Soldiers and Marines. Rangers and healers and dog handlers and intelligence specialists. Young people born into military families and those whose enlistment surprised those they knew. The lists of America's young who have been lost in our wars covers every conceivable category.
On this dark evening, the young people we memorialize are a cross-section of national sacrifice. From New Hampshire to Colorado to Michigan to Florida, families and friends are mourning. If you will follow me beneath the fold, I would be honored to introduce you to some amazing young people we have lost. They had one terrible thing in common: all were agonizingly young.
The Department of Defense has announced the losses of Pfc. Paul O. Cuzzupe, 23, of Plant City, FL, Cpl. Max W. Donahue, 23, of Highlands Ranch, CO, Spc. Faith R. Hinkley, 23, of Colorado Springs, CO, Sgt. Andrew C. Nicol, 23, of Kensington, NH, and Pfc. Bradley D. Rappuhn, 24, of Grand Ledge, MI.
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Paul O. Cuzzupe II
Paul Cuzzupe was born into the Army. Both of his parents were soldiers—they had met in the military. Paul was born in the hospital at Fort Riley, Kansas, a sprawling post amid the wheatfields of central Kansas. His family settled in Florida, where he was a successful student at Armwood High School. He had a profound love of music, taught himself to play guitar, and formed bands (among them The Seed and The Flawless Effect) with some of his friends.
He attended St. Leo University, where he was close to graduating with a degree in history. He hoped to become a police officer after serving in the military.
His father, also named Paul, passed away in an auto accident last year. That same year, Paul joined the Army. He became a medic because, as his grandfather says,
He wanted to help people.
In his medical platoon, his perpetual kindness earned him the nickname "Care Bear." In the unit he was assigned to after training, 3rd Platoon of G Company in 3rd Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment, he was known by the most honored of titles:
Doc
He earned the name, serving as a superb and compassionate healer. In the days before he died, he received an Army Commendation Medal for his rigorous efforts, although unsuccessful, to save the life of a child mortally wounded by an IED.
On his myspace page, though, he just called himself "Paulo." He left there a tribute to young love:
"This past weekend I met someone. She is still kind of a mystery to me, but that is half my amazement. I know the essentials. The name, school, interests, age, pet peaves, hopes, goals, and that she completely digs me. But other than that, I know nothing....
I remember looking up to see the stars one last time before I took the big leap, and after I joked with her that we were apparently dating according to everyone but us, I took a gaze into her beautiful eyes. We both agreed that we would both be down to play that game, and then everything went dark. My lips gently met hers, they were so soft. My ship cleared the tower for lift off. I ascended to a place that I have not been to before. Maybe I have, but it has been so long, and life moves on when you are gone. It is a new feeling all over again. We cannot possibly comprehend heaven, but I am sure that I was close."
Paul was killed by an IED in Akhtar-Mohammad-Khan, Afghanistan.
Paul is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his mother, Annette, his grandparents, his brothers Anthony and David, and his sister, Alexis.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Paul Cuzzupe
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Max W. Donahue
All Marines are riflemen, of course, but Max Donahue was more. He was a military policeman, entrusted not only to enforce the law but to protect the weak from the strong. He was also a dog handler, a duty that requires an extraordinary mix of intelligence and patience. The San Diego Union Tribune featured a moving picture of him on a previous tour in Iraq, working with Paco, one of man’s best friends.
Although we know little about him at this time, his awards tell a solemn story of courage and sacrifice. He only joined the Marine Corps in 2006, but already he had been awarded campaign medals from both Afghanistan and Iraq, the latter twice. His commendations and good conduct medals tell of a young man who served his nation with integrity and honor, who was fighting in his nation’s wars for the third time before his twenty-fourth birthday.
Max died of wounds suffered during a battle in Helmland Province, Afghanistan.
Max is mourned, remembered, and loved by many.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Max Donahue
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Faith R. Hinkley
Faith R. Hinkley
A standout student in Monte Vista High School, Faith was a clarinetist in the marching band, a cheerleader, a peer mediator, and a member of the student council. The administration of the High School praised her as outgoing, an achiever, and a much loved student. Her career of helping others stands in evidence of her grandmother’s description of her:
You couldn't find a sweeter, gentler person than she was.
