Please join me and the IGTNT team tonight as we honor three American soldiers who lost their lives serving for Operation Enduring Freedom.
Sgt. 1st Class William B. Woods Jr., 31, of Chesapeake, Virginia, died August 16 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of wounds suffered when he was shot August 14 while on patrol in Ghanzi, Afghanistan;
Lance Cpl. Leopold F. Damas, 26, of Floral Park, New York, died August 17 while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan; and
Gunnery Sgt. Adam F. Benjamin, 34, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, died August 18 while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Will you dear Kossacks kindly take a moment to send a warm thought or prayer to the hundreds of thousands of forgotten or unnoticed souls who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the insanity of war? This is not their diary but still, we all feel and grieve the pain of a broken human spirit.
Blessings and Light to all who share our world.
Sergeant 1st Class William B. Woods Jr.
I know the Patriot Guard Riders will lovingly, respectfully stand in honor for every deserving veteran, but sometimes the mission becomes a painfully personal one.
Bob Woods, the Ohio State PGR Captain, wrote at the Riders forum, "My fellow patriots this one hit close to home. This is going to be a confirmed mission soon. I am awaiting the return of my family from Germany. ...I ask that you pray for my niece (William's wife) Elizabeth and his daughters Ella May Sky Woods (8 months) and Lily Woods(6) and his immediate family."
William Woods Jr. (who seems to have been known to his buddies by his middle name, Brian) followed a long line of American men serving their country. His father, William B. Woods Sr., served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War; his paternal grandfather, John Woods, was in the Navy in World War II; and two of his uncles, Johnnie Woods and Bob Woods, served in the Army during the Vietnam conflict.
Mr. Woods spoke on behalf of the Woods family. "[William} was a very, very good young man," Mr. Woods said. "He loved his country, he loved what he was doing, and he knew the ramifications of what he did.
"I understand war, and I understand people dying, and unfortunately it tapped my door this time. Our family believes that when it's your time to die, it's your time to die. We don't know the reason."
Mr. Woods emphasized what a devoted family man his nephew was. "[William] would always be beaming when he was around his kids," said his uncle. "And he and his wife (Elizabeth), they really just made a nice couple. They really worked well together. They were happy and in love."
Mr. Woods said William grew up in Catawissa, Missouri, which about 40 miles southwest of St. Louis. William had "an adventurous spirit" and that he "loved sports, the outdoors and skydiving." SFC Woods was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Glen Arm, Maryland. Prior to his current assignment in the Special Forces, SFC Woods served in both the Army and the Marine Corps.
A Special Forces spokesman from Fort Bragg noted that, "The overall mission of that task force is training and enabling the Afghan forces," said Sgt. 1st Class Jason Baker. "They work with Afghan commandos." Mr. Woods said that his nephew was a medical sergeant who had completed a "treacherous" three-year training course. "That's more than just a paramedic. ...There's serious stuff you've got to do there."
"The family is coping with it the best we can," Mr. Woods said. "And we'll get through it, and we would...like to ask the nation not only to pray for my nephew's wife and two children but also to continue to respect and pray for our military men and women around the world. They need our support in the worst way, and a lot of times people don't realize how much support they need until something hits home like this."
Our hearts and thoughts are with all who knew and loved William B. Woods Jr. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Lance Corporal Leopold F. Damas
Jamaican native Leopold Damas was on his first tour of duty in Afghanistan when his life was taken as that shaky democracy was getting ready for its country's elections.
Dan Andrews, a spokesman for Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, said that Leopold Damas was an alumnus of Newtown High School in Elmhurst. LCPL Damas served as a rifleman in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, according to the Marine spokesperson. LCPL Damas, who joined the corps in January 2006, had previously served two tours of duty in Iraq; first from March 2007 to September 2007 and then again from July 2008 to February 2009. LCPL Damas had been in Afghanistan since May.
The Master Sergeant who recruited Leopold, MSgt. Darin Bell, said that news of the young soldier's death "shocked" him. MSgt. Bell told reporters that Damas was "very enthusiastic about his life as a member of the armed services" and that the 26-year-old "always wanted to be a Marine."
"[Leopold] wanted to get out of New York and do something different," MSgt. Bell recalled.
I found this photo of LCPL Damas at yournabe.com (short for Your Neighborhood, Your News).
The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have LCPL Damas on their Watch List, where messages of support and sympathy are being left for the family.
Our hearts and thoughts are with all who knew and loved Leopold F. Damas. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Gunnery Sergeant Adam F. Benjamin
Adam Benjamin knew what he was going to do at a very young age.
"Even when we were kids in grade school, he had the passion," remembered Mark Russo of Garfield Heights, a close friend. "[Adam] wanted to be a Marine. Everyone went off to college, and he went to boot camp."
The Garfield Heights community is mourning the second recent loss of one of their own. Earlier this year, 21-year old Army Specialist Brad Davis was killed in Iraq. Like his older classmate Adam, Brad had attended Garfield Heights High School.
Adam Benjamin joined the Marines right after graduating from high school in 1993. He was promoted to the rank of gunnery sergeant in January 2006. MSgt. Benjamin was an explosives ordnance disposal technician assigned to the 8th Engineer Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
MSgt. Benjamin, who was a single fella, had been deployed twice to Iraq, first from February to October 2007 and then again from February to September 2008. A Marine spokesman confirmed that Benjamin had received several awards, including commendation medals and achievement medals from both the Navy and Marine Corps.
Adam Benjamin wrote on his myspace page, "Most people don't understand what we do. I love my job. Yes, I said I love my job. How many of you can say you are right where you want to be at this point in your life? I know I can."
I found this photo of MSgt. Benjamin at Freedom Remembered.
The magnificent Patriot Guard Riders have MSgt. Benjamin on their Watch List, where messages of support and sympathy are being left for the family.
Mark Russo, who grew up to become a jazz trumpeter, said that he has offered to play Taps at the funeral in honor of his longtime friend and former classmate, and that Adam's parents have accepted.
"I'd be honored to do that for him," Mr. Russo said.
Our thoughts are with all who knew and loved Adam F. Benjamin. Please know that we stand beside you at this terrible time of loss.
Our beautiful forget-me-nots were a gift to the IGTNT team from dear llbear.
I can't think of a better way to honor the fallen than to contribute to the well-being of their fellow soldiers still on active duty.
The following fine organizations could sure use your support and your donations: AnySoldier.com, Books for Soldiers, Fisher House, the Military Pets Foster Project, Guardian Angels for Soldier's Pets, Operation Baghdad Pups, Operation Enduring Christmas, an organization that sends holiday presents to the children of our fallen troops, and Helping Udders, an organization that sends cooling vests to the Military Working Dogs stationed with their handlers in Iraq.
Please search for all diaries tagged 'NFTT' to get more information on how our community is supporting Netroots for the Troops.
I Got the News Today is a diary series intended to honor, respect and remind. Click here to see other IGTNT diaries, a series which was begun by i dunno and which is currently maintained by Sandy on Signal, greenies, monkeybiz, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, noweasels, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, mediaprof, rb137, and TrueBlueMajority.
These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but, we believe, an important service to those Americans who have died, and to our community's respect for and remembrance of them. Fallen soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and National Guard 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 fallen service member more fully, but still in a timely manner
As you read this diary, please consider that the families and friends of those profiled here also may read it and that many members of our community have served in Iraq or Afghanistan or have loved ones currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. I hope that the comments tonight will demonstrate our respect for the sacrifices of our fallen military and our compassion for their families, whatever our personal feelings about the war and occupation happen to be. (Comment credit and my thanks to dear noweasels.)
PEACE AND BLESSINGS.