Yesterday, the New York Times reported that another nine US and NATO troops were lost in Afghanistan over the weekend. They include a French soldier, two Canadians, and six US troops. This followed the loss of 75 US and NATO troops in July, the heaviest death toll since the war began. Tonight we are here to honor four of these US servicemembers whose deaths were announced on Thursday and Saturday. They include Private Gerrick D. Smith, Chief Warrant Officer Douglas M. Vose III, Lance Corporal Jonathan F. Stroud, and Lance Corporal Gregory A. Posey.
Please follow me below the fold to learn more about the lives of these four men.
On Saturday, the Department of Defense made the following announcement:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of two Marines who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Lance Cpl. Gregory A. Posey, 22, of Knoxville, Tenn., and Lance Cpl. Jonathan F. Stroud, 20, of Cashion, Okla., died July 30 of wounds suffered while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Posey was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Stroud was assigned to 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.
Lance Corporal Posey was the son of a retired Chief Petty Officer in the US Navy. As a child, he traveled all over the world with his father. He was an outgoing child, and he loved animals and the outdoors. In 2005 he graduated from Franklin County High School in Tennessee where he had been a member of the school's wrestling team. Posey attended the University of Tennessee for four semesters and joined the military in 2007. His father tried to convince him to join the Navy, but Lance Cpl. Posey chose the Marines. He had been deployed in Afghanistan since May of this year, and he was also promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in May. He also received the National Defense Service and the Global War on Terrorism medals.
His father, Steven Posey, said that after his military training, Lance Corporal Posey was
probably the happiest I had seen him in a long time.... He truly understood serving your country. ~source
The Posey family traveled to Dover, DE to see the return of his body. He will be buried in Franklin Memorial Gardens in Tennessee.
Lance Corporal Posey is survived by his parents and his younger brother, Kristopher.
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Lance Corporal Jonathan F. Stroud was a native of the small town of Cashion, OK, about 20 miles north of Oklahoma City. The town has a population of about 635 people. Stroud was a 2007 graduate of Cashion High School, and he joined the Marines in April of 2008. He was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal in May of this year.
A family friend described Jonathan as
a wonderful kid....He was the class clown - everybody liked him. ~source
Cashion Superintendent [of schools] Marva Oard described Stroud as an outgoing, friendly student who had a good sense of humor and was always respectful toward faculty and staff. ~source
Jonathan Stroud married his wife, Lacie, in 2008. Their first child is due in December.
Lance Cpl. Stroud received the National Defense Service and the Global War on Terrorism medals.
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On Friday, the Department of Defense issued the following announcement:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Chief Warrant Officer Douglas M. Vose III, 38, of Concrete, Wash., died July 29 in Kabul Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, Stuttgart, Germany.
Chief Warrant Officer Douglas M. Vose III was a 1988 graduate of Concrete High school in Skagit County, Washington State. rb137 gave me a description of Concrete:
Concrete, Washington is a sweet teeeeeeny tiny town not far from North Cascades National Park. We drive through it pretty often, and it has a very straightforward hometown feeling. Not quaint -- but rugged. And spectacular mountain scenery.
CWO Vose joined the Army as a cavalry scout in 1989 and completed his training for the Special Forces in 1999. At the time of his death he was serving as a commander for Operational Detachment Alpha 0114 as part of the NATO International Security Assistance Forces.
Chief Warrant Officer Vose came from a military family. His late father served in the Marine Corps; his sister served in the Army; and his brother is currently serving in the Marines.
Douglas Vose has served our country in many parts of the world. He fought in Iraq during both the first and second Gulf Wars. He also served in Kosovo, and he had completed a previous tour of duty in Afghanistan. He earned a Bronze Star for heroism under fire and a Purple Heart.
A family friend who has known Vose since grade school descried him as:
...one of those dependable people. He was always there. He always worked hard.~source
Vose was a heavily decorated soldier. In addition to the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star, he earned:
National Defense Service Medal, South West Asia Service Medal, Kosovo Campaign Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Iraqi Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Non-Commissioned Officers Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Ribbon, NATO Medal, Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), and the Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait). ~source
Chief Warrant Officer Vose is survived by his wife, two sons, two daughters, and his mother who lives in California.
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On Friday, the Department of Defense also announced the following:
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
Pvt. Gerrick D. Smith, 19, of Sullivan, Ill., died July 29 in Herat, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry, Illinois Army National Guard, Marion, Ill.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
This picture shows the arrival of his body at Dover AFB in Delaware.
Private Gerrick D. Smith joined the National Guard in February of 2007. He was deployed in September of last year, and he arrived in Afghanistan in December.
“He was a great guy,” said Tyler Craven, 20, a longtime friend of Smith’s, who is also a National Guard soldier. “He was always helping out his friends. If you needed someone to have your back, Gerrick was that guy. He would stand up with you to the bitter end.” ~source
There is very little additional information on Pvt. Smith, but I will update the diary when more information becomes available. A visitor to his guestbook left the following tribute:
Thank You and your Family for the sacrifices you each have made in your service to our country. Because of you and every American Soldier who has ever served and the other American Heroes here at home, I sleep at night knowing that I am cloaked in the safety and freedoms that each and everyone one of you HEROES has provided.
A Grateful American
Amen.
May we always honor the sacrifices that these four men made for our country. Their lives mattered. Poppies are the universal symbols of remembrance.
May all four rest in eternal peace.
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, noweasels, greenies, blue jersey mom, chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, SpamNunn, a girl in MI, JeNoCo, MediaProf, and rb137.
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.