7 in Chicago spoke with Mrs. Felicia Williams at the airport before she left for Dover AFB to greet her husband's casket when it arrived back home.
"He would always tell me that his biggest fear of something like this was leaving hardship on me and the kids. We were his life. Everything he did was because of us," said Williams.
My deepest sympathy to the Williams family.
The small towns of Portal and Statesboro, Georgia are in mourning for their beloved and well-respected citizen, Sgt. Brock Chavers. Portal, Georgia is a town of only 597 people, so Chaver's loss is felt by the entire community. The local newspaper, the Statesboro Herald spoke with Chaver's ROTC teachers who remember him well. Master Sgt. Bill Rogers reflected on Chavers:
"I taught Brock for four years," he said. "He was a good man, always motivated, and to my knowledge was a good soldier," he said. "It really saddened me ( hearing of his death.)"
Col. Phil Turner, a retired senior Army ROTC teacher added:
"He had seven brothers and sisters, and a single mother," he said. "All the kids were in JROTC and all achieved the highest rank. All have done well, and she (mother Lois Chavers) did a fantastic job with all seven."
Rest in Peac, Sgt. Brock Chavers
Sgt. Chester Wayne Hosford, known as Wayne to his friends, looked forward to getting back to Minnesota and being with his old girlfriend, with whom he had reconnected through My Space. Hasting's girlfriend, Brendee Roberts, told the Twin Cities.com:
"He found me on Myspace about a year and a half ago, and we've been talking ever since," Roberts said. "I hadn't received an e-mail from him in like two months, and I didn't know what was going on."
She said the two were close and jokingly called each other husband and wife. Hosford would send pictures to her frequently while he was in Germany. She said Wayne was divorced with two kids, who are teenagers now, she did not know where they lived. Hosford's mother passed away when he was thirteen and he was sent to live with his grandmother in Colorado. Hosford has two brothers, a sister and his children who survive him.
Sgt. Wayne Hosford served in the Marines in 1993. He joined the Minnesota National Guard in 2006 and transferred to the Illinois National Guard in 2008. Sgt. Hosford had also served with the Marines in the early 1990's. He spent a few months in Ottawa, Minnesota before being deployed with the 33rd Infantry Brigade to Afghanistan in 2008. He was posthumously promoted to Sergeant this week.
Rest in Peace, Sgt. Chester Wayne Hosford
Unfortunately, there is very little information available at this time on Spc. Issac Lee Johnson. Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia issued this statement:
“This past weekend, as hundreds of millions of Americans celebrated our nation’s independence, our brave sons and daughters were halfway around the world still protecting that freedom,” Gov. Sonny Perdue said. “We learned today of the tragic loss of Georgia Guardsmen Sgt. Brock Chavers Sr. and Spc. Isaac Johnson Jr., yesterday in Afghanistan.
“We also learned over the weekend of the loss of Marine Lance Cpl. Seth Sharp, a Northwest Georgia native serving out of Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
“Celebrating our independence also means remembering the long line of heroes that have laid down their lives so that our country and others around the world can enjoy freedom. Mary and I encourage all Georgians to join us in praying for their families.”
My heart goes out to all who are grieving the loss of Spc. Issac Lee Johnson.
Rest in Peace, Spc. Issac Lee Johnson.
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, rb137 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.