When she joined the Army, it was to be a human intelligence specialist. These soldiers, so critical now, reach out to local populations, trying to create relations that will allow citizens who just want peace to find a way past the violence of war and terror. After her training, she was assigned to the 502nd Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington. From there she deployed to Iraq, where her ability to value all people was critical to her work helping innocent Iraqi people.
She regularly reassured her family that she was in a safe area, and told them of the Iraqis she had met that she so admired. She had six weeks left in her combat tour before return to the United States.
Faith was killed by shrapnel from a rocket-propelled grenade attack in Iskandariya, Iraq.
Faith is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including her parents, David and Annavee, her brother, Matthew, and her sister, Shannon.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Faith Hinkley
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Andrew C. Nicol
Andrew Nicol was a high school wrestler. Tough and clever and thoughtful, by the time of his senior year he had become captain of the team, and his coach remembers him showing a fierce determination in competition matched by a dedication to his team’s happiness that had him doing imitations of Seinfeld’s Kramer. He was a very good wrestler for Exeter High School, finishing sixth in New Hampshire in his weight class.
His toughness and leadership without doubt contributed to his decision to become an Army Ranger. Although he only enlisted in the Army four years ago, he had already become a non-commissioned officer. He was also serving in his fifth combat tour when he deployed with the 3rd Battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment to Afghanistan.
His fifth combat tour.
On one of his previous tours, in Iraq in 2008, Andrew Nicol had earned a Bronze Star. The Bronze Star, given for heroic achievement, was awarded for Andrew’s work in a raid that captured more than thirty members of al Qaida in Iraq.
Andrew was killed by an IED in Kandahar, Afghanistan.
Andrew is mourned, remembered, and loved by many.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Andrew Nicol
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Bradley D. Rappuhn
A drummer, a bowler, a disk golf player (usually accompanied by his black lab, Bill), a friend with an impish sense of humor. Friends remember Bradley Rappuhn always living life to the fullest, always seeking new challenges. They were unsurprised when the graduate of Grand Ledge High School not only joined the Army, but decided to seek qualification as a Ranger. He enlisted in 2009.
Rangers have to be tough; they have to endure deprivation with a smile; they have to be team players. All of those descriptions perfectly fit Bradley Rappuhn, a young man whose coach remembers putting the team first, and who a friend remembers trooping over to her house, hamsters in hand, to tease her gently about her squeamishness around the little creatures.
His unit remembers that he was already wounded once, by shrapnel from an IED on Memorial Day of this year, but that he had recovered and remained with his Ranger brothers. He was originally due to return to the United States at the end of July, but his tour had been extended for an additional month and a half.
Bradley was killed in the same incident that took Andrew Nicol.
Bradley is mourned, remembered, and loved by many, including his parents, Cary and Roxanne, and his brother, Brent.
Merciful and compassionate God,
we bring you our grief in the loss of Bradley Rappuhn
and ask for courage to bear it.
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Material for this diary from, inter alia, Brandon News and Tribune, Stars and Stripes, St Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay Online, Colorado Springs Gazette, The Detroit News, The Army Times, Seacoast Online, and Foster’s Daily Democrat.
Helping Our Troops
If you wish to assist our military and their families, consider Operation Helmet, which makes helmets safer, or Fisher House, which provides comfort homes for families near the treatment centers for our wounded veterans. Sponsoring a deployed service member at USTroopCarePackage can provide letters or care packages that make a real difference in a military person's life. To assist the animal companions of our deployed military, information is available here.
When our veterans come home, many will need jobs. Please look at the programs of Veterans Green Jobs 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 U.S. troops. Click here to see the series, which was begun by i dunno, and which is maintained by monkeybiz, noweasels, blue jersey mom, Chacounne, twilight falling, joyful, roses, SisTwo, a girl in MI, Spam Nunn, JeNoCo, Janos Nation, True Blue Majority, Proud Mom and Grandma, Sandy on Signal, CalNM, and Wide Awake in KY. These diaries are heartbreaking to write, but are an important service to those who have died, and show our community’s respect for them.
Fallen service members whose names have been released by the US 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.
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.